Cute Chicks!

Today was the special day when Hilda called the post office at 6:00 a.m. and found that our chicks had been delivered. I dressed quickly and went with her to pick them up.
Here they are in their box.

Box o' chicks

When we took them out of the box, we dipped their beaks in a dilute sugar solution to get them started drinking.

First drink

Hilda found a warming plate, so to speak, that is supposed to mimic a brooding hen. We lowered it down to the height of the chicks' backs. We weren't sure they would get the idea, so we poked them underneath to encourage their learning.

Hilda puts chickies under the heater

This year we ordered 13 Buff Orpington, 2 Silver Polish, 7 Welsummer, and 3 Araucana/Ameraucana. The Silver Polish and Araucana are all females. The Buff Orpington and Welsummer are straight run, meaning a mix of males and females. Both are dual purpose breeds. They get big enough to butcher but the females are also good layers. They will not mature as quickly as the broiler chickens we raised last year. We hope they will be less of a mess. We will butcher all the roosters and whatever hens we don't have room to keep. The Welsummer are supposed to lay chocolate brown eggs. Too bad they don't lay chocolate eggs. Can't have everything.

Buff Orpington

Silver Polish--note tiny size compared to other chicks

Welsummer

We were perplexed at first because we seemed to have only one Araucana, a dark brown one like Ina. After careful inspection, we think we have discovered two others with the characteristic face feathers. One looks very similar to a Welsummer and the other is just a wee bit lighter than the Buff Orpington. She will likely be pure white, like Sara.

We know the dark one next to the Silver Polish in an Araucana. We think the one above the dark one is also.

Here are some cute chick pictures AND some video clips.