The How & the Why

Chatelain Farms is the creation of Stephen Chatelain and his reluctant wife, Sara.

What started as the dream of an aging micropolitan freebird and became the reality of a couple that decided to move to the country for the peace and quiet of rural living.

We have just over two and a half acres to play with as we wish. And we hope to make the most of every square foot. Check out our animals and buildings.

05/02/2014 After taking the winter off from raising chickens, I decided to have another go at it. I ordered twelve day-old chicks from Meyer Hatchery in Ohio and had to wait two weeks. Not one to enjoy patience, I stopped by a Tractor Supply on the way home from work and grabbed another six. So, we're going from 0 to 18 in one week. First picture on the left. More pics and videos coming soon!

12/14/13 The chicken farming adventure has come to an abrupt halt. An unknown predator managed to get into the chicken coop and kill four of the hens. One was missing and my guess is that it escaped in the mayhem, as I saw no signs of it being dragged off. That is definitely one way to have your day go south in a hurry. Chicken population: 0. Considering starting over in the spring.

11/27/13 One of original hens ended up on the wrong side of the fence and fell victim to a predator. Not a pretty sight. Down to five hens.

10/15/13 Thinking that six chickens were too many due the excessive number of eggs we were getting and the larger-than-expected feed bill, I sold three of them on Craigslist. And it was only a matter of days before I realized my mistake. I actually liked all of those chickens. So, I then bought three hens from another person, which totaly upset the pecking order of the roost.


* Disclaimer: I am not a professional farmer. I am only pretending to know what I'm doing. You take full responsibility for the lives of your chickens if you do what I do.