Getting To Know Them

The chick in the middle is Ethan's favorite.
The standard buff Cochin on the left is a giant.
 The brown dark Brahma on the right.

It's been only 5 days since the chicks arrived.  They are all doing well.  We are beginning to see personalities in many of them.  Ethan has his favorite who is the "surprise" chick the hatchery sent that is a Seabright.  He picks this chick up (I think it's a boy) and rubs under it's ear, and the chick lays down and sleeps on E's chest.  It's a very calm bird.  My favorite is still the black Cochin.  When we open the door of the nursery several of the same chicks come running to me.  They haven't learned to put on the brakes, so they sort of crash land when they need to stop.  It's pretty funny.

My favorite has many feathers now. You can see that her
"type" is perfect Cochin from the side.

Here she is full on...

Tomorrow we are going to our friends ranch in Magdelena that I have written about before. Communing with cows and calves.  I can't wait.  For now we have no water...tonight something happened to the well. In the light of day, we will figure it out.

Good Night!

Thanks for reading.

Life is a gift. Open now.

xo,

Suz

Chick Party

A black Cochin, she is a beauty...and I think my fave

Last night was the "Chick Party."  I invited lots of people, and in traditional NM fashion only a few RSVP'd.  So I didn't know who was coming.  We ended up having a house full.  I made an egg casserole, salad,  and Ethan and I baked chick cookies.

One woman came to the door and said: " If you only knew the kind of "chick envy" I have!  LOL, right?   Chick envy, who knew.  Another person brought me BBQ sauce: "In case it doesn't work out" she said as she handed me the bottle.  Having a sense of humor, that really cracked me up.  Another person brought me a half dozen eggs from a local farm: "To give them ideas" he said.  

Guess which one of the 3 brought the BBQ sauce?

Charlie Z who knew a lot about chickens, to my surprise

A standard and bantam buff Cochin

Thanks for reading.

Each day is a gift. Open now.

xo,

Suz

Don't Count Your Chickens Before They're Shipped

A bantam buff cochin posing.

Saturday when we were  leaving to pick up Ethan from the airport my phone rang:
"Hi, this is Ruth from the Post Office..."
 I think I said: "They're here!"  I had received an email from the hatchery saying they would be shipped yesterday and would arrive Sunday -Wednesday.  So much for autobot email.  I was ready with everything but securing the sides of the coop with wood to keep the temp up.  So we went to the airport, got the grandson and went to the post office. E held the chicks in the box on his lap, peeping the whole way home.

Or son and fiance came over and helped put the wood on the nursery. The chicks sat in the bathtub in their box with a lamp over it suspended from the shower rod.  I got the temp in the nursery up to 95 degrees and in they went.  A few still had their egg tooth. Which is used to peck through the shell, and then falls off.  As we were putting them in, it looked like there were more than 24.  Hmmmm.

A crazy brahma doing the chicken dance :-)

I tapped on the feeder with my finger and they all came up and started eating. Then stuck my finger in the water (which has chick starter in it) and wet a few beaks.  They began to eat and drink like they'd been doing it forever.  Pretty amazing.  As the sun went down we had a hard time keeping the temp up.  So Bob and I opened the patio doors and brought them in the livingroom for the night. Switching out the heat lamp for a smaller bulb.  Lola the cat sat on top, and Buddy the dog posed in front.  There was a lot of staring at this nursery from all the animals.  :-)

nap time 

When we changed the papers in nursery we counted the chicks as we took them out.  27 not 24.  On the invoice in the box I noticed that more Langshan  chicks had been added, as well as a "surprise exotic breed."  There is one chick with zebra stripes on it's back and a buff colored head.  I think it's a Seabright bantam.  It would be my first of that breed. 

Tonight they are back in the living room in front of the patio doors.  In the next few days I will work on making the nursery warmer, so they can stay outside at night.  It's still pretty cold here in NM and they need more insulation.  There is still so much work to do on "Fort Chicken.".  The whole family worked outside today. It was back breaking work moving tons of stones, landscaping cloth, and putting down the chicken wire.  But they all lovingly did it, as they know how happy keeping chickens has always made this mother hen.

Tomorrow night is the "Chick Party."  I am baking chick shaped sugar cookies, and egg dishes.  Good night chickens, and good night to you all.

Good Night

Thanks for reading.

Every day is a gift. Open now.

xo,

Suz

The Chickens are Coming !! part 2

Dark Brahma Hen

Here is a link to Dark Brahma Chicks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0osv6-Bgog&feature=player_embedded

This morning I went on a field trip to all the feed stores in our area.  I was comparing feed brands and types.  I am not lover of medicated food. But baby chicks tend to walk on the feeder, and drop feed all over, as well as poop everywhere.  So that the babies don't get Coccidiosis (fatal) I will probably get one bag of medicated feed to start with.  But I did find organic feed at Dan's Boot and Saddle. That was great! I also found a great hardware store that has 6' x 150' rolls of poultry wire. It took 2 guys to load it in the back of the Yukon.  Bob and I are ready to build "Fort Chicken."

A PERFECT Black Cochin Hen  

I have the heat lamp, bulbs, feeders, waterers, and thermometers.  Chicks have to be kept at 95 degrees for the first week, then the temp is decreased 5 degrees every week after that.  Tomorrow I will put the sides up on the "Nursery" and fire up the heat lamp and see what temperature we have.  This is so important. As heat is the number one priority for these chicks. I plan to have this all worked out before they arrive.

