Chicks, Where Do They Come From

No, this is not a post about the birds and bees.  Spring is well on the way and may of us chicken folk already have chicks.  But chickens breed and lay all year round.  So you can get chicks almost anytime.

I've gotten chicks from the local Tractor Supply Store, from several different hatcheries and of course I've hatch eggs bought online and from my own hens.

Hatching is a lot of fun and well worth the time.  For the cost of an inexpensive $40 foam incubator you can experience the joy of seeing a baby chick peck it's way out of its shell.  The also peep inside the shell which is said to signal the other chicks it's time to hatch.  And maybe to let mom know they are on the way.


This morning I decided to do the last way to get chicks.  Let a chicken hatch them.  If you've had a hen go broody, you know how hard it is to get her to stop.  Well one of my better layers has gone broody and for the past 2 weeks hasn't laid any eggs and I can't get her to stop setting.

So I gave in.  I grabbed a few just laid eggs and slid them under her.  I moved the other nest box to the other side of the coop to keep her from switching nests when the other hens lay and set my calendar for 21 days.  It will be fun to see her with chicks in tow.

Spring Planting

I managed to get a few things planted before the rain the other day and good thing to.  While the daily rain and gray skies don't do much for me personally, the garden loves it to get new things started.

So far I've planted the following;

Cucumbers - for pickles

Leeks

Onions

Tomatoes - 5 different kinds (all Heirlooms)

Radishes

Lettuce (Romain, Boston, Red leaf and Butter Crunch)

Kale


Bell Peppers (red, orange and green)
Yukon Gold Potatoes

Squash - Spaghetti, Acorn, Butternut and Scalloped

Carrots - the short variety because my bed isn't very deep.

Herbs: (Parsley, Lemon Verbena, Basil, Rosemary - to replace the one that dies), Stevia and Dill).

I still have green beens and marigolds to plant.  And I also have a few garlic plants that lived through the winter,  There's also Orengano and Thyme in the herb bed that made it through winter.

I'm still waiting for the asparagus bed to produce something worth eating.  This is year three and I was hoping for more sprouts but only got a few and I'm letting them grow out.  Hopefully next year there will be some for eating.

It looks like a long list but I don't plant very many of each and I do companion planting in raised beds so I can crowd my plants a bit.  With chickens, quail and now goats I have lots of manure and compost to add to my beds. I do fall composting directly in my plant beds so by spring the soil is full of nutrients and ready for more plants.  I hate turning the compost. Look for my next post "The lazy composter".

I plant the marigolds in every bed to help keep the pests away.  They don't like the smell, neither do I but they are pretty little flowers and the color in nice in the mostly green beds.

That leaves me with one 4 x 10 ft bed with nothing in it.  I'm sure I'll find something,  You can always use more Tomatoes if nothing else comes to mind.

If you haven't started your garden yet, or if you are just thinking about starting one, Now is a great time.  Big or small, one favorite veg or a bunch of different things like me.  Dig a hole, plant something.

Leave me comments if you have ideas on what to put in my last bed.


Next is the flower beds and the containers on the desk.  Flowers? Vegetables? Herbs?  Or maybe a mixture of all.

Get Chick Smart - Teaching another Chicken 101 class

I was lucky enough to be asked to teach another Chicken 101 class at Kentucky Horse Supply in Middletown, KY. 

Met some great people at the last event and looking forward to doing it again on May 16th.  Visit their Facebook page and hope to see you there.

https://www.facebook.com/kentuckyhorsesupply/

Chickens for Beginners

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to lead a discussion about raising chickens to a group of new chicken owners.  The nice people at Kentucky Horse Supply were kind enough to let me take over their class. 


For more information about Kentucky Horse Supply go to http://www.kentuckyhorsesupply.biz/


It was a great way to meet other people interested in raising chickens and I hope I gave the attendees some valuable information.  I know I learned a few things.

Kentucky Horse Supply gets pullets in every spring and hold several of these learning events.  If you get a chance to attend it's well worth it and perhaps I will see you there.



Hatching is it worth the trouble?

There is nothing more exciting than seeing that first chick pip through the shell and start its new life.  A couple of months ago I decided to add a few more Crested Crème Legbars to my backyard flock.  They are one of my favorite breeds. 

Wonderful blue eggs.



and funny little tuffs of feathers on the hen's head like a fancy ladies bonnet.

So I ordered 24 eggs from eBay, picked a very reputable seller and fired up my incubator. 

I usually have pretty good results with my incubator even thought it's a low end foam model from TSC. 

The seller was nice enough to send me plenty of extra eggs and only a few were broken when the box arrived.

Day 21 came and while I was excited to see the first few chicks break out of their shells, I was disappointed that only 5 hatched.

I've had 90% hatch rates in the past and my incubator stayed on temp and I was careful about my humidity so I was hoping for better than 5 out of 30.  But the chicks are doing well and another wonderful thing about Crested Crème Legbars is that you can tell the boys from the girls when they hatch.  The markings are different.  4 girls and 1 boy.  The perfect breeding flock.

This week I'm trying it again with my second favorite breed French Black Copper Marans.  14 in the incubator hoping for 10 or more.  Another few days and I will know.

High hatch rates or low, sometimes you do everything right and it works out great, sometimes not so great. 


But there's nothing greater than hearing that chick peeping inside the shell and knowing in a few hours you will have a new life to take care of.

It's well worth doing even with the disappointments. 

Chick Days

Chicks Chicks everywhere.  I've overdone it again this year ordering too many chicks.  So far I have the following chicks;

• 25 Cornish Rock
• 25 Mixed Brown Egg Layers
• 10 Cuckoo Marans pullets
• 10 Araucanas pullets
• 6 Speckled Susex pullets
• 32 Cream Legbar eggs in the incubator.

Add that to the 8 Red Stars, Creeam Legbar hen, Cream Legbar Rooster, Black Copper Marans hen, 2 Royal Palm turkeys and 3 White Midget turkeys.

Yes I realize it's a bit over board. But they are almost all pullets and they are easy to give away.