About 5 years ago, I asked my husband what he thought about getting chickens and the answer was "No Way!" Well I had only been thinking about the possibility of getting chickens until he actually said No. Then I had to have them. After a few hours of explaining why it would be such a great idea, I was obsessed with the thought and was sent directly to the feed store just so he wouldn't have to hear it anymore. So 5 of us went down to the feed store to get 4 or 5 chicks.
Then, of course, I saw how utterly adorable the chicks were. And the gentleman at the store explained how delicate day-olds were. If we wanted to end up with 4 or 5 chicks, we better start of with 8. We chose the Red Sex Links because that way you know for sure you are getting females. Then realizing just how delicate chicks can be and with this being our first time, we also got 2 two week old Barred Rocks. (But those were just back-up chickens so they didn't count)
So we got home, explained the math thing and promptly got started on planning a coop, and a run, and getting up to speed on chickens. Well, wouldn't you know it, we were pretty good chicken farmers cuz every one of those chicks just thrived. In fact one of those Red Sex Links kept getting bigger and bigger. Turned out he had an extra chromosome. He was an exceptional rooster for about 2 years and then started getting aggressive around any male visitors so we found him a new home. Of course he was my youngest daughter's favorite so back to the feed store to get a replacement chick, but you can't just get one. They won't even sell you just one. And we were getting plenty of eggs, so I though ornamental chickens would be fun. So two Laced Wyandottes and 2 Polish. Perfect. I knew the Polish didn't count because they were ornamental.
Now I'm so excited for my new chicks coming next week. Two more polish (again, ornamental) and now that I know the silkies are invisible and the bantams don't count, I really haven't gotten any more at all. Phew. That's much easier to explain. The bigger coop might be a harder sell, but we'll get there.
Then, of course, I saw how utterly adorable the chicks were. And the gentleman at the store explained how delicate day-olds were. If we wanted to end up with 4 or 5 chicks, we better start of with 8. We chose the Red Sex Links because that way you know for sure you are getting females. Then realizing just how delicate chicks can be and with this being our first time, we also got 2 two week old Barred Rocks. (But those were just back-up chickens so they didn't count)
So we got home, explained the math thing and promptly got started on planning a coop, and a run, and getting up to speed on chickens. Well, wouldn't you know it, we were pretty good chicken farmers cuz every one of those chicks just thrived. In fact one of those Red Sex Links kept getting bigger and bigger. Turned out he had an extra chromosome. He was an exceptional rooster for about 2 years and then started getting aggressive around any male visitors so we found him a new home. Of course he was my youngest daughter's favorite so back to the feed store to get a replacement chick, but you can't just get one. They won't even sell you just one. And we were getting plenty of eggs, so I though ornamental chickens would be fun. So two Laced Wyandottes and 2 Polish. Perfect. I knew the Polish didn't count because they were ornamental.
Now I'm so excited for my new chicks coming next week. Two more polish (again, ornamental) and now that I know the silkies are invisible and the bantams don't count, I really haven't gotten any more at all. Phew. That's much easier to explain. The bigger coop might be a harder sell, but we'll get there.
now anxious to see how many pullets I get out of all these chicks! Will be keeping one or 2 Roos.
