We have caught chick fever!

Actually, we had planned to get some more chicks this year from Tractor Supply. Our rooster to hen ratio is off and we definitely need about 5 or 6 more hens to correct that. And of course now that we got our first chickens last year we really just wanted more. I’m sure you understand, right? Jon had been wanting to get some Buff Orpington chicks this year because they are supposed go broody easily. I really like Barred Rocks, but we had no plan of getting them. The plan was to check Tractor Supply each week of their Chick Days and hopefully get the Buff Orpinton’s.

Thursday TSC finally got their first batch of chicks in. We had checked Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We are not patient. This time they had ducks, Brahmas, Production Reds, and Easter Eggers. No, Buff Orpingtons, but look at all of the cute little balls of fluff! Although we were not getting ducks, they were still so cute to watch. The Production Reds were pullets and the Brahma and Easter Eggers were a straight run.

We really did not need any more roosters, but I really wanted some blue or green eggs. I had never seen Easter Eggers at TSC before and was so excited they had them. I have developed a bit of a case of “egg envy” seeing those colorful blue and green eggs on other websites. That’s silly, I know. So we watched other customers use their techniques to identify male and female chicks. It was comical because nobody could remember what meant what. Jon had read last year that many times pullets will start showing their wing feathers before roosters. We tried that last year when picking our Barred Rocks from a straight run and we ended up with 2 pullets and 1 cockerel. It is possible the chicks were a couple of days old because some of them did have some feathers peaking out. So, we used that method again.

We got 4 Easter Eggers. They all look a little different. Maybe we will be able to tell them all apart.

Tractor Supply requires you to get a minimum of 6 chicks so that they can keep each other warm and survive the trip home. But we did not want to get 6 from a straight run and end up with a bunch of roosters. We already have one red hen named Red of course. She is either a Production Red or a Rhode Island Red. We honestly are not sure, but we believe she is a Production Red. We got her from TSC also and she is an excellent layer. So, we got two of the Production Red pullets.

And well, Jon is still thinking about getting some Buff Orpingtons if they ever come in. He is already building a bigger chicken coop. We’ll post more on that soon.

Be prepared for many cute baby chick pics in the near future! Do you have the fever?