Welcoming Spring with Chicks

Tags

animals, backyard chickens, chickens, chicks, family, garden, gardening, new york, pets, season, spring, springtime

A few years ago, when I was living in metro Phoenix, if you told me I’d be living in upstate New York on acres of land with a brood of chickens running around one day, I would have probably just laughed in your face. No… I definitely would have laughed in your face. 

When we bought this house, my husband did mention that he wanted chickens, but I was really not into the idea.

Then, last weekend we took the family to a tractor supply store.  We were shopping for chainsaws, which he’ll need to clear away the tree damage once the snow melts. But what did we find?

Chicks.

My husband’s dream to have a family farm and my tender-hearted-animal-advocation collided.  We both suddenly wanted to bring some chicks home with us and our youngest son was already thinking of names for them.

So we returned home with 6 chirping chicks, all that we need to care for them, and no chainsaw. Life doesn’t always go according to plan. LOL

My hubs is one step closer to getting his full-fledged farm and I am resting more peacefully knowing that at least these chicks will have a free-range happy life.  Win – Win!

Meet the Chicks

These two are Rhode Island Reds.   We are unsure of the sexes, but after a little snooping on the interwebs, I’m inclined to think the one in the front here — my son named him/her DANNY — may turn out to be a Rooster.

Danny’s sporting some noticably thicker legs than the others and no dark stripe on the back of his head. (That can be an indicator for Rhode Island Reds, I guess.)

The one on the left (above) is LITTLE JERRY SEINFELD. The only one my husband took the liberty of naming. 😉

The rest are pullets.  We are enjoying watching their feathers grow in and trying to guess which type of chicken they are.

HAPPY did’t like the idea of being seperated from her flock for a photo.

My 7 yr old son has changed this one’s name a few times, but we’ll call her COWBOY TWEETY — the original name he gave her.

She’s about a week older than the others.

ROADRUNNER

With these names you can tell that my youngest son has obviously been influenced by the Looney Tunes Dash game.

I like the name ROADRUNNER because it reminds me of home. 😉

ATREYU was named by my oldest son, a fan of the Neverending Story.

We have never cared for chicks or mature chickens, so this should be a fun learning experience for all of us. But, we are very excited to welcome these little chickies into our family!

Do you have chickens? If so, I’d love to hear any advice you have for us.