Chicks!!!!

They're here!!!  Well, two of them are:


AREN'T THEY JUST THE CUTEST THINGS EVER?!?!?!?


And we should be getting a third one tomorrow.  And she should be even littler and cuter, if you can imagine such a thing.  I'm going to attempt my first ever FAQ, while flashing oodles of pictures at you.  Okay?  So here goes:


Um...  You got chickens?
Yes, we did.  Yes, we are turning into "those" people.  It's okay, you can laugh at us.  I used to laugh at people who got chickens, too, so I know why you're laughing.  I'm kind of laughing at myself, honestly.  (I used to laugh at people who did homebirths, too, so apparently I'm just turning into more of a hippie with each passing day...  Where will the madness will stop?)

Introducing Ryder to the chicks

Why chickens?
That is a good question.  First of all, the kids wanted a pet.  They really wanted something.  And I like the idea of pets-- teaching responsibility and how to take care of animals and the companionship...  But I also am really busy taking care of four kids all day long and I get grumpy when my house is messy.  So I liked the fact that the chickens (once they're grown) get to stay outside.  WAY less mess for me that way (especially since the backyard is basically Craig's domain).  They're also a relatively easy animal to take care of, once they're all grown.  And then added bonus...  they lay eggs!  So it's a pet that gives back a little.  And I liked that about them.  So we decided to get chickens.  Craig and I also like the idea of learning how take care of ourselves a little.  It's why we'll be planting a garden this year, too.  This felt like a nice way to start dipping our toes in the ocean of self-reliance.

Colton is not so sure about them

 You realize that there's no way you eat enough eggs to make this cost-effective, right?  Yes, we do.  We have no illusions of making or saving money with these hens.  But I hear that chickens that are allowed to roam around outside (safe within their coop) and eat chicken food AND bugs and healthy stuff lay much better eggs: tastier and healthier for eating (more of the good cholesterol, less of the bad-- stuff like that).  And I like the idea of eggs that come from chickens that are allowed to be healthy and treated properly.  Taking proper care of animals makes me happy.

Bentley and Kendra are more excited

But don't you need a rooster for them to lay eggs?
Nope.  You don't.  Chickens lay eggs just because that's what they do.  No males necessary unless you actually want one of those eggs to hatch.  Not to be gross, but it's kind of like how a woman will have her monthly cycle whether there are males in the vicinity or not.  It's just what your bodies does.  And chickens are just really good at laying eggs!

In the box traveling to our home

 What if one of them turns out to be a rooster anyway?
That is the question indeed!  Because a rooster is good for some things-- protecting his flock and taking care of his ladies (a good rooster will bring them bugs and worms and other presents just because he's a gentleman like that) and getting you more adorable baby chicks.  But they're also noisy as all get-out and a good way to have your neighbors file a complaint against you.  In the interest of keeping the peace (literally) we're hoping our chicks are all girls.  But if they aren't, Janna promised to take them back for us.  One of the perks to using an independent breeder.  She's being really great about that, actually.  (More on Janna later.  But for now I'll tell you one thing: that WAS her actual name!)

 

 So you don't know if they're boys or girls yet?
Janna gave it her best guess, but it takes a real expert to tell the gender of baby chicks.  It's called "sexing" them, and even with the experts, it's not an exact science.  So we're just keeping our fingers crossed for now...

 

Is this even legal?
Um...  Not exactly.  We went with Joel Salatin's advice that laws like this are just in case your neighbors complain.  So we told our neighbors our plans and they were okay with it and we promised them free eggs to sweeten the deal.  Fingers crossed.  

Won't chickens be mean and try to peck you?
It's possible.  But some breeds are meaner than others.  We very carefully chose breeds that are especially docile and family friendly.  Just like any animal, each chicken is bound to come with her own personality, but we've at least tried to stack the deck in our favor with these particular breeds.

Why is the spacing getting all weird here?
I don't know.  But this is taking forever to type, so I'm not fixing it.  Sorry.

 

 So what breeds are they?
Glad you asked!  I spent a lot of time researching chicken breeds and weighing the pros and cons of each kind.  It was really fun, actually, getting back to my nerdy college roots.  I even took notes so I could remember it all.  Anyway, Lucy Mack, the yellow one, is a Buff Orpington.  As you can see, they're basically golden balls of fluff.  They're also the only chicken breed I saw that was described as "cuddly."  Sophronia, the brownish one, is a Welsummer.  A Welsummer rooster is what you see on a box of cornflakes, although the females are a bit more boring looking.  What makes them wonderful is that they lay beautiful dark brown eggs.  I love the idea of having colorful eggs and hope some day to collect some other chickens that lay fun eggs-- you can find chickens that lay pink, blue, and even green eggs!  Emma, the one that hasn't arrived yet, will be a Silver Laced Wyandotte.  I didn't really think of chickens as being pretty until I discovered this breed, but then I knew I had to have one.  Emma will be the beauty in our brood!  

 

 

 Uhh...  What's with these names?
You must not be Mormon.  These names are all Smith women from early church history.  Lucy Mack was Joseph Smith, Jr.'s mother.  Sophronia was one of his sisters (and had the funniest name of the Smith women; Don Carlos won the contest for Smith men).  And Emma was his wife.  Lucy and Emma are both names I really like, but given the church history and my own last name, I figured I would never use them (same reason I don't have sons named Joseph or Hyrum, even though I love those names).  So now I finally get to!  One of my favorite things is finally getting to use names that I like but for some reason or another couldn't use for my own kids.  Be prepared for a Jane some day (too boring with the last name of Smith), a Cordelia (Craig always vetoes this one), and if we ever do get a rooster, Dante (Craig says our kids are too white to pull off that one).  The fun never stops!

 

 Why did this all take so long?
I know, right?  I feel like I've been waiting on pins and needles for the last week, in addition to planning for this since Christmas (which was when we told the kids our big plans)!  The biggest problem was this lame Virginia law which states that when you buy chicks, you have to buy at least 6.  I have no idea why this law exists or what they're hoping to accomplish with this, but there you have it.  And heaven help the girl who only wants three chickens.

So we found Janna, our independent breeder.  She was great because she could get us the breeds we wanted, she was willing to take back any roosters, and she could get us the right number.  A winner!  But the downside was that we had to work around her very busy schedule, plus try to coordinate around when the chicks might actually hatch and/or be delivered.  So it's been a big pain.  If we ever do this again, we're going to buy six chicks and then "forget" half of them at the store!

Did you see that they're selling chicken coops at Costco?
Not until it was way too late.  Craig was already knee-deep building our own, so we just gazed longingly at the adorable Costco models and shook our heads.  But honestly, Craig's will be great and I'll get to paint it a beautiful blue with white trim.  And he had tons of fun designing it, so we're not really that bummed.  But it was pretty ironic...

This is my absolute favorite picture

So really, though, how did this happen?
Craig (and probably his whole family, but they're too polite to say) blames me and my hippie Seattle roots.  I certainly wasn't raised to incorporate livestock into my daily life, though, so I don't think it can be this.  And as I said, just a few years ago, I was mocking people who kept chickens in their backyards.  I actually think it's all Craig's fault.  Because, like I've said before, he's just so capable.  Things that sound impossible and scary feel like real possibilities once Craig is in the picture.  At least, I certainly wouldn't blithely talk about moving walls, building playsets, remodeling bathrooms, and, yes, designing and building my own chicken coop!  But with Craig on my team, these things happen!  And he not only does them (and finishes them!), but he does them well.  So why not?

I hear the eggs are supposed to be fabulous.