Once again, Grandma Sandy has gone and done something she either said she’d never do or certainly never thought she’d ever do.
What might that be?
I’m glad you asked, because Grandma Sandy got.......
....chickens!!!!
And we love them!!!
See?
Now why on earth would Grandma Sandy get chickens?
Well, for one, we have a three stall barn, we don’t have a horse, and we’re not going to get a horse.
which of course totally means that I’ll end up with a horse some day now that I’ve said that
I figure, why have an empty barn just sitting down there? A barn stall can easily be converted into a chicken coop so why not get some chickens? My best friend got chickens last year and she loves, loves, loves her chickens.
truth be known, my bff and I always have to do everything the same way. except she has no children so I had enough for both of us. I’m a true friend, I tell ya.
Speaking of children, how much fun would my kids have, getting to raise some chicks?
And of course, the best reason for having chickens would be.....
Fresh eggs, of course!!
I bought these farm fresh eggs from the local, family-owned, feed store here in our tiny town.
When The Pastor and I stopped by a few weeks ago, I admired the cute little chicks they already had in the store. Last year when I knew we’d be moving to south MS and living in the country, I started researching chickens, different breeds, coops, chicken care etc. I studied my hatchery catalogs and knew the exact kinds of chickens I wanted: Barred Rock, Buff Orpington, and Ameraucana.
Ameraucana lay light blue and green eggs like the ones in the pic above. How cool is that?!?
So when The Pastor and I were at the feed store, I looked over their schedule of chicks that would be arriving.
Check out March 14.
When I saw that they would have all three breeds of the very same chicks I wanted, arriving on the very same day?!?
And it was during our Spring Break?!?
Well, of course now I HAD to get chickens!!!
The kids and I got up bright and early on March 14, made a trip to the feed store and brought home 14 of these 2 day old little cuties.
We had to plan our arrival at the store around the time the chicks would arrive in the mail (from Ideal Poultry). The guy at the feed store had told me that his earlier shipment of 100 Buff Orpingtons sold out in less than a day.
When I heard that, the kids and I planned to get to the feed store and get our chicks before anyone else could snatch ‘em up.
Don’t mess with Grandma Sandy and her chicks!
We got 4 of each breed I wanted plus 2 cute little fluffy yellow ones because Peanut asked and I couldn’t resist.
I didn’t necessarily want 14 chickens but I figured a few might not make it along the way so a few extra birds wouldn’t hurt.
Plus, getting 14 chicks on the 14th just made sense, don’t you think?
I like when numbers work out like that. :)
thank heavens it was the 14th and not the 27th or something like that!
Anyway, to date, we’ve only lost 1 Buff Orpington but don’t worry. We gave her a fine funeral with flowers, notes, and even a headstone.
And while Grandma Sandy wasn’t necessarily counting on the remaining 13 chickens to reach adulthood, thereby resulting in a larger flock than I’d anticipated, I think managing a larger flock may be exponentially easier than planning many more funerals and managing the accompanying grief and mourning.
So, for the past almost 2 weeks, this renovated dog crate down in The Chef’s shop has been their home and they are just the happiest little things you’ve ever seen.
In those pictures, they are 5 days old. You can see they are already getting their feathers in. This was their first time out in the grass and even at only 5 days old, they were scratching around, eating grass, seeds, and bugs.
I have to say it’s been fascinating watching their instincts as they grow and change. God sure knew what he was doing when He created Earth and all that’s on it.
I never thought that chickens would be so much fun to watch, but the kids and I could sit there for hours!
This is a picture I took yesterday.
They are 12 days old, growing very quickly, and about to outgrow their home.
Here’s a little Barred Rock who is checking out my phone while I was taking her picture. They are very curious little creatures!
This is the barn stall that will become their new home in just a few days. A friend from church came over yesterday to help us plan the conversion from stall to coop. The Chef and I had a few ideas, but our church friend is an engineer and has a brain that thinks in a way that mine does not.
It took him about half a second to figure out exactly what we should do, and how many feet, yards, boards, braces, etc. we should need. He and The Chef made a trip to Lowe’s and worked into the evening on the coop and it’s really looking great.
In other Grandma Sandy news, Middle Man and a friend found a turtle in the barn the other afternoon.
Don’t worry. He didn’t actually kiss the turtle but for a minute there, I thought he was going to!
Yesterday, while The Chef and Engineer Friend worked on the coop, the kids swam in the hot tub.
The pool isn’t quite ready to be open for the summer, yet, but the kids were dying to swim, so I finally gave in and told them they could get in the hot tub.
I never would’ve imagined that the water would be warm enough in March but it is!
So, there you have it.
Grandma Sandy got chickens.
And we love them!!
Never in my life would I have ever imagined that one day I’d have chickens and be happy about it.
Kinda makes me wonder what could be next.
A goat?
Maybe?
We’ll see!
