So the baby chicks, one day old, have finally arrived at the farm! Hurrah!  My friend Joan and I made an early trip to Cackle Hatchery this morning to pick up the order of chicks I had previously reserved. This hatchery is about a 2.5 hour drive from here and we left early from the farm with great enthusiasm.  Joan and I have been friends for 30+ years and would often find ourselves wearing similar attire. So it was no surprise today when Joan arrived and we found ourselves in nearly matching outfits. Off we went to Lebanon, Missouri for a chick trip to pick up the chicks!We arrived at the hatchery in good time and the counter guy went to the back to pick up my order. This fellow opened the box marked ‘Sauerhoff’ and here is what I saw. I fell in love instantly with all of them!My original order was for 3 each (recommended numbers for less pecking) of 4 varieties giving me a reasonable total of 12 hens, right? The hatching dates were pre-set by the hatchery but I was missing out on at least one variety that I would have liked to have had so they told me I could call them early on the hatching morning (yesterday, June 27) to see if they had an “over hatch” which would allow me to possibly get access to a variety that was otherwise sold out on that date. I did this and found I could get 2 of the varieties I was not previously able to get, so my numbers grew! Yikes!

Suddenly I had 18 on order rather than 12! Funny, (I’m not sure Dave is laughing but I have the room to accommodate!) but it turns out they added a couple extras to the order and I arrived home with – surprise – 21 lively chicks!  Yikes!Here they are in their new homemade brooder which consists of a very large plastic bin, shaving and 2 waterers and a feeder. The varieties – all docile egg layers- are great back yard types as follows:

• Buff Orpington
• Barred Rock
• Rhode Island White
• New Hampshire
• Cinnamon Queen
• Easter Egger

Little Coulter  arrived today for a visit!  The infra red lamp makes the photo quality tough and is also a heat concern for his little fingers but he was excited to see them!He was happy to look at the chicks for awhile and then wanted to sit on his favorite tractor! Some things never change! I’m following all of the new chick instructions to a ‘Tee’ and will be updating as things progress. For now, thanks to Joan for the wonderfully fun chick trip today!