These are my Rhode Island Reds!

I feed my dog on the Raw diet (for more information, check out this link). I don’t need any haters telling me how barbaric and cruel it is, I do it because it is actually cheaper than feeding a high quality dog food ($50 a month vs $35ish). My dog has a soft, shiny coat, no plaque on his teeth, and is adorable and active, therefore, I am confident that I made the right choice.  Don’t try to change my mind, and i won’t try and change yours.

So, I generally get my supplies from Hare-Today Gone Tomorrow, as they have whole prey rabbits for $1.85 a pound. With shipping, it ends up being around $2. This is, of course, excellent for rabbits (I also usually grab some quail, or other food). But I am constantly on the look out for good sources of meat.

A coworker turned me on to  the Wicked Chicken Livestock Auction in Clayton, NC. I already wanted to get a goat for curry, and use leftovers for dog food, and the A1 butchers were right across from the Auction house.

My impulses got the better of me, and I came home with 2 rex rabbits, 23 Rhode Island Red Chicks (about 1 week old, weighing in at around 0.11 lbs), and a four pound rooster (dog already ate for dinner).

Now what? I live in an apartment, after all.

Yea, I knew nothing of chickens… or rabbits, but when I got home, Dr. Google filled me in, along with some awesome facebook friends.  The 23 chicks were then put into a grey rubbermaid tupperware with a heat lamp (can anyone say late night Home Depot run. I didn’t even have anything to feed them, aside from spent grains from the brewing process… Each chick is tiny, and has the showing of some of their wing feathers.

The rabbits are located out in the closet on the porch. One is 6.5 lbs, and the other is much smaller, around 3.

Now, to get them food, and build both animals a shelter. Lucky for me, I have plenty of spare plywood and chicken wire from unrelated projects.