Up close and personal! The leghorns are the most intrepid of the flock so far. They will approach without fear, and they love to peck at my rings.
Granddaughter Hannah with a new friend. Hannah is also fearless. Pigs and chickens faze her not at all. She gets right in there with them. She and Haley have named a few of the hens and can actually tell them apart. That's more than I can do.
The heat lamp makes a cozy glow in the coop. That's a good thing since today was blowing snow flurries and cold, cold, cold.
I did a little websurfing and found these online places to learn more:
How to raise a flock of hens in your own backyard. Help from other folks, information, links and lots more.
Want to know more about the many breeds of chickens? Go here. There are many there I have never heard of. Apparently, however, my Wyandottes might be Silver-Laced Wyandottes. Who knew?
You can find more general information about raising chickens on this site.
The more you learn, the more you want to learn, but why not go for the ultimate learning experience:
A chicken videocam! Watch the drama unfold before your very eyes! Oh the heartbreak, the egos, the greed and deception. All for you on the ChickenCam.
If the cam doesn't strike you as funny, maybe these chicken jokes will.
Or how about Chicken tractors, anyone? (this is not a joke, really)
One place to get baby chicks: McMurray's hatchery. I bought from them years ago and it was nice to find that they are still in business. I think I prefer buying my chicks at the feed store, though. Less stress on them, or at least on me.
"My" library hatches eggs for the children every spring, and this year they surprised everyone by hatching a couple of days early. Most were peeping around today, with a few to go, and one actively working at an egg with a nickle-sized hole already broken out. Is a hatching egg like a watched pot? One young man was watching eagerly until his mom told him they really had to head home. We noticed that the little chick inside seemed to be moving more when the the light came on, and took a rest when the timer clicked it off.
ReplyDeleteHow neat! That's a great idea for a library, assuming someone can take the chicks home when they're grown, of course. But for kids to see that process is wonderful. Good library.
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