Saturday, 150 chicks hatched and were shipped to the farm. Today they are here and getting settled in. Uncle Dave took the day to get them all comfortable and make sure they are healthy. One died earlier in the day. He says it is normal to lose a couple in a group this size.
He got White Rock and Red Star chicks. There are a half dozen others that Uncle Dave got for someone else, and 1 black one that the hatchery sent as a freebie "exotic". The exotics usually end up being picked on by all the others. 
They are just the cutest things you ever saw. In a couple of days they will be ugly -- with some feathers and some fuzz. I'll take more photos as time goes by.
They are amazingly noisy for such little critters. They were peeping and running around on the newspaper making scratching and stomping noise. When they get tired they just fall over and pass out -- oblivious to the fact that they are being stepped on by the others (see the top photo, right side).
Their beaks may look strange if you look closely. They have had their top beak seared off after they hatched -- otherwise they start pecking each other to death. It looks painful to me, but I guess being pecked at isn't much fun either.Uncle Dave and I also discussed plans for the garden this year. I got my seed shipment already and need to get a few things started soon. I can't wait to get my hands dirty!
So, what does everybody else have planned for this year? Even if you are only planting flowers or one tomato plant, I'd love to hear about it! Leave me comments...
3 comments:
Those are SO cute!!! I want some too! I really hope to have chickens when we are in Mali. Do you guys harvest the eggs?
So I just picked up an early girl tomato plant, some lettace, a summer squash, some strawberries, chives, and a bunch of different herbs, some of which I have never tried before. So I am exicted. I also planted seeds for more lettace and tomatos and onions. And picked up seeds for carrots today. I just remember I forgot I was going to do potatos too. Do you have any experience with those?Looks like I will be busy in the next couple days getting it all in the ground.
I don't harvest the eggs, but Uncle Dave does and we can have fresh eggs whenever we want. He is going to have me tend to the chickens a bit this summer though and gather the eggs (I mentioned I wanted to learn more about it). I think it would be a good idea to have chickens in Mali. Remember that tiny Thanksgiving chicken our neighbors gave to us? LOL. Fun memories.
Mmmm... strawberries! They grow some here on the farm but I am not planting any myself. I'm going to buy some and make jam this year. I don't have experience with potatoes, but I was gonna try them too. I'm just going to look up some info on-line I guess.
Keep me updated on how your garden is doing.
We just got our chicks too (more in my blog). They are two weeks old and look more like ugly-duckling teenagers at the moment. lol.
FYI - I am giving away something special on today's blog. You don't have to do anything to enter except leave a comment. Love, Hot Belly Mama
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