June Homestead Update – Baby Chicks!

2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

We got baby chicks! We’ve had them about one month now and they are seriously the cutest things ever, at least they were when we first got them. They’re going through their awkward teen weeks right now, but our chicks are seriously fun to watch. I have wasted hours staring at them and watching their antics. I’ve learned first hand that many of our sayings come from chickens – and can totally see what all of these sayings mean – I’m talking about sayings like hen pecked etc!

Here’s what our chicks looked like when we picked them up in May. If you follow me on facebook or instagram, you’ve already seen many of these photos as well as more recent pictures too!

June Homestead Update – Baby Chicks!

baby chick order I made our initial order through Farm and Fleet – a local farm supply store. My friend Melanie and I ordered together to meet the minimum order easier because Farm and Fleet required ordering at least 5 birds of each variety we picked. I ordered 18 birds – 5 White Sultans, 8 Black Australorps, and 5 Araucanas {easter eggers}. We noticed right away when we got to the store though, that they had packaged many more than 18 birds in our box and instead of coming home with 18 chicks, we came home with 25 {for the price of 18!}! I sent 7 home with Melanie and kept 18. chick collage My kids are absolutely in love. I didn’t really want 18 chicks, but we decided to roll with it. We lost one on day 3. I’m not sure if it was trampled or what happened to the poor chick, but one of our White Sultans died. After that though, our little flock remained stable.

chicks Many of them have names – like this white Araucana named Fluff McGuff.

white sultan The first time I saw them sleeping like this I thought they were dead! They sleep in the funniest positions, even falling asleep standing up. This is a little White Sultan. They weren’t very white when we first got them, but they are turning pure white now. They will lay white eggs {as long as we didn’t end up with roosters}. The kids are convinced they’re roosters but I just don’t know yet. We do have one rooster – a Black Australorp- his rooster markings showed up last week.

black australorp This is one of the Black Australorps. This might be the rooster even – it’s hard to tell at this age. I posted a picture on facebook and asked what we should name him. Someone suggested Capt. Chris P Chikan which really cracked me up. We’ve been calling him Chris ever since. We chose Black Australorps because they are supposed to be a friendly breed and one of the best egg layers around. They will be jet black when they’re full grown and the pictures I’ve seen of them are simply gorgeous!

Araucana This is an Araucana. I’m pretty sure all the extra chicks we got are Araucanas. We have a lot of them ad they’re turning into really pretty chickens. Their color variations are simply striking. These chickens will lay greenish eggs which is why they are known as the Easter Egger chickens.

If there’s any way you can get chickens, I highly recommend it! They are really the most entertaining animals I’ve ever had and I just love watching them.

Do you have chickens? What kind? What’s your favorite thing about them?

 

About Michelle Marine

Michelle Marine is the author of How to Raise Chickens for Meat, a long-time green-living enthusiast, and rural Iowa mom of four. She empowers families to grow and eat seasonal, local foods; to reduce their ecological footprint; and to come together through impactful travel.

You May Also Like:

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

2 Comments

  1. Your chickens are so cute!!! I want some little chickens to play with. I was worried he was dead in that pic, too, but that is adorable that they just sleep on their heads haha.

  2. We enjoy our chickens so much (except when they come onto the porch and leave us unwanted gifts!). There is nothing like gathering fresh eggs every day. Isn’t it funny how they can be so cute, then awkward looking, and then quite beautiful? Thanks for sharing the pics!