They’re Here!!!

 

I may be on my summer blog-cation, but I just can’t help but return for a post or two, to share some egg-citing news!

The chicks are here!!!!

I hardly slept at all last night, just like an anxious child waiting up for Christmas morning to arrive.

And it did! Chick-mas morning, that is!

I got the call at 7:15am from the Post Office and I jumped out of bed, ran up to the barn to feed all the critters, put Zuni in her yard for the day, came back down to the house, woke up my twinling Jax to ask him to come along with me to pick up the chicks from the Post Office….and out the door we went!

As soon as I walked into the customer-free Post Office, I could hear my chicks….peeping, cheeping, twittering, and chirping! I was so excited!!!

The Post Office guy that had called me that morning, brought me my chicks and I cut open the ties to have a look and make sure that all the chicks were alive and well, and then out the door I went, and I handed the chicks to Jax. The peeping, cheeping, twittering, and chirping were music to my ears and made the both of us smile all the way back home!

As soon as we arrived at home and I opened the garage door, there was my daughter, Jen, The Chicken Girl, grinning from ear-to-ear, asking if we had the chicks. Well we didn’t have to say a thing. She knew they were here as soon as the van door opened. haha!

Soon after we went inside, I set up a basket to count and sort the chicks and give them their first sip of water to make sure they were all able to drink just fine. I spent some time enjoying all their unique colors and patterns and guessing which breeds were which.

I’m pretty sure which ones are the Speckled Sussex, the Golden Laced Wyandottes, the Blue Wyandottes, the Silver Laced Cochins, and most of the Ameraucana chicks.

As I took each fluffy chick out of the shipping box, dipped their tiny beak into the electrolyte mixture, and placed it into the basket, I counted. Soon I got to 25. The exact number of chicks I ordered.

(Jax grabbed my camera and took this photo of my legs)

But then I looked down and………….

 

There were five more chicks chirping away inside the shipping box!!!

I know that most hatcheries give at least an extra chick or two, often times an exotic breed chick, just as a way to say thank you for your order, but I was pretty surprised to find five extra chicks in my box! And the fun thing about that is I have no idea what breed of chicken these five are. How cool is that?! It’s like extended Chick-mas a few more weeks!

And now The Chicken Girl has to come up with 30 names for all these fluff balls! haha!

 

I’m guessing that this chick (and it’s 4 other matching friends) is the Mystery Breed. It’s quite a bit heavier fluffier and larger than the other chicks in our new flock.

Have any idea what breed it might be?

This one, probably an Ameraucana chick, reminds me of Cleopatra. Sounds like a perfect name, don’t you think?

 

We got the chicks set up in our garage chick brooder (actually just a home-made guinea pig cage I’ve had now for over 6 years) and they seemed very pleased to be able to spread out and have more room to move around inside, than that tiny shipping box they were all packed into.

Jen and I spent all morning gazing at and holding the little fluff balls. I had forgotten how entertaining chicks can be.

They are so funny how at warp speed they go running around and popping up and down, and then all of a sudden……splat, down they go for a nap, out like a light.

This exhausted chick I’m pretty sure is a Blue Wyandotte.

And the funny chick in my header, and the biddy below, are our Silver-laced Cochins. I just love the feathered legs.

 

I volunteer twice a week for the Walkin N Circles Ranch Horse Rescue and had to leave for my afternoon shift today, and I have to say I was very sad to go, and couldn’t wait to get back home to enjoy the little biddies again.

Good thing I already got my garden planted, because I can honestly say that I may not be getting much else accomplished for a while……..

I wish you all could be here to cuddle and enjoy some chickies, but since you can’t, I also took a video to give you all a very special chick fix treat.   

 

 

Now back to my previously scheduled summer-time blog-cation