Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Chick time

 

 

The first batch of chicks, 2020

Look at those little girls. What happened?

The Twisp hens are a real success story, and provide the family with fresh eggs almost year round. With simple care, chickens are surprisingly hardy and can acclimate to the harsh winters and hot summers. 

They are basically backyard pets and come running, begging for vegetable scraps, when someone goes out the back door. Their constant "talking" is soothing to the ear, and they have individual personalities.

Chickens live an average of 3-7 years so there's been attrition from natural causes. Only one of the original pandemic flock is still around, plain little black "Leah," who even survived a dog attack. She went weird and broody last year, and hardly left her nest box for months. Maybe a rest cure is the secret to long life?

Anyway, each spring the girls order a few new baby chicks from the feed store in town. It's an exciting day when they arrive and the kids walk down to pick them up.



This year they bought "Easter Eggers" and "Black Sex Link." These are special cross-breeds, valued for their prolific laying, personality and hardiness. The "Easter Eggers" lay a variety of colors: light blue, green to pink. How cute is that?


No comments:

Post a Comment