Wednesday, May 26, 2010

I got chicks!

After some loving encouragement from my amazing husband, I brought home new baby girl chicks on Monday. I've been talking about the possibility of raising hens for some time now. (My sister said it's been almost 4 years since I started talking about chickens!) On Saturday night, I decided to start another round of "should I get chickens?" After a lot of thinking out loud by both of us...well, mostly me, my husband said, "You're getting chickens". "Pick out a coop on Craigslist and buy one. If you decide you don't like it, we'll just sell it or give it away. Don't worry." That was it! I decided to take the plunge.

As it turns out, a man in Pacifica builds coops with attached runs. He sells them on Craigslist - one of our favorite places to shop. So after a few emails to the builder, my husband and I are going up to Pacifica (with the trailer) to pick up my coop on Thursday!

After talking with a friend on Sunday night, I decided to check out the Hacienda Hay and Feed store in Carmel Valley. She said they sell chicks and supplies, so I went down there on Monday morning with a plan of "just looking". I had decided the night before that I should only get 3 hens after I installed the coop and this was just a trip to see if there were any chicks for sale at the feed store.

You may be able to guess where this is going, but when I got down there they had a dozen breeds of 2-week-old baby hens. Several breeds were on my "Good" list, meaning that they were likely to suit my purposes. I wanted standard sized hens that would be friendly (or at least not aggressive), beautiful, and at least average at laying eggs. Well, I ended up bringing home not 3 or 4, but 5 chicks! They were too cute to resist. And the owner gave me one for free. These are the breeds I got: Ameraucana, Barred Rock, Brahma, Buff Orpington, and Welsummer. They are lively little girls and I love hanging out with them.

Here they are in the midst of an intense competition to see who can peck directly into the corner of the box :)

4 comments:

Terra said...

I am so excited for you with your new raising hens hobby. The chicks and their breeds sound fabulous, and your brand new coop.
I could imagine raising a few hens in the backyard, so I look forward to enjoying your journey.

michelle said...

Oh my those chicks are cute. I can't wait to see a picture of your coop too. Have fun!

Curbstone Valley Farm said...

Yay! Congratulations Jackie. I'm very envious of your Welsummer, she's beautiful, and will lay the most gorgeous colored eggs. I recognized your Brahma right away. Our hatchery gave us one this spring as a 'bonus' chick, and it's looking a lot like ours will likely be a rooster. I presume the little one has fluffy feet? Did you get a dark brahma? I think five chickens will be much more fun than three. We started with six a few years ago, and added a LOT more this spring, and had to build an extra coop! Can't wait to see your coop. I'll be sure to give a shout out to your new girls on our next 'Fowl Friday' post. Have fun!

Jackie said...

Thanks to everybody for your encouragement regarding the chickens. Not everybody in my circle of family and friends is excited about it...some think it's ridiculous and stinky. Oh well.

Terra, I've been imagining it so long that it's hard to believe that it's actually happening now!

Michelle, I'm leaving to get the coop in a few minutes :) Can't wait!

Clare, you are right about the Brahma, it has fluffy feet and seems to be a bit more reserved than the others. I look forward to future 'Fowl Friday' posts!