Chickens-Our Newest Endeavor
We have been busy enjoying some new residents on our tiny farm this past month!! Chickens!!!
(This was published months after it was written! Oops! I will have to do an update soon as we have just started getting eggs!)
At the end of this summer, I mentally set a goal to prepare and be ready to buy chicks by spring 2021. However, when a family friend shared about their positive experiences ordering their chicks from this hatchery, it peaked my interest! I loved the fact that I could pick when I wanted my chicks and I was able to order a variety of breeds from a vast selection! Their website has lots of articles, newsletters and videos to help inform and prepare customers for bringing home their chicks! I decided to go ahead, place our order and dive into the world of owning chickens! I’m
There are a couple reasons we wanted chickens in the first place.
1. Eggs- Our small family can really go through some eggs! It’s not uncommon for us to go through 2 dozen eggs in a week and that’s usually just my toddler and me! I like getting free range eggs but hate paying for them! 😬
2. The experience- I remember getting eggs in an incubator as a child, excitedly watching them hatch and then enjoying holding the little balls of fluff. Although we didn’t do the incubator route, I wanted Tobias to experience the excitement of watching his chickens grow, learn to handle them and feel the special responsibility that comes with caring for animals.
Perhaps someday we will be brave and buy meat chickens, but that’s a whole other experience and requires a little more education! For now, I’m taking it one step at a time!
Before ordering, I asked around about different chicken breeds. One thing became clear: everyone seemed to have their favorite breed whether it was because of temperament or egg laying production. I decided to go ahead and try four different popular breeds. All had to have decent temperaments (I have a toddler and a baby), do well in both hot and cold climates (we live in the Midwest where we can get one extreme or the other) and be reliable layers. We got two Rhode Island Reds, two Black Jersey Giants, two Barred Plymouth Rocks, three Easter Eggers and one Green Queen. (I’m excited to see Tobias’ reaction to finding eggs that are different shades of blue and green!) Meyer Hatchery generously throws in one free chick in the hopes that their customers can bless families in need with the extra eggs that hen will provide! In all, we came home with 11 chicks.
It’s been one month since we picked up our chicks from the post office and they seem to grow faster every day! We lost one in the beginning but the rest are thriving! Tobias has a favorite chick and only has eyes for her! So far, he’s completely uninterested in holding any other chicks which leaves all the taming and handling up to me! It’s definitely been difficult at times bringing a toddler and baby to the chicken coop. I can’t always hold the chicks because of a squirmy baby but if nothing else, we will at least have one friendly and tame hen thanks to Tobias’ consistent loyalty to her!
