One of my fondest childhood memories was visiting my Gammer and Pop on their ranch and being able to go out into the barn and gather fresh eggs from underneath big fat chickens. I have been pining for a flock of my own ever since. The chicken craze that has swept the nation the last couple of years has not gone unnoticed by me. Unfortunately, up until we moved into Prairie Cairn Cottage, we were suburbanites and in locales that prohibited backyard poultry. That all changed the moment we signed the closing papers last year. Alas, my ever so handy husband was too busy last year to build me a coop so no chickens. That is, until this Spring! I am happy to introduce to you the beginnings of Prairie Cairn Cottage's laying flock.
This picture was taken 3 weeks ago. If you are wondering about the red tint to the picture, chicks require quite a bit of warmth so they are underneath a heat lamp. As these are my first chicks I am marveling how quickly they are growing.
Today, my sweet girls looked like this! They are already getting their feathers. The two yellow ones are Buff Orpingtons and the darker ones are Light Brahmas. The Orpingtons will retain their yellow feathers but the Brahmas will eventually be mostly white.
My ever so handy husband still has not been able to build me a coop so these girls are currently in the powder room of Prairie Cairn Cottage. In a few short weeks, when the weather warms they will be moved outside to temporary quarters.
We put the coop in the dog run that no self respecting dog at Prairie Cairn Cottage will use. We will bury hardware cloth all around the perimeter of the run as well as line the bottom part of the sides with the same hardware cloth in order to keep predators out. The top of the run will either have hardware cloth and/or we will purchase the shade cloth that is available for these dog runs.
Check back this fall for news of the first eggs these chicks will provide for us!
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