On April 27th, I got a call from the post office at 6:30 a.m. saying that my chicks were in! I jumped out of bed and rushed down there. I had been anxiously waiting for them to arrive. They were born 2 days earlier…put into a box…and shipped across the country. How traumatic!!! (I purchased them from McMurray Hatchery). I was really scared to open the box! I really thought a bunch would be dead, but they were all alive and chirping very loudly!
From having chickens the past couple years I have fallen in love with bantam chickens. They are half the size of regular chickens…downfall is the eggs are also half the size! I ordered 15 chicks, in 4 different varieties of bantams. They couldn’t fill my order exactly, so they sent me a couple different breeds, but that was okay with me…they also threw in 3 extra…so now I had 18! (15 was already a lot for me…but that is the minimum order).
I gave them their first drink and made sure each of them got hydrated, I fed them the Gro-Gel Plus that I ordered with the chicks and then put them in their new warm home. Over the next day, 2 of them did die. I figured some would. Unfortunately both that died were Rhode Island Reds…which are my favorite! I am trying to get some more Little Red’s in my life! Luckily I still have 2 left.
My kids were pretty disappointed that I didn’t get any poofy heads (like the White Crested Black Polish)…but then one day we looked in the box and there were 3 poofy heads! I guess my husband went to the feed store and got one for each of the kids. So even though I lost 2…I gained 3 = 19 baby chicks.
They are now 2 weeks old and they are doing great! We had to add an extension onto their home. It is working out perfect for now. They will be inside for many more weeks, so we may have to add another extension when they get bigger. My favorite thing is to sit on the couch and watch them…they are pretty entertaining!
What I got from McMurray Hatchery:
Blue Cochin Bantam – 5
Partridge Cochin Bantam – 4
Mille Fleur Bantam – 4
Rhode Island Red Bantam – 4 (lost 2)
And one surprise rare exotic chick – I can’t wait til this one grows up and I can see what it is. Right now it is the only white chick.
