(I love a world where you can airmail poultry!)
On Sunday, Ryan and I took the Honda out to go pick up some chicks...am I that much of an accommodating wife?...Heck no! Our first baby poultry order had arrived at the post office! I received a call at the ungodly hour of 7:36 am on a Sunday ("ungodly" more because I was already awake then anything, I suppose...), so Ryan and I got the brooder tubs all set up and drove to a somewhat-scary looking deserted postal warehouse. This is our 4th year raising poultry, and it always cracks me up how you can HEAR the postal worker bringing your box of chicks before you can actually see them, because baby chicks are surprisingly LOUD. This year, to save a few dollars and to provide some variety, I opted for the "Rainbow Egg Layer Special." I can't remember if I mentioned in previous posts, but we gave away our flock of aging hens to a nice, pet-only home (a far better fate than they would have had as freezer chickens). They weren't laying anymore, and we just did not have the room to house 20 unproductive chickens AND 26 new ones. We have a large coop, but it's not THAT big! So, we found a nice home for them with a sweet senior couple who wanted their grandkids to be able to experience what raising chickens (and other farm animals) is like. In any case, we have raised all kinds of rare chicken breeds before, as well as the blue/green egg-laying Araucanas (who always drove me insane because they love - LOVE - to escape and range far and wide across the property, never quite seeming to figure out how to return home at night), so I wasn't expecting to be surprised. However, our poultry order included six "crested" chickens (we call them 'Fro Chicks, and they freak Ryan out in a rather comical manner). If ever there was a ridiculous looking chicken, it was the Crested.
So, there ya go!: 26 baby chicks who should hopefully begin egg laying late this summer. We'll still have to buy most of our eggs this year, but next spring/summer we will be back up to peak productivity!
Later this week: airmailed baby ducklings!!!
(I love a world where you can airmail poultry!)
On Sunday, Ryan and I took the Honda out to go pick up some chicks...am I that much of an accommodating wife?...Heck no! Our first baby poultry order had arrived at the post office! I received a call at the ungodly hour of 7:36 am on a Sunday ("ungodly" more because I was already awake then anything, I suppose...), so Ryan and I got the brooder tubs all set up and drove to a somewhat-scary looking deserted postal warehouse. This is our 4th year raising poultry, and it always cracks me up how you can HEAR the postal worker bringing your box of chicks before you can actually see them, because baby chicks are surprisingly LOUD. This year, to save a few dollars and to provide some variety, I opted for the "Rainbow Egg Layer Special." I can't remember if I mentioned in previous posts, but we gave away our flock of aging hens to a nice, pet-only home (a far better fate than they would have had as freezer chickens). They weren't laying anymore, and we just did not have the room to house 20 unproductive chickens AND 26 new ones. We have a large coop, but it's not THAT big! So, we found a nice home for them with a sweet senior couple who wanted their grandkids to be able to experience what raising chickens (and other farm animals) is like. In any case, we have raised all kinds of rare chicken breeds before, as well as the blue/green egg-laying Araucanas (who always drove me insane because they love - LOVE - to escape and range far and wide across the property, never quite seeming to figure out how to return home at night), so I wasn't expecting to be surprised. However, our poultry order included six "crested" chickens (we call them 'Fro Chicks, and they freak Ryan out in a rather comical manner). If ever there was a ridiculous looking chicken, it was the Crested.
So, there ya go!: 26 baby chicks who should hopefully begin egg laying late this summer. We'll still have to buy most of our eggs this year, but next spring/summer we will be back up to peak productivity!
Later this week: airmailed baby ducklings!!!
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