Hello there from here! Sorry for the delayed blog for yesterday. We had a bit of a late night and the blog didn't make it to completion. But - back on the wagon!
Today began with plenty of fluffy joy. The chicks have arrived!
So for those of you who have never mail ordered chickens, this is the way they come. Inside, the chicks are tucked in with brown paper and straw substitute. At the bottom of each compartment, there is a giant warmer pack, just like those little hand warmers that you tuck in at cold football games (or used to, when we went to cold football games regularly).
And here the babies are. The post office cannot wait to get rid of them. CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP and on and on....
Aaron said that he was not alone in the post office at 8 am for chick pickup. One of the signs of spring for sure.
That's about 50 chicks in the box. We ordered 49 but this hatchery always tucks in an extra few just in case. The black ones with white dots are Barred Plymouth Rocks. Most folks call them Barred Rocks. The silvery white ones are White Plymouth Rocks. And all the little red and cream ones are the hybrid layers, some incarnation of Rhode Island Red, White Rocks and Leghorns. All - adorable. They are soooo cute. And I've seen lots of chicks by now. For real cute.
We have them tucked into their warm brooder. It's about 98 degrees right now and they seem very cozy.
The red light doesn't make for a great picture, but it does make it look very warm in there. Everybody gets their beak dipped when they come out of the box so that they know how drinking works and know where the water is. They're not eaten yet when they arrive, living on the rest of the egg yolk that they are slowly absorbing through their abdomen. Magic. They are certainly eating now, tiny dinosaurs that they are.
Maybelline is looking bigger everyday. I'm hoping she had her piglets before the super cold weather next week. Sweet girl. The bad news of the day is that something went wrong with Eleanor's pregnancy. We're not sure exactly what went astray, but her piglets were stillborn. We stayed up with her most of the night to no avail. Things are not always rosy out here - as is the way with living things. Bright side, Eleanor is doing fine, eating well and resting. We'll hope for better news next week.
Egg delivery tomorrow. Our hens have doubled their egg production in the past month. Proud of the ladies. If anybody needs extra eggs or has a friend who needs pretty eggs, please let me know - holly@porchswingfarms - and we can get them hooked up.
We're shopping for a sausage stuffing machine and a meat grinder for the new set up this weekend. Jealous?
Have a great weekend and make some deviled eggs for the Superbowl! We recommend mixing Porch Swing pimento cheese with the Porch Swing yolks and a little more mayo for deviled perfection. Just saying. Best - HP
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