Pics of Cute Chicks!

Our daughter Brooke first planted the seed about our backyard chickens. She did a lot of research about chickens and placed an order for four chicks of her own a few weeks ago. Then she asked me about helping to build a chicken coop.

Brooke sent me a link to an article on Mother Earth News' website about building a backyard chicken coop. There were links to more articles and in an hour or less I was convinced that having our own chickens was a great idea. My wife Barb was not convinced.

Barb does not like snakes. OK, she hates snakes. She doesn't even like to see pictures of snakes. If she sees one on TV she is likely to change the channel. And since she read or heard that snakes will try to steal your eggs, chickens were out of the question.

I am not really sure what changed her mind. Of course, I promised to make our coop snake proof. That alone was not enough. There was still the possibility of snakes trying to get in the coop. That would not be acceptable.

I believe it was all the cute chick pics we saw as we were researching chicken coops online that changed her mind. The lure of fresh organic eggs was definitely part of the attraction, but there is a really nice organic farm less than three miles from our house. It had to be the cuteness factor.

One day Barb called and added six chicks of our own to Brooke’s order. We went out the very next day and started gathering chick supplies – a heat lamp, feed, grit, etc. They are now living in our closet under the heat lamp. Barb and I both get up several times a night to check on them. They don’t have individual names yet, but we are working on that. For now, they are collectively called “the adorables.”

I don’t have pictures of our chicks, so I am posting some that Brooke took of her four chicks. Here’s another small disclaimer: all ten chicks arrived in the same box, making it a challenge to figure out which chick was which. We think we have it right. If so, these great pictures are of Brooke’s "adorables." She took these pictures – so if you wind up wanting your own chickens after viewing this, I am only partly to blame!

All photos by Brooke Hofsess.

Easter Egger chick

Speckled Sussex chick

Cuckoomaran Chick

Astralorp chick

Mail Order Chicks!

Yesterday we received six adorable baby chicks in the mail... OMG they are so CUTE! We ordered hens, but my wife and our youngest daughter already suspect that one is a rooster. That will make life interesting... not that life with 5 cats and 6 chickens won't be interesting enough already!

Our plan is to put them in a chicken tractor, which is basically a coop on wheels. This will allow us to move them around the yard, giving the chickens a new area to scour for bugs and fresh turf to fertilize every few days. Our chicken tractor is currently in the design phase, which is code for "I haven't built it yet."

There are about 2,000 free chicken coop plans available on the Internet, most of which cost around $20. You can spend a lifetime researching plans to come up with the perfect design. I've researched this to the point where I'm tempted to get a big pile of wood and chicken wire and just wing it.

The end game in our plan is fresh eggs - according to the breeder these will be the best and most nutritious eggs we have ever eaten. Thank goodness we weren't planning to raise them for fryers or my wife's delicious chicken soup. It is only day one and I can already tell you that would never happen.

I sat up with them last night until 1 am, making sure their cage was at just the right temperature (90 degrees). Ok, so I was also bonding with them a little. My wife, Barb, kissed me goodbye this morning and said, "take good care of the babies." And that's what I have been doing all day - clearing the wood shavings from their water dish, checking the thermometer every 20 minutes and making sure they have plenty of food.

The place we bought them from really did their market research when they chose the name for their enterprise... the place is called "My Pet Chicken."

Lucy, you got some disclaimin' to do!

Welcome to my garden path. I hope you will enjoy some of the stories and experiences I will share in the comings days and weeks. For now, please enjoy the following disclaimer:

This blog is about my own experience and is not intended to give advice or recommendations of any kind. I am NOT a doctor or a naturopath. Please consult your health care practicioner before trying any of the herbs or methods that are mentioned in these posts.

This blog will cover a lot of topics including some of my experiences with traditional medicine, with herbs (not THAT kind of experience...) and with reiki. I am learning about organic gardening and hope to share some of what I learn along the way. My wife and I are expecting the arrival of six chicks in the next couple of days, so chicks and chicken coops may be a major theme for a few days.

In short, this will be a winding path, heading off in a different direction with little or no notice. I invite you to take the journey with me. But take my advice with a grain of salt, and at your own risk!

Peace and blessings,

Alan