The chicks have arrived!

The post office called at 7:00 AM this morning with a message "they're here!". I rushed right over there at 9:30 to pick them up. We ordered 15 pullets (confirmed females) so it was surprising how much chatter there was in our small post office coming from that small box. By the noise I heard as I opened the door, I thought there must more than one box! But my tiny box (~10x12") of chicks was, in fact, the source of the racket.

I rushed them home and popped them into the brooder box under the warm heat lamp, and there was instant silence. Ahhh!

This being my first chicken-raising experience, will be a day-to-day learning experince. I've been warned by several "don't give them names" but I can see that it will be hard not to. We've already come up with Egburt, Foghorn Leghorn (of course he's a rooster), Ethel, Spot and many others. I can't see myself eating something that I've spend time feeding, watering and caring for. Nope, that's not my thing!

Lee is still contemplating the chicken coop but I think he's decided to convert half of a rarely-used alpaca shed with a new door and chicken run out under our fruit trees. They'll have many fine hours of chicken-scratching and we'll be able to keep an eye on them from the backyard. The only downside to that location is the forest critters will be keeping an eye on them too.

That'll make for an interesting spring and summer I guess, which is "eggs-actly" what look forward to in Indiana!

Liz