So, finally. The day has come and I have received my first batch of chickens. I purchased an assortment of 10 brown layers. They are all mixed. I am beginning to id the breeds.
Day one with the chickens started at 6:00 am. I was sleeping and had taken the day off from work so that I could pick up the chickens when the Post Office called. I also wanted to make sure to be home all day so that I could monitor their temperatures and health.
Phone rings, I wake up and look to see who could be calling at such an obscene time in the morning. Oh, yeah, chickens, post office. Yawn, yawn, then excitement kicked in. Joshua was awesome and awoke with me to go and retrieve our new responsibility.
Mornings are so beautiful. Nothing is as calm and quiet as dawn. The most peaceful time of day. Every time I have ever woke up early, I regret being a non morning. It is my favorite time of day. We drove to the post office on quite streets, no traffic it was still dark, but beginning to slowly gain light.
I didn't run into traffic and most cars that I did in counter were still patient and calm.
When I arrived at the Post Office, obviously they were still closed at 6:45am, I went to the loading docks at the back. This in itself was an exciting experiences. Getting to walk through the mail room of the post office, the behind the scenes of our mailboxes. Very cool, very crazy and very busy.
I find a women bringing in a cart of mail from a semi. She asks me what I am doing there. I tell her I am here to pickup my chickens. Like clock work she states, "follow me." To me this was crazy. Little live animals shipped through U.S. mail. To her, this was another day and another round of chickens being picked up. Not her first rodeo. So I walk with her, and soon enough, the chickens are in my hands.
I return to the van, hand the box over to Joshua and head home. While waiting for Joshua to awake and get dressed, I had already prepped there water and food for the return home. I just had to sit them down in the brooding box and teach them how to drink there water.
In the van, Halle and Noodles joined us on our early morning adventure. They were very excited by the cheeps along the way. Joshua was very sleepy, but opened the box to take a peek inside at the baby chicks. Everyone was inside crowded together. I still laugh at Joshua's words toward the chickens, "we are not off to a very good start chickens." Joshua was not thrilled at the early arrival or the cheepy, cheepy on the way home.
Home at last. I took the chicks into the back room and opened the box. My first glance at my new chickens. They were all crowded in one corner. I slowly picked them all up and placed there beaks in water before placing them into the brooding box. Once all 10 were placed, I watched for awhile.
All day on the first day, I watched often. I didn't handle them much on the first few days. I figured they had gone through enough on there trip from Texas to Indiana in the mail. I now have been handling them a lot. I want them to be friendly to anyone who tries to feed or pick them up. I also need to to be friendly for health inspections.
The chickens have been fun. Daily routines have changed. Every morning and every evening after feeding the dogs, I have to clean and refresh water and food for the chicks. I usually handle a few times a day. Picking up or hand feeding. I am trying to get the chickens friendly enough for children to be in my coop and grab a chicken.
So two weeks later, my, my how they have grown. Within two weeks, they have so many feathers. They started out with very little feather and a lot of down. There feathers now are coming on everywhere and there down is getting harder to see.
Besides feathers, I am learning everyone's personalites. There a few ladies that adore being held, a few that abhor me touching them. I continue working and learning all there quirks. They will be inside for a few more weeks then we will venture to introducing them to there coop.
Pics posted soon.
