Have you ever ordered chicks from a mail-order hatchery? If you have, then you know all about the anticipation. Looking at that date on the calendar and knowing a batch of fuzzbutt cuteness is going to arrive is enough to make your brain tingle, not only from excitement, but also, the realization that you need to be prepared! We ordered chicks back in December, due to arrive the week of January 31st, and have been anxiously awaiting their arrival. We spent yesterday morning getting their quarters prepared, and hoping that perhaps, as happened with our order last July, the babies would arrive on Sunday. Although the hatchery states the delivery will be for the “week of” and tells you that they will normally arrive on Monday or Tuesday, since the chicks are sent by air freight, they will sometimes arrive earlier than that.
Around noon yesterday, we received a call from the main post office up in Flint. The very kind lady there informed us that the chicks had arrived, and while there wasn’t anyone staffing the front lobby window, we could come and pick them up on the loading dock. Whoo hoo!
When we arrived, she took me back into the building where our box of chicks and some others had been kept so that they would remain warm. How thoughtful. 🙂 We have more birds coming in the future, and if they arrive on a Sunday like this, I’ll be bringing her some eggs to thank her for being so thoughtful. She could have just waited for them to go to the local Fenton post office, and we wouldn’t have received them until today – but her concern for the welfare of the birds prompts her to call on a Sunday. I need to get her name so that I can write some accolades to her supervisor.
Driving home with a box of Live Peeps is always entertaining. These little day old birds are not sure of what is going on, why they have a sensation of movement, why they are in that dark box, and aren’t hesitant to vocalize their consternation. I try to peek in and talk softly to them on the ride home, and get them acclimated to my voice, and my fingers. Some of the little tweets seem to enjoy being petted, but then others want to test the puncture resistance of my skin with their beaks, which just makes me laugh.
We arrived home and opened the box on the kitchen table, as it’s easier to account for them all on a flat, stable surface while they remain in the box. This batch of chicks includes Jersey Giants, Black Australorps, and Golden Polish Crested (a.k.a. “Phyllis Diller” birds) breeds. They weigh next to nothing, so it’s just their fuzz and tickle-inducing feet that make you realize you’re actually holding them.
We moved them out to the small brooder house yesterday afternoon, complete with a low-hanging 250 watt heat lamp, and they were checked on several times, along with our existing flock and herd of goats. We even got out of our pajamas after climbing into bed last night, pulled on our outdoor clothes, and went back out to check on them one last time.
This morning, I realized that it was just too darn cold out there, even with the heat lamp. So, after some chaotic (and asthmatic) running around gathering up everything I needed in the barn and coop, they are now set up in the brooder cage in our garage, and will remain there for the next two weeks or so, until they are more feathered out and can endure colder temperatures more ably out in the brooder house. While they will still have a heat lamp for the first few weeks of their life, the difference between being in a building that is 3 degrees F and 32 degrees F (or more) is tremendous, especially for such a little critter. Of course, it also means that I get to spend more time with them, since they are so conveniently located. I’m not complaining about that, you know!
These are all females, and will start laying eggs around June. Well, there is a chance that there is a male in there, because the hatchery gives you a free exotic/rare breed chick with each order, and the last time, we received a Dominique rooster. It’s too difficult to tell which one is the rare/exotic at this point, time will tell!
We’ll be building additional adult housing for the new chicks to move into once they are big enough. We have quite a few construction projects on the agenda for this spring.
Enjoy the videos of the babies. They aren’t great at taking stage directions, but dang if they aren’t just adorable!
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