Jay's dream came true! Well, my dream too. And the kids...
I know, I know. It wasn't very nice to go pick up baby chickens and then drive through ChickFilA on the way home... We've been talking about getting chickens for at least a year (and I want guineas too, someday...) and when I tagged Jay in our vet's 'baby chicks for sale' post on Facebook the other day, he couldn't think of a reason why now wasn't a good time, so a few days later we were choosing our babies and bringing home 8 tiny chicks!
It was a surprise to the kids (we literally decided that morning, bought the essentials at lunch, and picked them up while the boys were at soccer practice) and to say they were thrilled is an understatement. They LOVE their babies and have already named some of them (names like Chickaletta - from Paw Patrol, Chester, Chatters, etc... perhaps they'll all have C names?...)
We kicked Maxine out of the sunroom (temporarily, and it's not freezing outside anymore, so she's ok, I promise!) and set the chicks up in Buster's dog crate (as extra protection, in case Maxine gets in or Buster comes barreling through). We added pine shavings and a cardboard wrap (to keep them from sneaking out between the bars while they're still itty-bitty, which we hear won't be too long, and also to keep them warmer), a floor heater and a heat lamp (which we've since lowered after these photos were taken - initial temperature is supposed to be 95 degrees for the first week, then drop by 5 degrees per week), and a feeder and a waterer.
We mostly left the chicks alone the first night (once they were settled in their new home, anyway), but since then the kids (especially Cora) will hold them for 10-15 minutes at a time, as often as we'll let her. Each kid has their favorites (luckily, not the same birds), so Jay and I make sure to cuddle/play with the others so everyone grows up friendly.
Whenever Cora holds this little one, it cheeps and cheeps and cheeps...
Actually, any chick she holds cheeps. And she talks right back to them.
So, what did we get, exactly? The vet wanted us to have a variety of chicken and egg types, for fun, so we got two Bantams (those are the ones with the feathery feet), one Wyandotte, and some Ameraucanas, Olive Eggers, and Easter Eggers. They all have color coded rubberbands on their ankles until we figure out who is who (because we're new at this and my birding skills do not extend to baby poultry).
The Mille Fleur d'Uccle is the most popular variety of Belgian Bearded d'Uccle Bantam. James calls this one Chester, and if it turns out to be a male, we likely won't part with it (though any other roosters will probably be re-homed elsewhere so we don't annoy our neighbors). If it's a hen, she will lay very small white eggs. (Quick note, we have added chickens to our family with 3 goals in mind: reducing the tick and chigger population in our yard when we let them roam free-range, reducing the number of farm-fresh and store bought eggs we need to purchase - we eat a lot of eggs in our family, and simply to enjoy them as pets. Bantams have the reputation of being friendly, so we're looking forward to having some feathered friends out in the coop.)
The Porcelain Dutch Bantam is James' second favorite chick. As long as it turns out to be a hen, it will be our smallest bird (and will lay tiny brown eggs, but not very often). It will grow to have a long tail, and a blueish beak and legs/feet (hidden beneath all those feathers). Both Bantam breeds tend to do better in warmer climates, so they're good Southern birds.
The Silver Laced Wyandotte is described as hardy and active, and a good layer (another brown egg producer). They are supposed to be easy for first-timers (they're docile, but do as well in confinement as they do free-range), so hopefully we can keep this one happy no matter what.
The Ameraucanas are a purebred chicken that lays blue eggs. The mixed breed chickens (the Olive Eggers and Easter Eggers) will lay green, blue, or even pink eggs. We should be able to tell them all apart easily once they're older (and also once we commit to memory which rubberband color belongs to which breed, before we take them off). Cora is currently obsessed with what she calls "her twins", which are identically colored chicks (grey and black) with blue rubberbands (our vet's designation for Amercaucana, since they lay blue - the Olive Eggers and Easter Eggers have green and purple rubberbands). All are prolific egg layers and considered robust, so they're a good starter breed too.
Our vet sent me this picture to help explain what the different breeds will lay:
Olive
Egger eggs are in the front row (olive/brown and speckled), a regular (store bought) brown egg is in the center of the second row, a Mille Fleur d'Uccle egg
is at the far right of the second row (tiny white), Ameraucanas eggs (blue) are on the third and fourth rows, and the rest of the fourth through sixth rows are Easter Egger eggs (blue, greenish, pinkish). (She also has Marans eggs shown here, which are dark red, on the third row back on the left and center.)
For the next month and a half or so, they'll live in the sunroom, safe and warm and growing (it's amazing how quickly they grow!) Before we know it though, they'll need to be outside with lots more space, so we've gotten started on their coop already. We'll be re-purposing our old A-frame swingset (inherited from the previous home owners and which has sat empty for years, ever since the wooden bench swings rotten apart) and a nesting box donated to us by the Martins last year (told ya we've been thinking about this for a long time!) We know we have a lot to learn, and we're grateful to know so many friends that raise chickens (so we can spread our questions around and not annoy any one person too much...), so feel free to shoot us advice as we go along - I'll likely post about the chickens and their coop every couple of weeks as we progress - wish us luck!
