Well looks like summer and the drought are coming to an end in the mid west. I was very happy when I realized for the for the first time in a while that all my birds laid yesterday. I think they are relieved to have cooler weather, I know I am. So now I start to think about winter. I really need to get some heated water bottles for the winter. I didn’t over-winter any birds last year, which is sad since it wasn’t all that cold. But I am sure when I decide to keep some this season it will be a long and cold brutal winter. 🙂 Anyway, I will for sure be keeping the rabbits, so might as well keep the birds and get a head start on spring. I am planing to devise some sort of removable cover for the cages to keep the drafts down and like I mentioned heated water bottles. Two winters ago I moved them into the shed, but it of course has filled with other items since then so looks like it is is the great outdoors for the birds and bunnies this year.
On an unrelated note, I follow Gaye Levy on the site Backdoor Survival and there was a discussion of Raising Livestock. I had to agree with the premise that if you don’t do it yourself, it doesn’t work. I personally believe that quail are a good way to get started. There is the instant gratification of eggs and they are low maintenance compared to larger animals. Anyone have any thoughts on other good starter animals?