Tuesday, March 20, 2012

This is the Start of Something New

Well, we FINALLY found the ones we wanted and are officially raising CHICKS! I am so excited! I wanted to invest in this venture since we started having boys and we are in the perfect location for having livestock:) There are a few reasons why we have wanted to start raising these adorable little things...1. FRESH BROWN EGGS. YUMMY. Not to mention how good they are for you. 2. We want our boys growing up the way kids should. 3. I am constantly looking for ways to teach them and show them life, responsibility, etc. I am so excited.
I got the call from "Chick Lady" (as seen in my phone;)) and she said she had the ones I wanted and more to hatch...I swiped three of them, and am still waiting on a few more. Right now we have 2 Silver Laced chicks and are waiting on a few more. As of yesterday we had a Light Brahma, but sadly, that one died this morning. Unfortunately, that is part of this process, and I did prepare myself before...I actually did pretty well. For those of you who know me, know how hard I take loosing animals. They are precious to me. But, if I am really going to do this, I have to let it go. BIG. STEP.FOR.ME;) I am also taking this circumstance as a chance to talk and explain death to Wyatt. Which then leads to heaven, Jesus, salvation, etc. That's huge.:)
Within the week, I will be getting more and I will let you know when more join our "Chick Family". So far, we love doing this, and Wyatt is so excited. He keeps saying, "Mommy, we need to go check on the chicks", "Mommy, we need to hold the chicks", "Do we need to feed the chicks?".....Love him.

Here is a picture of our set-up. I did a lot of research on this. We wanted to do it right, and allow them the best chance of life and egg production. I also have some friends who have done this before so I have a "go-to" if need be.

For those of you who have considered having Chickens for any reason, I STRONGLY suggest it! There are so many benefits!
Here are a few things I learned about Chicks/Chickens that I didn't know:
*Chicks like to be held and given some one on one attention
*They start growing their feathers after about a week
*Cedar wood chips can be toxic
*You don't know the sex of the chick until they are older
*They lay eggs within a few months
*Their first home is called a brooder
I have learned so much already, and will learn more as I go. I will definitely keep you updated! I can't wait to share my first batch of eggs!:) Here are a couple pictures so far...


Have a Great Tuesday! if you haven't joined "What I Ate Wednesday", start tomorrow! It's a lot of fun:)
RL

1 comment:

Mandy Brown said...

Oh man, I'm so JEALOUS!!! We want chickens so bad! Actually, we want a lot of livestock, but we aren't allowed where we live now. We plan to have a homestead one day and this year we are focusing on a garden and learning as much as we can about that. Can't wait to read more about your chicks. They're so cute!