Yep, yesterday morning I loaded up all of the chickens and brought them to my friends farm where they will hopefully have a long life munching on lots of bugs and greens.  Though I hemmed and hawed about getting rid of them, the final decision was made for me when the raccoon shimmied his way into the 2″ eaves above the garden shed, across the barrier wall into the chicken coop, and got into their sleeping quarters to attack them while they rested.  I’d now lost 9 chickens (out of 20) to the critter and it was time to cut my losses.  I packed them up in large totes (since they couldn’t safely sleep in the coop) and brought them inside until the morning (it was about 1 am at this point).

They seemed very happy to be on lush green grass in a big open field when I dropped them off.

Maybe, in a few years, I will feel like tending chickens again.  But, I’m coming to realize that trying to live sustainably doesn’t mean doing it all myself.  Especially in a city like Asheville, where there are so many like minded souls, it’s pretty easy to share my goods and knowledge for what others might have.

Toby wants to turn the massive coop into a play house…. he’s always looking for his next project.