Chickens

To add to our adventures, we are adding a few more chickens to our farm.  We ordered chickens online and day old baby chicks were mailed to our house.  This is the second time we have lived this adventure, last time we got 25 - this time 50.  Yes, you read that right 50 baby chicks.  Before you ask, "you know they grow up to be bigger chickens, right?" I will explain the purpose of all these chickens.  

First - we wanted to experiment with different egg layers to see if we could find a breed we like the best.  We have had Buff Orpingtons for the past 1 1/2 years and they are fine, but we wanted to try out some new breeds so we ordered 25 egg layers of 6 or so breeds.  We have tried to I.D. which breeds we have, but it is a bit hard so we will wait until their adult feathers come in and then we will be able to tell - I hope...  

The second reason for so many chickens is that James would like to try out raising meat birds.  He is sure I will warm up to the idea before slaughter day, but I have assured him he is on his own until the chicken looks like the ones in the grocery store.  He is hopeful I will change my mind, I am doubtful that will happen.  The breed we bought for meat is ready in about 6-8 weeks - so we will start the new year off with fresh, home grown chickens.  Don't worry the children will only name the egg layers since the others will not be around for long.  

Jacob and Kathryn are doing a school project on the growth of baby chickens, I will put their power point presentation on our blog when it is complete - in a month or two.  

So, here are a few pictures of the cute little chicks.  They come in a cardboard box and the post office calls at 3:30am the day they arrive to let you know they are here. 

You have to keep them in a trough with heat lights on them to keep them 95-100 degrees for the first few days.  We keep the trough in the garage so we can keep a closer eye on them.  Over time the heat lights are used less and less until they are ready to go out to the barn to their new home.  

James is going to build a 'chicken tractor' which is where the meat chickens will live.  It is a moveable pen that has a nesting house attached.  This allows you to move the chickens all over your land to let them fertilize the ground and eat the weeds.  When one spot is done, just move the 'tractor' to the next location.  Looks like our garden will be all set in time for spring planting.  

The egg layers will live in the chicken coop and pen in the barn.  This helps keep them out of my flowers and minimizes the locations they can hide an egg.  

Over all it is really worth it for the eggs, they are better for you and taste WAY better than store bought.  So, that is probably more than you ever really wanted to know about raising chickens, but I thought it would be good for a few laughs for some of you.