New baby chicks! 

We've been pretty busy.  Life is full of comings and goings so it seems a little crazy to bring keeping chickens back into the mix of daily life.  But when the girls were younger they had the experience of marveling at wee baby chicks and I wanted that experience for Christian and Aidan too. 

Isn't she sweet? 

It was just wonderful to get the call from Ed that the post office had called his cell phone to let us know that the chicks had arrived.  The boys and I eagerly jumped in the car and took the drive to the post office.  We were all smiles as we asked about the "peeping package" that was waiting for us.

The boys are so gentle with the chicks and the older girls are of course delighted with them too.  We initially had them set up in the house with a heat lamp where we could keep an eye on them.  Out of the 25 chicks only one did not do well and had died within a day or two.  But happily all the others look well and are already feathering out nicely.

What began as the sweet trilling sound of baby birds soon became much louder - especially at night - with the flapping of wings and very loud chirping!  They have now been moved to a bigger bin with hay in the outdoor shed.  They still  have their heat lamp and seem quite cozy.  It won't be too long before they are moved to the coop. 

The boys will be responsible for the bulk of their care - Aidan and I go up together in the morning to add or change the hay, change their water and give them fresh food.  Christian goes up in the evening to give them fresh food and water.  The boys are excited and willing to do their tasks right now - we'll see what happens when the temperatures start dropping!

We are looking forward to our own fresh eggs again this Spring!