We live in the middle of a higher density suburban neighborhood so chickens may seem like a crazy idea, but with a good chicken house and run I am feeling very positive about the whole adventure.
Now I could probably go on for at least three pages trying to explain why it is becoming important to me to eat food that A. I know where it's coming from B. I know that it hasn't been genetically tampered with and C. has some level of humane treatment for the animals, but I'll just say that it is and so I thought in my one small step towards that we would get chickens, feed them organic GMO free food and then at least one of our protein sources I can feel really good about. And the chickens are so much fun to watch!!
So anyways, I set out on my chicken research, consulted my wise sister who has her hobby farm, went to www.backyardchickens.com which has a vast store of knowledge all things chicken, went to a Chicken 101 class at Murdoch's the local feed store, and finally on March 4 we got chickens!!
We planned to get four of them because we really have a small back yard, but somehow came home with five. If you've ever seen a chick in your life I am sure you can imagine how easy it is to get a few extras. They are seriously the cutest things. Here's the first week they were home
We got an Aracuana (they lay turquoise colored eggs and have very interesting facial feathers) , a Buff Orpington (she is the buff colored one of the bunch and is probably going to be the biggest in our flock), a Barred Rock (she is our high flier who loves to climb up and sit on your shoulder), and two Partridge Rocks. My verdict is still out on the partridge rocks. One is really sweet and is my favorite of the whole flock and the other goes crazy if you try to hold her. They are smaller and slower to develop then the rest so I don't know how they will end up.
They lived in a rubbermaid for a couple weeks until they outgrew that and now they live in a dog crate with the sides enclosed to help with drafts. They eat chick feed almost exclusively though I've started giving them chick grit and half a hard boiled egg every day. I've tried to give them little bits of lettuce and strawberry tops and they just aren't interested in them yet but they LOVE eggs. It seemed wierd to me to feed a chick an eg but I have read and heard that its been done for ages and the extra protein is great for them as they grow their feathers. So they are growing and squawking and pooping and pecking and foraging and in general are just cute and fun creatures. Soon we will put them in their newly built chicken coop, but I will save the coop adventure for another post. In the meantime I will leave you with my four week old, somewhat silly looking, chicks roosting for the night.
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