Our Chicks Have Arrived!

Four out of six of our chicks arrived yesterday. After some last minute house-hunting for them (my original plan completely sunk), they are now officially cuddled up together in our basement.


And they are so cute.

So far, we have two Rhode Island Reds (named Chocolate Chip and Brownie by Ian) and two Leghorns (named Sleepy and Lemony by Lily.) I also ordered two Barred Rocks which aren't coming until mid-April.


Ian and Lily (and especially Lily) are completely enthralled by them. And I must admit that it's hard not to be with all of their fluffy, chirpy cuteness.


We still don't have the coop built for them, but that's on the "do soon" list. But they need to be inside in the brooder for a while anyway.

We were originally going to let the chickens completely free range throughout our yard and the fields, but then I started thinking about how they were going to destroy the mulch in the landscaping that completely surrounds our home. I really have a thing for my landscaping. We've put a lot of time, thought, sweat, and money into it, and it's something I enjoy adding to and changing around every spring. So I didn't want to grow to detest the chickens because they were shredding the mulch.



So, we decided that we're going to give them a large fenced-in area to roam on. It's not the best option, but I think it's the one that's going to work for us at this point in time.


Moving on to other news... Ruby (our Holland Lop rabbit) is scheduled to have her litter within the next few days. Rabbits only have an average of a 31-day gestational period (I know, jealous, right?) Anyway, we moved her into the basement this afternoon so that she can deliver in a warmer environment than the rabbit hutch outside.

To make her delivery more comfortable, Brad and Ian built her a nesting box tonight. Ian did all the work except for cutting the wood, which Brad did. It was a great learning project for Ian. And they had fun having some bonding time!

Here's the finished project...


Well, all of this excitement is making me want to buy a big farm so I can have cows, goats, and sheep. Oh, and a pond would be nice too. You think I'm crazy, don't you?

I know that it is going to be lots of hard work and time (and also stomping through the snow to the chicken coop in the winter. Yuck.), but I'm really looking forward to learning how to become more self-sufficient as a family!