Chicks!!

After our somewhat heartbreaking experience with chickens a little over a year ago, we had to re-think the whole idea.
We missed the cute antics of the chickens.  We really missed the egg supply.  We didn't miss the twice daily  opening and closing of the coop.  But we have since found out that there are ways to get around that such as "chicken tractors", fully enclosed chicken yards, etc.



Yesterday after Josh and the kids and I finished our morning yard work, we moseyed on over to the feed store to see if they even had baby chicks in stock yet.  Oh did they.  And I think we were all smitten.  After chatting with the store clerk to relieve our minds about a few chicken questions we had, we snagged four Plymouth Barred Rock chicks (which are supposed to all turn into layers in about 8 months - though there's always a chance we'll get a rooster).

You can see they've already started to lose their cute fluffy baby feathers.  Those teen months are so awkward!

We had debated just buying already laying hens.  They're a little hard to find, but not impossible.  But one of the problems with that is that they may or may not be very friendly, and it's really hard to care for chickens that are afraid of you.  Plus, the little girls were afraid of the chickens last year.  We thought that with chicks, we can raise them to be super used to being handled - and raise the girls to be used to doing the handling.  So far, the chicks are VERY popular with the humans in our house.   The cat took one whiff and scurried away in fear.  The chicks already have that battle won.

We call Kenna the chick-whisperer.  She loves them, and they love her right back!

Our chicks are two weeks old.  In another month they will be able to live outside full time.  Currently they are in a rubbermaid tote in our dining room with a heat lamp.  I'm hoping to move them out of the house and into the garage with the heat lamp in a couple weeks. 

Natalie's still a little nervous, but the calm ones are fun for her to hold.

The chicks have had several names so far, but the kids can only consistently identify one by a specific white patch near it's ear.  So the naming will have to come as they develop more noticeable differences.  In 6 weeks I should be able utilize these efficient weeding, fertilizing, bug-eating machines in my yard!  By Christmas we should start getting eggs.