Um, sure? I had no idea what chickens were like as pets, and I have to admit their beady little eyes always told me to stay outside of their little chicken bubbles. But I was up for some fun, and let's face it, did I really have a choice once E and IZ saw them?
They have since relocated to NH, and we were left chicken-less for the winter. But...what's this????????????
is that Spring I see?
yes, Spring has finally Sprung in upstate NY, although crisp cool weather has reminded us all to keep winter jackets at hand. But with Spring finally here, the excitement in our house has escalated with the promise I made to Isaac when we had to say goodbye to our "foster chicks."
"Don't be sad. As soon as Spring comes, we'll go get two new birds, k?"
Oh, how he remembers!
I familiarized myself with the different breeds of birds, and came to the conclusion that ironically, the ones we had last time (Barred Rock) were about the best "pet" chickens out there. They are great layers (6 eggs a week per bird), are gentle with children, are non-broody, and are hardy for cold winters.
yes, Spring has finally Sprung in upstate NY, although crisp cool weather has reminded us all to keep winter jackets at hand. But with Spring finally here, the excitement in our house has escalated with the promise I made to Isaac when we had to say goodbye to our "foster chicks."
"Don't be sad. As soon as Spring comes, we'll go get two new birds, k?"
Oh, how he remembers!
I familiarized myself with the different breeds of birds, and came to the conclusion that ironically, the ones we had last time (Barred Rock) were about the best "pet" chickens out there. They are great layers (6 eggs a week per bird), are gentle with children, are non-broody, and are hardy for cold winters.
Check. Check. Check. and Check.
We headed to Nature Berry Farm in Macedon, where we met up with Farmer Jim and his birds. We swung by to see the turkeys (definitely not interested in these as pets) and took a look at the roosters (heck no) and finally made our way to the chick nursery.
Brown, black, yellow birds, and ohhh soo cute. I asked Farmer Jim which of the breeds were his favorite, and he said Barred Rocks. It was meant to be! ;)
Eliza just about died when she saw the chicks. Remember Lenny from "Of Mice and Men"? Yeah, we remembered as well, because Eliza was nearly pulling a Lenny with the poor chicks!
Do you see it's head? Yeah, me neither.
she was not happy when we put the traumatized bird back in with its buddies
Isaac was a pro. And super gentle as well.
we got a quick picture of Farmer Jim, and headed home with two chicks, costing the whopping total of $7. This is definitely my type of pet.
This was when it got cute. Meet Sweet Dee and Ham (names courtesy of Isaac) 
awww.
"chirp!" translation: help!
"chirp chirp!" translation: umph!
"chirrrrrrrrrp!" translation: "AAAAAaaaaaagggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
Unfortunately we won't reap the benefits of delicious brown speckled eggs until the fall, so for now we are enjoying the baby birds, and the visitors that are stopping over to play with them. It is so cute to watch!
"chirp! chirp! chirp!" translation: "Get me out of this thing!"
If the birds make it to their 4th week, it will have been a miracle. In the meantime, Eliza has a new buddy.
It's a chirping duck that she thinks is pretty fabulous. Little does she know that we are only protecting the chicks from the Lenny grasp.
*small disclaimer for when I come back to read this post someday: Eliza is actually remarkably gentle with Sweet Dee and Ham. I don't think they'd follow her every footstep outside if they thought differently. :)
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