There’s a lot of buzz right now in the chicken world. As of today we have 28 days to go until Spring (I know, can you believe it?)
If you keep your ear open for chicken chatter on the net, you’ll hear a lot of people talking about starting up their incubators soon, and/or ordering chicks for the new season. Chick nurseries are being pulled out of storage and feeders are being scrubbed and made ready.
It’s a time of high expectation. The babies are coming!
We have an existing flock and don’t have much room for more chickens but I do see a few chicks being added to our mix this summer. I’ve also offered to take on chicks from incubator class lessons knowing that with my local network, I can more than probably find homes for those we can’t keep.
Of course all of this talk about chicks has got my own little chicks talking. Two years ago for her birthday, Addy wanted her very own chick that she could name. She got a lovely Seramus beauty who was promptly dubbed “Princess Tiny.”
Princess, er Prince Tiny
Unfortunately, Princess Tiny turned out to be Prince Tiny and had to be re-homed to a farm with a lot more land than we had. He was tiny but that bird had a set of lungs.
Addy’s next chick came from a batch we had gotten at our local Tractor Supply. Yup, you guessed it, the only chick in the entire batch to die was the one Addy had chosen.
The next year, there was no request for a birthday chick.
Although apparently, Addy still yearns for her very own chick, and now my other daughter, Emma, is getting in on request.
“Pleeeease mom? Can we? Can we?” They ask me whenever the discussion turns to chickens (which is often in our house.)
I have no problem with my daughters having their own chicks to take care of. As long as they realize that caring for a flock is not a Disney story. Chicks are going to die. Grown hens are going to fail. It’s all a fact of life and although, there is joy in caring for others, there can also be the possibility of pain.
“Oh that’s okay, we get it” my girls tell me.
“I’m going to call mine “Simba”” Addy said to Emma as they walked away already making plans for their new pals.
maybe life is a Disney story after all
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I write about the lessons learned while raising children and chickens in New Hampshire. Contact me at [email protected]
Also, join me on Facebook to find out more about the flock (children and chickens) and see some pretty funny chicken jokes, photos of tiny houses, and even a recipe or two.
