New Chicks

We got new chicks. We have had chickens for about 6 years now. We have laying hens and have done meat chickens as well. This year our chickens slowed down in production so much that we gave them away while we were in China so the kids didn't have to worry about it and we wouldn't have to take care of them in the ice and snow. This would have been the winter to have good layers. It was so warm that the production would have stayed up. We ordered chicks off of the internet and they were shipped via US Postal Service. It is so weird to get chicken in a box. You really can get anything on the internet.

We ordered the chicks on a Friday and scheduled for them to be delivered on the next Friday. Wednesday morning we got a call from the post office.  Our chick were in.  We hadn't done anything to get ready for them.  The kids washed out the feeders and pulled out the playpen we keep chicks in while I went to the post office.  I dropped the chicks off with strict instructions not to hold them.  At this stage the chicks are most likely 24 hours old. I headed off to IFA and got food and sawdust. I spent the whole morning getting baby chicks settled into their new home.

The kids have had fun holding them.  They still like to feed them and get water but after the first cleaning of the mess no one wants that job again.  Cleaning has to be done often because they are in the kitchen and the smell can get bad if it goes too long.  The kitchen is not the ideal but the chicks have to be kept at 95 degrees for the first few weeks so going outside in our set up is not an option.  I know, it's pretty gross. Doreen would never do that (my sister).

 This years batch is the biggest we've had so we will expand the coupe and run to accommodate 25 chickens.  Hopefully we will get 18-20 eggs a day out of this.  It's amazing how many eggs we can consume.  I need 24 just to make scrambled eggs for breakfast. It would be nice to have extra to sell to the neighbors.  We are considering getting more.  We have also thought about doing meat chickens again this year but have made no progress there so we will just see what the spring and summer bring.

25 chicks show up in a 12"x12" box

Hannah with a baby chick.

Hyrum was very brave but still won't hold them even when he asks.

The chicks in their temporary home.

Creed usually sits at the end of the table but refuses to sit there next to the chickens. The kids are loving the opportunity to sit at the end of the table. :)