Buff Silkie Hen and Rooster  

I got an email from the Hatchery and it looks like they are not sending all hens....oh boy.  When I can determine the roosters, they will have to go to the farmers market.  I am being a chicken sexist and only want hens. I've had enough roosters for a life time.  My neighbors are only an acre away, and would not enjoy crowing at the crack of dawn.  We once had a rooster who crowed at night, and almost drove us mad. Above are some of the breeds we are getting.  The Silkies are Japanese chickens, and the Brahmas and Cochins are Asian.

It feels a bit like Christmas for me! I know this sounds strange. I've had so many emails from chicken lovers here and on Etsy that I know I'm not alone.   I'll take pictures of the nursery when I have it set up.

Thanks for reading!
Each day is a gift, open now.
xo,
Suz

The Chickens are Coming !!

Dominique a rare breed we will have.

In 7 days there will be 25 chicks arriving via Priority Mail.  One of the items on my "list" was to keep chickens again.  I figured out a place I think would work right next to "the big garden".  First, there is already 6' horse fence and shade cloth running for 40'. Second, the shed is about 10' from that. So sandwiched (excuse the term) between the two will be the chicken run.  About 35' x 10'.  When they are grown,  there will be a little door that leads into the big garden. They are good bug and grub pickers.  For now they will stay in the "nursery."

The "Nursery" scrubbed spotless

The "nursery" is actually a rabbit hutch  I put wooden sides on, that is completely locked up ALL the time. They will have a heat lamp, and a very good thermometer that I will check constantly for the first week.  I am keeping the nursery on the patio.  Bob spent hours attaching fencing on the wall around the patio to make it higher.  We have coyotes.  And we have an electric fence that will be electrified every night (which we have to figure out VERY soon!). More on Fort Chicken later.

"Fort Chicken"

Baby chicks can be ordered on line, over the phone, via catalogue.   Day old chicks need no food or water for the first 72 hours. They get sustenance from the yolk inside the egg prior to hatching. This gives them a few days to get aquainted...or travel, as in our flock's case.  The post office usually calls at the crack of dawn to tell me they have arrived.  I have warned my local PO who ships all me Etsy orders to keep an eye out.  I think my post office is as excited as I am! They should arrive with their fuzz on, and start feathering out in a week. I will keep a photo diary and share it with you readers. Below is a link to MurrayMcMurray Hatchery of Buff Cochin Chicks on youtube.  A breed we are getting.

Buff Cochin Chick

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuD6is603q0&feature=player_embedded#at=26

Buff Cochin Hen

Ethan will be here when they arrive.  I am hoping he's his Grandma's boy in a chicken way too.  He is an animal lover also. I wish for that to include chickens.  My adult son helped Bob dig post holes and pour concrete.  He too is a big chicken lover.  I look forward to all of us hanging with the peeps very soon.  Adding another generation to my flock. :-)

Box O Chicks

It takes 5 months for them to start to lay eggs.  I could have gotten "pullets" which are older.  However, they do not bond the way day old chicks do.   Tomorrow I will go to all the local feed stores to see what kinds of feed they carry.  Back on the farm I had my feed custom mixed for me.  With this small flock that would be impossible.  Once they have gotten past the critical first month, they will be weaned off of "chick food" and eat table scraps, and some organic chicken feed.

I'm so excited, I can't really express it in words.  We will have a "Chick Party" the day they arrive. I invite neighbors and  friends to come see them and celebrate all this new life.  I promise I will be sharing pictures daily.  Baby chicks have always meant a physical form of hope that Spring brings to me.   It's my favorite time of year.  If you are close and reading this, know you are invited to join us next week.

The Chicken Catalog

Thanks for reading.
Each day is a gift, open now.
xo,
Suz

Computer problems

My computer crashed, and so I will be quiet until I get it fixed.
XO,
Suz

Hands For Japan

Hands For Japan $30.00

In the wake of Japan's tragedy,  I have listed many items in my shop that  I donate proceeds to the Red Cross for Aid to Japan.  I have sold 4 hand prints in 24 hours.  It feels good to give something when I sit watching the television and feel so powerless.  I hope to sell more soon.  It's so easy through Paypal or the Red Cross to donate money on line.  I provide the seller with the receipt from the Red Cross when I donate.

These items are all printed on Japanese Paper, and literally from my "state proof"  drawer.  It was a thrill to unearth these beauties from my book "The Book of Hands" that I bound using Japanese binding style.  This book was back in the day when I thought I would live forever, so why keep anything for myself, was my mindset.   I've wised up, and have a drawer in my big flat file for my kids to distribute among themselves.  The 3 books I made were bought by Powell's in Chicago, the Newberry Library, and a private collector.

Cover of "Book of Hands"

I think I will be out of these hands soon. I just don't have a lot. So making a small watercolor or pen and ink drawing every day will be manageable when I have sold them all.  I do love hands, and collect them.  Somehow "Hands for Japan" has caught on in the handmade community.  I photographed them so fast at the time. So my pictures were not dead on, or lit well, and there was some camera shake. Of course huge magazines have contacted me asking for high resolution photos...ie. clear better pictures.  So I am going to reshoot the ones I have not shipped tomorrow.  A new tripod is in my immediate future.

"The direct proportion of your actions will come up the road to meet you."--Jimmy Hodges
I gave open handed to Japan with what little I have.  Before I could put my head on my pillow that night, I was rewarded with magazine coverage.  Amazing, but not surprising.  Lesson learned :-)

Shop link to Hands for Japan:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThePolkadotMagpie?section_id=7924121

Thanks for reading.
Each day is a gift, open now.
xo,
Suz