Thursday March 15, 2007
Finally Ordered Chicks

It's been very warm here and even my old Rhode Island Reds and Buff Orpingtons are back to laying eggs. I had six on the counter and a full dozen in the fridge this evening and I plan on having eggs for breakfast. (Yummmmmmmm....)

But even a burst of laying as we approach the Equinox doesn't fool me. I know the old girls won't keep this up, so I called a hatchery and ordered 25 Red Leghorns, plus a free 'Mystery Chick.' The chicks will arrive Sunday or Monday, so today was moving day for the old birds. They're all out in our soon to be corn bed, tucked into two mobile henhouses. They huddled together on the ground again tonight and we had to gently pick them up and tuck them into the hutches so they learn to roost in them.

In the long run the chickens will all be in a new yard, fenced with chain link and with buried chicken wire surrounding their new run and over the top to keep out predators. I hope it will be a dog-proof bobcat-proof coon-proof space where the old girls can enjoy their dotage and show the new chicks how it's all done.

Tomorrow I'll clean out the old henhouse, vacuum it and prep it for the brooder. In the past we kept the chicks in our garage, which is messy and meant we had to deal with poopy newspaper twice a day. This time we're going to take the bottom off the brooder and layer the space underneath with straw and shavings, meaning the poops will be scooped out with bedding every couple days and go direct to the compost pile or onto our corn, garlic or potato beds. Much simpler.