One doesn’t have to be mad to live here, but it sure helps!

Jean and I had been kicking around the idea of having our own eggs.  To the point where we had made enquiries at our local feed store, Payson Feed.

Then the idea grew to the point where we started building our own chicken coop, then a couple of weeks ago we bought the heat lamp and feeders leading inevitably to yesterday morning when we picked up 5 little chicks.

We planned to buy four chicks but, of course, came out with five! The five being four golden ‘cross-breds’ and one Buff Orpington  Our plan had been to buy Rhode Island Reds but we were advised that cockerels could sometimes be bought unintentionally as when just a couple of days old, they couldn’t be identified from the hens, whereas the cross-breeds could be properly ‘sexed’.

So shortly before mid-day yesterday, Jean was gently transferring our latest ‘pets’ into their new home in the guest bedroom, where they will be fed, watered and kept warm for the next 8 weeks or so before being moved to the chicken coop.

I have no doubt that before the week is out, Jean will have given them all names!

Why the title to this Post being ‘Then we were ten, plus chicks’?

Only that three weeks ago, I wrote about Casey joining our dogs and bringing the number of dogs to ten.  (Oh, not forgetting the six cats and one fish.)  No doubt, status reports on our young chicks will creep into Learning from Dogs from time to time!