Whimsybee
In the Brooder
Being brand new to backyard chicken shepherding, intentionally dove in head first and am absolutely LOVING this new adventure. We started with an incubator and donated eggs from a neighbor. Then, my birthday was coming up and, golly gee, chicken math is REAL. I ordered 5 one day old chicks to arrive at the same time the incubator should be hatching, thinking it would be a low hatch rate our first time, and got 7 one day old chicks (although we lost the Jubilee Orpington) on May 3 (May 1 ship). Then, of course the incubator hatched 8 out of 10 viable eggs on May 7th and 8th, so we now enjoy a flock of 14 chickens.
It’s too early to tell, but I think we may only have two cockerels (including the Golden) and the rest are most likely pullets (well they are all chicks now, but you know what I mean). The Golden is a conundrum - one day I’m convince it’s a she and then the next I’m positive it’s a he. Only time will tell. We had originally named it Lacey, but if it’s a boy he’ll be Lancelot, so in the meantime it’s Lacealot.
Known breeds are 1 Welsummer, 2 Bielefelders, 2 Black Laced Red Wyandottes, 1 Black Laced Golden Wyandotte, and the remaining 8 are TBD, although we did have Easter Egger eggs that hatched. One chick has black legs, jet black feathers and an impressive Mohawk, so I’m watching its skin color to get a clue of its possible dominant genetics. The day olds are one week older than the hatched chicks, but they have all integrated very well. We focused on foraging birds as our intention is to free range and my engineer husband has incredibly predator proofed the coop. The wood may rot and a storm may take out the structure, but the predator proofing will still be standing.
I am a people watcher by interest and a lay counselor by trade and my absolute favorite aspect of chicken keeping is watching them interact, build relationships and engage in their environment. Dust baths are the most enjoyable, joyful, relaxing entertainment available to our family right now. And watching their dynamics of interaction, friendships, tiffs, and personality tells is so satisfying.
We are also new to homesteading, having just moved to the country from the city suburbs, although our past residencies were rural. We have one dog that we are training to interact with the chickens safely and protect the flock (no - she is NEVER alone with the birds). My other hobbies are anything fiber related from spinning yarn to knitting, sewing, weaving, etc. and I’ve been collecting non-electrical equipment for these hobbies for a number of years.
The irony of this whole endeavor is that I worked in the Poultry Science Department of Texas A&M University way back in the early 90’s and totally did not get the fascination with chickens. If my former colleagues could se me know I think they might eat their hats. So funny how life works.
It’s too early to tell, but I think we may only have two cockerels (including the Golden) and the rest are most likely pullets (well they are all chicks now, but you know what I mean). The Golden is a conundrum - one day I’m convince it’s a she and then the next I’m positive it’s a he. Only time will tell. We had originally named it Lacey, but if it’s a boy he’ll be Lancelot, so in the meantime it’s Lacealot.
Known breeds are 1 Welsummer, 2 Bielefelders, 2 Black Laced Red Wyandottes, 1 Black Laced Golden Wyandotte, and the remaining 8 are TBD, although we did have Easter Egger eggs that hatched. One chick has black legs, jet black feathers and an impressive Mohawk, so I’m watching its skin color to get a clue of its possible dominant genetics. The day olds are one week older than the hatched chicks, but they have all integrated very well. We focused on foraging birds as our intention is to free range and my engineer husband has incredibly predator proofed the coop. The wood may rot and a storm may take out the structure, but the predator proofing will still be standing.
I am a people watcher by interest and a lay counselor by trade and my absolute favorite aspect of chicken keeping is watching them interact, build relationships and engage in their environment. Dust baths are the most enjoyable, joyful, relaxing entertainment available to our family right now. And watching their dynamics of interaction, friendships, tiffs, and personality tells is so satisfying.
We are also new to homesteading, having just moved to the country from the city suburbs, although our past residencies were rural. We have one dog that we are training to interact with the chickens safely and protect the flock (no - she is NEVER alone with the birds). My other hobbies are anything fiber related from spinning yarn to knitting, sewing, weaving, etc. and I’ve been collecting non-electrical equipment for these hobbies for a number of years.
The irony of this whole endeavor is that I worked in the Poultry Science Department of Texas A&M University way back in the early 90’s and totally did not get the fascination with chickens. If my former colleagues could se me know I think they might eat their hats. So funny how life works.
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