My Little Chickadee

We ate the last of our old non-laying stewing hens last spring. We recently had someone else's chickens on the property, but they were moved out last weekend. Who's gonna turn the compost pile? Who do I feed the icky bugs to that I find in the garden? Who's gonna eat the stale cereal and the leftovers we no longer want? And more importantly, how much longer are we going to be able to stand these anemic, tasteless, store-bought eggs?

I'm bemoaning these things to Hubby and what does he do?

Gets me a little cheeping box, and inside - four chicks! I carefully checked them over for pasty butt or splay leg or other defects. They look healthy. And so cute! I got a Rhode Island Red, a Buff Orpington, an Isa Brown Sex Link, and a Plymouth Barred Rock. All standard-sized breeds with good egg-laying/meat crossover.

My brooder this time is a smallish-but-deep plastic bin - maybe 20 gallon? I put straw in the bottom, got out the heat lamp, washed up the chick feeder and waterer, and we're in business!

I'm glad we got four distinctly different types. My very first flock was eight Plymouth Barred Rocks. They were awesome. I got eight because I really wanted six and all my research told me there would be  a certain percentage of loss. Not necessarily so. I couldn't tell them apart, so I called them The Collective from Star Trek. I loved that flock. They layed and foraged well. But when they got older - 3 and 4 years old - the eggs dwindled sharply and I couldn't tell who was and wasn't laying. I began butchering 1 or 2 per weekend and started over - with different breeds! One of my favorites was an Easter Egger (Americauna). I couldn't get over those green eggshells.

So, for the next four or five weeks, we're brooding. I'll have to rig up a screen for the top of the bin for when they begin trying out their wings, but for now, chick starter, water, warmth is all they really need.

I've decided to name them from the old Mae West, W.C. Fields movie, My Little Chickadee. The Buff is Flower Belle, the Isa Brown is Aunt Lou, the Rhode Island Red is Twillie, and the Barred Rock is Badger.

True approves.