*one day old chicks fly (to Florida)

When I told my dear husband that more chickens would arrive during the time he was in Florida he expected that someone local was going to delivery them. Well, someone was going to deliver them - the postal office.  I wanted to add some interest to our flock so I made an order from Ideal Poultry (www.idealpoultry.com) with an assortment of chickens that were hatched out on February 16th.  The tiny chicks were boxed up just a few hours after hatching and sent on their way.  Our chicks left the hatchery on the 16th and arrived here at EriLyn on the 18th at 8:00AM.  When you order from a hatchery it is best that you contact your postal office and let them know you are expecting chicks so they can call you upon their arrival. The baby chicks do not need to ride around on the delivery truck all day waiting to be hand delivered to you.  

We started with Rhode Island Reds, Black Giants, and Americanas, upon the arrival of the new chicks we added these breeds:  White Giant, Buff Leghorn, Barred Plymouth Rock, Light Brahma, and the Deleware breed.  I ordered several of each of these, so we now have a total of 22 chickens in our flock!

*a dog, cats, chickens and RABBITS, OH MY!

Recently I teased you all with a picture of some ears, so let me explain:  My dear husband has desired to become more self sustaining as far as feeding our family is concerned.  I am excited about what this will mean for our family; our boys and perhaps one day their families as well.  Although there will be more work here than either of our boys have ever experienced when we lived in North Carolina, it will be a simpler more back to the basics kind of life.  The property we bought came with all these cages we have used thus far as well a the feeders for the rabbits - what a blessing that has been!

We started out as you all know with 10 baby chicks which is the humble beginnings to our "farming" foundation.  Just a couple of weeks ago I made contact with a Californian and New Zealand Rabbit breeder.  These are the top breeds for meat production, so after talking with Bill on several occasions, I made an appointment to see and purchase some of his rabbits.  I left with two does and one buck to start with.  We are hoping that we can get one more of his bucks this week.

The rabbits are sweet. They are soft. They are beautiful.  They are a food source. I am totally alright with that.  I do hold the rabbits twice each day and I am sure I will get close to them over time. They will be with us as breeders for several years. We will always have 4 or 6 breeder rabbits and many kits waiting to reach fryer age or perhaps stew age at any given time if things proceed as has been planned. Rabbits can breed 4 times a year, hopefully giving birth to 10 to 12 kits each time.  The kits will be ready for butchering anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks of age. 

FYI:  Just an interesting bit of information you may find curious:  Do not feed rabbits lettuce!  Lettuce will give your rabbits diarrhea and that can be fatal for the critters.  Isn't it funny how all of the cartoons or advertisements show lettuce being fed to rabbits as a great and favorite source of food?  If you do by some chance find your rabbit has diarrhea you can feed him/her some Weeping Willow leaves which will clear this problem right up!

*peep update

Remember just a few days shy of a month ago we added 10 baby chicks to our madness?  They were just a week or so old when we purchased them from the feed store and now we guesstimate that they are about 7 weeks old.  They have gone from being soft puffy little critters to strong and almost fully feathered pullets!

We have had a great time watching them grow and change. The changes are so many that it seems they are changing daily before our eyes. Their pin feathers started coming in just a week or so ago and they are nearly fully feathered now, some of them still have some down on their heads and necks.  My little golden headed fave is almost undetectable among the other two Rhode Island Reds now.

I hope to add a short video soon of my feathered friends enjoying some greens. They love salad..and they love to be hand fed the salad, some will even run and jump to get at it if you hold it high enough. I am so grateful for God's creatures. I am especially grateful for them on a day like today,  they do bring some enjoyment in the midst of taking care of them.   This week Henry and I have to build a portable coop for these ladies!

*no strangers here

This evening when I went out for a walk I took along some carrots just in case I had the opportunity to feed Mr. Sellar's ponies.   The horses were all out on the east side of our property this evening somewhat in the distance. I pursed my lips and made a sound and after several tries got the attention of one pony.  One pony jetted off in my direction as if I had delectable treat just waiting for him.  

As the pony came closer I was not surprised to find that it was Mr. Greedy!   I had taken a large bag of carrots with me because normally all of them come over together.  Mr. Greedy was able to gobble down three large carrots in no time flat!

 No strangers here, at least not with Mr. Greedy! 

*peep peep

I know you all are just scratching to see some recent pictures of our chicks!  So without further ado...

This week our little peeps graduated up to a larger brooder, which they immediately showed great delight with all the added space.  Can you guess which chick is my favorite?  Seems the little RIR with the bright yellow head and neck is in every picture except one, hmmm how did that happen?