Chicks Rule

And they are loud too. We received our 75 chicks this morning and they cheep nonstop! Actually there are 76. We ordered 75 from McMurray Hatchery & they throw in an extra rare breed if you want. Unfortunately, at this point, we can only guess which is the oddball. Our 75 were mixed sets, so there are several breeds as it is. Hopefully when they get a bit older, we’ll be able to tell. There are 50 girls & 25 boys (again, we don’t know about the oddball). The girls will grow up to be our laying hens. We will keep about 5-10 of the roosters, but the rest of the boys will become dinner. We figure that this will be a good way to find the nicest roosters & weed out the meaner ones. Though it is hard to look at those little puff balls and imagine that any of them could grow up to be mean, nasty roosters.

So, we got a call from the post office at 7am to let us know they were here. We threw on some street clothes and drove into town to get them. As soon as we opened the door at the post office, we could hear them. The postal employee said that he had been enjoying their company.

Their home is currently in the basement so that we can better regulate their temperature. But, it’s sort of like living in an aviary at the zoo. Even in the basement, you can hear them everywhere. They are adjusting well to their new home. We unloaded them from their box & put them in a livestock trough on plain paper (packing paper comes in handy!!) until they get their bearings. We sprinkled their food out on the paper (again, until they get used to it) and they got busy eating. Caleb feels it is his job to fish them out of the water when they get in, but it seems that is a never-ending job. You’d think they were ducks. I don’t know about you, but it doesn’t seem very appetizing to me to sit in the water that I drink. Well, to each his own, I guess.

We’ll lay down their wood shaving bedding & put food in their little feeders in a while. I also think I may go get a hotter light bulb for the heat lamp, as they seem to be huddling a lot. I don’t want them to get too cold. It’s a lot of responsibility to be a mom for 76 little ones.