No turning back now!

Ok, well. I officially crossed over an invisible line last night. I ordered chicks. They will hatch on August 2 and be here shortly thereafter. I always thought my destiny would lie more along the lines of the crazy cat lady at the end of the block--but no, no. I am going to be that woman who keeps chickens.

The little puddin' to the left is a Partridge Plymouth Rock, a rare version of a classic American chicken--I mean, come on: Plymouth Rock? I also ordered a Silver-Laced Wyandotte, an Easter Egger, and an adorable little miss of the Australorp persuasion who will be boarding with me and officially belonging to my friend Amy and her four-year-old daughter, Teagan.

I am feeling pretty confident about this whole chicken venture--the public library is a beautiful, wonderful institution. If you are a reading junkie and book lover like myself, the library is the only way to indulge without needing to build an extra room on the house for books. I also tend to use it as a way of determining which volumes I really do need to own for myself. This winter, I rented a ton of chicken guides and plowed through blissfully--now many of the same are once more on their way to my local branch! It is time for a refresher!

So, why did I choose the breeds that I mentioned? I wanted hens that are winter hardy, lay a goodly number of eggs each week, have a docile temperament, don't mind being confined to a pen, and are an heirloom breed if possible. Since most heirlooms are dual-purpose birds (i.e., kept for eggs as well as meat) the trick is finding breeds that still produce enough eggs to be a logical addition to a small flock. The pretty girl above is a Silver-Laced Wyandotte, and I think she is going to be a wonderful tenant at the Hanna-Goeglein Farm.

I am interested to see how the delivery-process happens. I ordered my girls from www.mypetchicken.com because they have developed a method where they can safely ship as few as three chicks. Other hatcheries require minimum orders of 25 chicks because the babies must rely on each other's body heat to survive the trip--My Pet Chicken, however, has supplemental heat included in the packaging. The only folks who will ship chicks are those wonderful people at the USPS; somewhere around August 5th I will be receiving a call from my local post office to come pick up the peeping box they have for me! (At which point I will probably have to jump up and down a few times before composing myself and grabbing the car keys.)

I should point out that keeping chickens from a homesteading perspective is about much more than providing super-healthy eggs for our use. Chickens are also fantastic at gobbling up unwanted shrapnel from around the house and yard: kitchen scraps, weeds from garden beds, insect pests, fallen fruit from berry bushes & fruit trees, etc. Since one goal of homesteading is to be self-reliant, the chicken manure the ladies will produce is a fabulous resource for my garden--I hope it will alleviate the need to buy compost and fertilizers each year, or at least reduce the amount we purchase.

Well, this city girl is on her way--to being a chicken mama! Thanks to all of you for your kind comments and general support toward this new adventure. Mark August 5th on your calendars--I'm sure there will be some adorable photos to post!!