Just a Bunch of Spring Chickens

At this time of year, a trip to the feed store is not a simple thing! As soon as the 'CHICK DAYS' banner starts waving in the parking lot, entering the actual store comes with grave risk to the backyard chicken keeper! And yup, I fell again.

With the best intentions of course. My cousins were coming to town for a couple days and between them they have 5 young children.  What better way to entertain them (bribe them to like you) than a tub full of baby chicks?

Now, not to disturb any of my 3 readers, but this is a small suburban farm I'm working with. Last year's layers still have another year of good production left (And boy are they starting to really lay again-finally!) So these are being affectionately called 'The Nuggets.'  This last Winter we butchered a bunch of Cornish Cross broilers with a friend of mine. It's been a long time since I'd done that. The meat was sooo good! Not really wanting that many birds in the freezer at a time, we decided to raise small batches of six at a time. Enough to enjoy but not too much to work up at a time or overload the freezer. 

This may sound cruel to some people. I have a lot of acquaintances that can't believe you could raise your own meat-let alone harvest it. That's fine with me. But really, I know how much these guys are cared for. Right now they are having a great time living in their little tub in the kitchen. They will get worms to eat soon, bits of lettuce tips thrown in their brooder as I'm making my lunch. For a chicken it's a pretty good life! Soon they will head out to the outdoor brooder and have a yard to play around in. And right now, my life is made richer just watching them grow.  Watching a bunch of chicks nestled together sleeping is about the best stress reliever around! I hope I never outgrow the joy in something as simple as raising chickens.

And they were a hit with the littlest cousins!!