These are our first chicks. We picked them up from a breeder in Rutledge, GA. We had 3 Buff Orpingtons, 1 Cuckoo Maran, 1 White Silkie and 1 Blue Silkie and a Buff Laced Polish we all loved named Cheddar. They were all 1 week old when we got them except Cheddar who was just hatched. I drove an hour and a half to find 2 White Leghorns (supposedly pullets) and a Frizzle named Nacho Cheese (my son likes cheese names apparently). The Frizzle didn't make it to bedtime and the Polish was smothered at about 2 weeks old while we were at church. The other chickens had just had a growth spurt and were suddenly much bigger. One of the Buffs had a foot injury around 3 weeks old and didn't make it. The surviving 7 have thrived and grown so much.



We started building the coop soon after. It is still a work in progress but at 8-9 weeks old, they have been outside for a month now and loving it. We still need to close in the covered run portion so we have to let them out in the morning. We were letting them free range, but now they are fenced in because they were getting a little too adventurous.



I named my White Leghorns, Lilly and Snow. This isn't a great picture. Lilly wasn't cooperating. At 9 weeks old, Lilly is now sporting a pretty red comb and wattle so we started the search for a masculine name. We are going with Lancelot. Looks like I'll have to wait until next spring to hopefully get another hen. Lightning, one of our Buff Orpington's now has pointed hackle feathers. Nobody is crowing yet, but it's just a matter of time.

Everyone is roosting in the coop like a pro, even the Silkies which I had read usually don't.



There were 2 more breeds we wanted that we hadn't found and of course we all loved the little polish, so we decided to order from Cackle Nursery online. We only plan to keep 5 as our coop is only built for 12. We ordered 5 Easter Eggers, 5 New Hampshires, and 5 Buff Laced Polish. We received 2 extras. Now we have to decide who to keep. They are 10 days old and so cute.

We are really enjoying this adventure in chicken raising. I've learned so much the last few months. I love watching them in the yard. It's like a little soap opera. They are so funny and endearing.