Spring has hatched

The chicks have arrived!! The lady that called from the post office early this morning sounded a bit surprised at my excitement upon hearing that my chicks had arrived and were ready to pick up. I promptly called my parents and left them hurried messages to PLEASE dash to the post and bring my new babies home, then rushed through the work day, eager to go get the kids and see the chicks.

Much to my surprise, and delight, all 12 of the little chicks arrived alive and peeping, and quickly took to the water dish. It wasn’t long before they found their way to the feed as well.

This was the first time I’ve ever held a chick- I still can’t believe how soft and tiny they are. It was so fun sharing this 1st with the girls, experiencing the same curiosity as they were feeling.
So, we now have 3 females each of Buff Orpington (since they are yellow we easily spot these), silver laced Wyandotte, Dominiques, and Barred Rocks. As these 3 breeds are all black and white, I have no idea how to determine which fuzzballs are which…. Guess we will have to wait and see. The kids wanted to start naming them already with the names we’ve chosen from our favorite Harry Potter characters, but I told them we need to wait a bit and see which chicks make it. Maybe that was mean, but I feel like they shouldn’t be surprised to find a few less chicks in the brooder over the next week or two…
In the meantime, we will keep hammering away at the “barn” my husband is building where their little coop began. He argues that he just knows me better than I realize and that there is no way I will be satisfied with a tiny coop and 3 hens…
It’s been a busy week or so around here- we got the garden planted finally, and helped out with shearing at my mom’s alpaca farm. That was a very interesting process, which I will try to post some pics of soon.
For now, keep your fingers crossed and wish us luck with these little chicks!

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