24 hours - pix of hot chicks!

So it seems to be the year of the urban/suburban chicken. I normally don't like to raise chicks because *something* always happens to them right about the time they reach maturity and are ready to start laying. This year my ad for grown hens on the feed store wall went unanswered so I resigned myself to getting some chicks and starting from scratch (pun). Well since everybody wants them, they would be gone every time a new batch came in to the feed store, so I broke down and ordered some off the interwebs. I had to wait a month for delivery. sheesh.

So that is why I have baby chicks starting in the middle of May. They arrived yesterday. 15 Barred Rock pullets (females) and my first try with 25 straight run (mixed sexes) assorted breed Banties (kind of dwarf versions of regular chickens). I have no idea what the breeds are but I think they were guaranteed to be at least 5 kinds. Some are Silkies for sure - they have feathers on their legs and feet.

Here they are in the cardboard boxes I set up in the living room for the first few days. They stink (mostly because they are on paper for the first few days - will be switching to grass hay) and will be going to the chicken coop VERY soon.

I hope she is safe and well. :hugs:

Gosh, I miss her... :-(

Did they come through the postal service? There used to be a guy near me who raised turkeys and pheasants. Every year I would go to the post office and they would have one or two boxes sitting there waiting for the guy to pick them up. Lots of cheeping and peeping coming from the boxes.

I was kind of surprised, as I haven't ordered chicks in almost 20 years - figured the others would be doing it now, but nope just the good old socialist USPS.

For identification of the mixed group, try this site:
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKBabyChicks.html

They have a bunch of exotic breeds but are trying to collect pictures of chicks of each breed just for this purpose.

as soon as they got warmed up, food and water they quieted down and the cats have mostly lost interest.

too bad that website doesn't have a page of thumbnail shots to guess at first, but I'm looking - thanks

But between the cats and the foxes that live here, building a chicken run that would be secure enough would be impossible. Not to mention hawks, kites and eagles.

And last week I saw a coyote - he was stalking the fox!

It is hard to believe we are not really out in the country any more but my place is a wildlife refuge for all the beasties that have lost their homes to development.