Henny Penny Here We Come

Billy and I have been talking about adding to the Bruceville population for a while. And we decided we're finally going go get some chickens!  We thought it would be a great experience for Emma to see baby chicks get older and then help us take care of them.  She is also fascinated with eggs.  And I mean anywhere, any kind of eggs... grocery store, refrigerator, dinosaur etc.  Anytime we get eggs she always wants to hold them... she even makes them out of play dough.  She always wants to stir the eggs when we make them. Do you get my drift?  She's obsessed.  (in a good way)

So I had started doing research and also started calling some of our local feed stores to inquire about age of chicks etc.  Sadly, most of them had older chicks (4 weeks old) and by this time they are much bigger and already getting their feathers.  And feed stores usually buy straight runs (a whole bunch of chickens put together and sex of the chicken has not been determined.)  We knew we didn't want any roosters so it was important to know we were getting girls. Might I also add it is amazing how much information there is available about raising chickens.  It really is starting to become very common even in urban areas.  I found a wonderful forum that I use for most of my research:  http://www.backyardchickens.com plus we have some friends who are raising chickens too.  So after reading lots and feeling more prepared, I found a website that would mail you day old/sexed chicks!  www.mypetchicken.com  It's crazy I know... but the happiness these little fuzzies have brought to the girl's faces just in the last two days has been so fun to see!!  So here they are...

Bruceville Flock

 

Starting on the top left is Miss Indiana... she is Leghorn hen and we'll be expecting nice big white eggs from her in about 4-5 months.  I got her specifically because she is the type of breed my grandmother raised in Indiana.  When my Dad was telling me that Grandma use to handle the chickens on the farm, it really made me miss her and wish she could share in this adventure with us. 

 

To the right of Indiana is Ruby.  She (and her twin 'Little Red' bottom left) are Red Star hens and are known to be quite docile and good around children.  They will produce brown eggs. 

 

Then wrapping up our flock is Woody!  Emma choose Woody's name (and approved the others).  Woody is a Barred Rock hen and so far she is showing to be the sweetest of them all.  She has fallen asleep in my hands twice in as many days.  She, like the reds, will produce brown eggs. 

 

I never considered myself a 'bird' person, but these little ones are so sweet I can't help but like them.  I won't be getting too attached in case we're in the need of some chicken meat one day (haha jk, seriously I don't think I could handle that... eggs are enough)!  But its neat to see they totally have personalities too.  They are also giving me a chance to get back into designing something... Billy and I are working on our coop design which we are pretty excited about.  But that's for another blog on another day.