"Honey, Let's get some chickens"

Why blog now?

I guess to document the trials and tribulations and, hopefully, joys of my new hobby .....Backyard Chickens.

Why chickens?

Well...good question.

• I like eggs (but not every day... or even every weekend, but I have a lot of great co-workers and some great neighbors who don't have chickens)
• I like chicken (although I'm not sure I want to eat my own - yeech!)
• I live on a farm
• I have a lot of bugs... esp ticks and spiders, both of which appear to be good chicken snacks
• They're smaller than horses (I already have three of those)
• Shelties like to herd and you can start them on birds or so I have heard (not sure I'll try it, though)

After poking around book stores (both virtual and physical), supply stores (think Tractor Supply, Southern States, etc) and the chicken web sites for 6 months or so, reading a few books (very few, by my standards), and discussing it with my husband.... I finally talked my husband into the idea,  and we jumped the cliff a couple weeks ago and purchased five chicks from a local breeder.

I went in with the intention of bringing home 3 Buff Orpingtons & 3 Copper Marans.

Why these breeds?

The Buff Orpingtons are just plain pretty ...and seem to have reputation as a nice docile, friendly bird of good size.           
Let's hope mine turns out a pretty as this, although I'd prefer a hen:


The Black Copper Marans ...well let's just say I was just seduced by the idea of dark chocolatey eggs and, when I saw the rooster in person, how handsome he was.

    The handsome rooster is posted on his owner's site - http://rhfarm.angelfire.com/poultry.html  (scroll down near the bottom) 

And they were available close by - convenience is so nice!

Notice I mentioned my intention to purchase two breeds?
In the world of chickens there are so many choices and I was a sucker for a pretty feather. So..... I came home with the following:

1 Bantam Buff Cochin
1 Bantam Barred Buff Cochin (alas, I didn't get to know him well...more below)
1 Blue-laced Red Wyandotte
         and ... finally sticking to the plan  -
1 Black Copper Marans
1 Buff Orpington

So much for plans and intentions !

There were so many pretty breeds... I guess chickens are like popcorn - once you start, you can't stop after a couple.

So we left the chicken farm (aka Running Horse Farm) with our little chickies peeping in a mail box.

Did I mention the best time to visit a chicken farmyard? It's on a wet rainy Sunday on a hot, humid summer day....you will never be able to say you didn't know what you were getting into!

Despite months of thinking about, we hadn't made a brooder or anything. But did I mention we live on a farm..and we have horses?

After a stop at the local Southern States for chicken supplies, we had a plan....

We would put the spare water trough to use - luckily I had just scrubbed it out the week prior, after we had used it when separating my gelding from the girls while he was feeling frisky and one of the girls was in the mood.

After moving this to the garage, we layered the bottom with an empty feed bag and pine shavings, added the newly acquired waterer and feeder (plastic mason-jar style), opened the box and the chicks were home. They got right into the water and feed. We covered the top with some mesh deer fencing weighted down with strips of wood through the openings and watched the chicks settle in. After a while we decided to add the little post box for them to huddle in if they wanted more shelter.

Chicken Adventure, Day 1, ends....