Baby chicks are here!!
We have been bereft of chickens for almost a year, since the last one was escorted to chicken heaven by one of the dreaded local hawks. Today, that’s all changed.
My phone rang this morning with a call from the Lafayette Post Office (with the caller ID hidden. No transparency there). They told me the birds we had ordered online had arrived and I should hurry on down and get them, so I did.
I think she was a bit scared of the package.
When I told the post office lady about letting the chicks roam free, she asked if that meant we needed real grass, not AstroTurf. The PO only hires the best and the brightest.
That’s a big box for only 6 chicks, but these are big birds–6 weeks old instead of the usual one day old. They cost more but are vastly more likely to survive. We’ll keep them in a coop in the garage for a couple of weeks to imprint it as “home”, then let them wander the yard.
It looks like 4, but there are really 6 in here.
Good looking almost grown birds
There are apple slices in the box so the birds had something to eat. They come priority overnight mail, so they left New Hampshire just yesterday. It has taken me longer to get here on American Airlines.
The coop is outfitted with food and water for them, and a heat lamp. Babies need to be kept very warm; at this age they are mostly self-sufficient but a little extra warmth can’t hurt. I want them happy and healthy.
Already pecking and scratching.
I love having chickens in the yard–it’s one of Gail’s very best ideas. They spend their days circling around and around the house, looking for bugs and seeds and stopping at the door to our office to tap on the window and beg for a handful of corn. We’re going to try harder this time to get some eggs, too, since all of these birds are hens and they are a larger breed than we have had before (which we hope will be less appetizing to the hawks, too).
Oh boy! Baby chicks! Happiness abounds on Teigland Road.
Totally Unauthorized 
Great– there is a guy on the Lafayette Moraga trail, at about .5 mile–who raises chickens. REally raises.
And does eggs for sale $10 per dozen.
He has a chicken that looks like me–guess why?
You should consult with him, and also maybe he can share next time–he has many. We have even rescued some trying to get over the fence.
I picked them up and threw them over the fence.
Sometimes we see “just feathers” out side the fence.
Ditto to the Oh, Boy! They also usually come peek into our bedroom when we “spend.”
I am so excited for you two! Can’t wait to meet them 🙂
Pingback: WORLD ORGANIC NEWS | Baby chicks are here!! | Totally Unauthorized
Looking good – hope they do well for you.