Thursday, February 13, 2014

Chicken Update

Thank you to everyone who offered their support earlier this week.

After posting on Tuesday, I once again spoke with the hatchery.  My order of chicks had been misrouted by the USPS.  The hatchery was very kind on the phone, and refunded my money.  After I got off the phone with them, I cried.  26 baby chicks died.  I had split an order with a friend (Jackson and Lexi's mom), and she was as upset and heartbroken as me.

Wednesday evening after work, Les talked me into going with him to the Rural King a few towns over.  They had baby chicks.  He also talked me into purchasing some, as I had everything already set up and ready to go.  So I did.


I came home with 12 baby chicks, of four different breeds.  All are about 3 days old.


Three Buff Orphingtons.

Three Barred Rocks.

Three Rhode Island Reds.

Three Easter Eggers.  Easter Eggers are not a true breed, but a mixed breed chicken that carries the gene to lay blue, green, and pink tinted eggs.

So far, all seem to be doing very well.  They will stay in the house until fully feathered out, approximately 6-8 weeks. Which means I have that much time to build a coop in one of the bays of our barn.  They will all hopefully start laying around June/July/August, and I cannot wait to watch them grow, but love this sweet little fluffy stage they are in.

10 comments:

  1. Are you kidding me? 26 baby chicks died because of our post office? That is so wrong and I hope something can be done about it. Good luck with your new chicks. Love Dolly

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  2. That's so sad. :(

    Congrats on the new babies! I have all those breeds. The buffs are super sweet but can take longer than the others to lay. The easter eggs are really temperamental but lay super well about 2 months after their first egg. They also produce for a really long time; I have one that's nearly 4 and she still layers every day. The barreds and reds are really mean and really bossy, but are fabulous layers.
    DM

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  3. I am so sorry to hear this
    Retro Rover

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  4. Wow. I'm so sorry all that happened. A heartbreaking mistake for the post office to make. The chicks you got are super adorable. I just want to rub their fuzzy little faces! Are the different species just to get different types of eggs? (I know, basically, nothing about chickens...clearly.)

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  5. Barred Rocks are my absolute favorite... even with limited handling they are super docile and friendly. I also really liked the buff orpingtons I had in the past. I'm sorry to hear those babies died, but I am glad it worked out and you got some happy healthy new babies :D

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  6. So sorry to hear about the chicks you ordered. How sad. I'm so glad your husband talked you into getting some more. Love that fluffy stage they are in. We had 2 baby ducks 13 years ago and it was so much fun watching them grow. Only one is alive now and still kicking. :)

    Have fun with your new chicks.

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  7. Ugh, so frustrating. So sorry to hear the story of your original chicks. Way to go U.S. postal service.

    The new chicks are adorable. More photos, please!

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  8. Those chicks are so cute! Wow! I'm sorry about what happened with the first chicks - that's terrible. I hate that you can't track packages well with usps...

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  9. I'm sorry to hear about the baby chicks that died. That's awful. They should consider it an incident and how these animals are shipped, especially when 24 hours in a box is all it takes.

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  10. Oh my gosh, how awful! :( It's not your fault though. These babies you got are just so precious! Can't wait to see how they grow up. The Easter Eggers sound like they are going to lay some pretty eggs.

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Thanks for the howls!!