Hello and good morning from the farm. Can I say that now that we have chickens?! Ahhhh… yes! The chicks are finally here and we are thrilled!
When we finally decided we were going to build and move for real, it dawned on me that I’d finally have the opportunity to have chickens. For the last several years I’ve had this yearning for a more, I don’t know what you call it- simple? quiet? country? slower? lifestyle, one that involved a garden, more outdoor walks, learning skills my Nannie knew, and raising chickens. It’s almost like the Little House on the Prairie make believe game I’d play as a child in a grown up version. It was a big unknown gamble when we made the move, but I’m finding we are all really loving this new way of life. Minus the driving. There is a lot of extra driving to get places, but it’s a small concession for the benefits.
Which brings us back to CHICKENS. We wanted chickens for fresh eggs, of course; the access, the knowing what they’re eating and what their lives are like. And, we eat a lot of eggs. But we also were intrigued because we’ve heard they’re fun. We’ve had a good time helping take care of our community flock and having our own feels so exciting.
My original intent was to get chicks in the early spring, but as a newbie, there was a learning curve. I wanted to get a little settled in the house first, then I knew David wanted to build the coop, so when I finally got around to ordering chicks in February I realized that most online hatcheries I had been eyeing were completely sold out. I found Valley Hatchery had the breeds I wanted and had some June ship dates available, so I ordered.
And here we are, a few months later, proud owners of 4 Buff Orpingtons, 4 Olive Eggers, and 3 Copper Marans. We originally ordered 3 of each, but they included two bonus chicks, a happy surprise.
We got the notification they had been shipped last Wednesday and we swung by our local post office at lunch time and immediately heard chirping as we walked in the front door! Funny enough, there were multiple chick deliveries so the place was quite loud. We picked our our chickadees and carefully drove them home where there new digs awaited them. We first had them in the garage but moved them inside as we felt just how warm the garage was getting on the late spring afternoon.
Immediately the girls (and I) were smitten. They truly are precious and fuzzy, so much fun to hold. We also love watching them hop around, chirping, and doing the very basic tasks of eating, drinking, and learning to jump up and balance on the perch.
The supplies:
- Chicken Starter Kit – including the spacious pop up brooder tent, chick feeder, chick waterer, and perch. Multiple color options available.
- Chick Warming Plate – A pricier option, but worth it because it’s easy to use, easy to clean, safer than a lamp, and accommodates growing chicks easily.
- Hemp Bedding – 100% Natural, Superior Odor Control, Biodegradable, Dust-Free (which I’ve heard is a big deal when you’re keeping them in the house to start)*
- Grubbly Farms Little Pecks Starter Feed – No fillers, just made with black soldier fly grubs – a protein that’s better for them as well as grubs, vegetables and whole grains. No hormones, pesticides, or funky byproducts.
- *Pictured here is pine bedding because that’s what Tractor Supply had while I wait for the hemp I ordered online
They’ll stay in this playpen set up for several weeks, then I plan to start introducing them to the coop. I’m thinking I’ll bring the out there during the days and back in at night? I have some reading up to do on that process. We spent most of Father’s Day weekend working on the coop and it’s SO close to being done. I’ll write a post showcasing that project for sure because David is incredible and we are so thrilled with how it’s turning out.
Oh, I almost forgot the most fun part- names! They don’t have them yet, but we think we’ve decided to make all their names under the same umbrella topic: food. Shocker, right? So right now we are brainstorming names, observing their personalities, and hope to assign fitting titles to each baby hen over the coming weeks. I can’t tell you how much we are enjoying this process.
Finley, however, remains irritated because we won’t let her in to see them anymore after she made a lunge, trying to capture on of these walking, squeaking treats in her mouth. I’m not sure what we were thinking getting chickens while owning a bird dog, but I’ll let you know how that unfolds. Maybe we’ll just always have to keep them separate? Time will tell!
Ok, that’s enough about our chickadees for the moment; as Finley’s eyes are boring into me insisting it’s time to walk and I have a friends’ chickens (just 7 weeks older than mine) to go care for while she’s out of town. I hope you’re Monday is a good one
