Okay, I'll admit it...I am a somewhat indecisive person. When DH said I could get chicks, I hurried up and ordered them before he could change his mind! Since there were so many different breeds to choose from (see where I'm going with this?) I thought I would be "smart" and order one of each of the breeds that sounded friendly, docile, easy to handle, bear confinement, etc. Plus, I knew I would love the Silkies and order 4 of those! I went from telling him I would only get 4-6 to actually ordering 16 last May! (Why should I have to pass up the "FREE Meal Maker"?) Oh sure, it took me weeks to read everything I could about chickens, talk to friends who had chickens, design and build a brooder, design a coop (note THAT is NOT built yet!), join this website and others that were chocked full of information, etc. I even chicken sat for a few different friends so I could "get the hang of it." One week, while farm sitting and learning how to milk their three goats, our friends Quail D'Anvers hatched 5 chicks. They asked my DS and I to take the chicks home and put them in my yet unused brooder. They even told us to go ahead and name two of them! DH couldn't believe how little they were and thought they were cute! (This was good so far!) Long story short, we successfully raised these 5 chicks until they were five weeks old and then our friends took three of them back, leaving us with two (Gazpacho and Amelia Egghart, a male and female.) I was teased by all about being the "Chicken Whisperer," because every time the brooder was open, all the chicks would fly onto my arms and shoulders (how Amelia Egghart got her name.)
On August 3rd, I got the call to pick up my new chicks at the Post Office. DS and I were so excited! We got them home, opened the box and they were all crammed to one side trying to keep warm. I carefully lifted them out, dunked their little beaks into the waterer, and set them loose on the other half of my brooder (designed with a divider in the center.) I could immediately identify the 4 Silkies. They were tiny and had the little poofy thing going on their head. Okay, so far, so good. And then it went something like this (in my mind, trying to idenfify breeds and the "FREE Meal Maker")... "Let me take a peek at the black ones... Hmmm... there are a few black ones with white spots on the head... alright, we'll start with the yellow ones... Oh, there are a couple of those that look the same with slightly different colored feet... better start with the brown ones... Wow, look at the speckles on those... this one has an owl face, we can name it "Hoot"... Why are they all starting to look alike... Better go back to the black ones... Aughhh... they all look alike!!! Oh crap, I'll just feed them and keep them healthy and happy and hope I can tell what they are when they grow up!"
And then it starts.... Hmmm... maybe I should have ordered two of each!!!! Cuteness overload!!! I want MORE!!!
Anyway, here is a picture of some of them (you can see my DS and I trying to separate them under the post "They're Here! They're Here! They're Here!):
On August 3rd, I got the call to pick up my new chicks at the Post Office. DS and I were so excited! We got them home, opened the box and they were all crammed to one side trying to keep warm. I carefully lifted them out, dunked their little beaks into the waterer, and set them loose on the other half of my brooder (designed with a divider in the center.) I could immediately identify the 4 Silkies. They were tiny and had the little poofy thing going on their head. Okay, so far, so good. And then it went something like this (in my mind, trying to idenfify breeds and the "FREE Meal Maker")... "Let me take a peek at the black ones... Hmmm... there are a few black ones with white spots on the head... alright, we'll start with the yellow ones... Oh, there are a couple of those that look the same with slightly different colored feet... better start with the brown ones... Wow, look at the speckles on those... this one has an owl face, we can name it "Hoot"... Why are they all starting to look alike... Better go back to the black ones... Aughhh... they all look alike!!! Oh crap, I'll just feed them and keep them healthy and happy and hope I can tell what they are when they grow up!"
And then it starts.... Hmmm... maybe I should have ordered two of each!!!! Cuteness overload!!! I want MORE!!!
Anyway, here is a picture of some of them (you can see my DS and I trying to separate them under the post "They're Here! They're Here! They're Here!):
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