Heritage Breed Chickens {And Which Chicks We Chose...}

Since moving here to our little farmstead almost five years ago, there are three sounds that will forever remind me of spring: 1. The sound of our boys playing outside as the days grow longer 2. The sound of frogs croaking at night (usually noticed the first evening it's warm enough to open the windows!) 3. The sound of baby chicks happily chirping...

When thinking about the breeds of chickens we would add this year to grow our little flock, there were two things I wanted... A beautiful chicken breed, and a breed that would lay colored eggs.

Ducklings and Chicks ~ So Happy Together (So Far!)

Hope your day is going well!

We recently took the plunge and along with nine chicks, brought home three little ducklings. We've been keeping chickens for three years now, so we somewhat know what we're doing when it comes to chicks. Each spring, when we start talking about getting chicks, one of our boys has been faithfully asking for a duck. I wasn't sure if it was realistic since we don't have a pond or creek on our property. And, I wasn't sure how chickens and ducks would get along.

So I started asking around...

The Christmas Scoop at the Coop!

Our hens are some festive chicks. 

I suggested they wait until after Thanksgiving, but they were just too excited 

to bring a little "merry and bright" to their humble house. 

If You've Ever Considered Having Chickens...

Maybe this will put you over the edge!

Has it been a hard day? Could you use a little reason to smile? 

Please enjoy our 2015 chick photo shoot... :)

The day after getting home from our trip to the desert, the boys and I could hardly wait to head on over to our local feed shop to bring home some baby chicks!

This year, we decided on two Rhode Island Reds, three Americaunas (they lay blue or green eggs) and three Silkies (who look like they're wearing feathered slippers).

We're really hoping the Americaunas are hens, who will give us some pretty-colored eggs. Last year, we only chose one Americauna, who we named Lucy. Well, we ended up re-naming Lucy, Lewis, since he turned out to be a rooster! Lewis is always on high-alert, day or night. If he hears any noise, he crows his ever-loving head off. We're pretty sure our neighbors love us. But, he is a good watch dog rooster... 

This little girl (I say that in faith, they don't guarantee the gender of Silkies!) is already growing her "slippers."

I love the picture below, looks like they are gathering for a meeting...

The ride home from the feed shop is always fun, with the baby chicks chirping in the box. The boys carefully and enthusiastically pick names for their chicks... I occasionally remind them to pick girl names (we can always pick boy names later if need be, but we'll cross that bridge...)

Our youngest son has show and tell this Friday. Any guesses what he's bringing in? ;)

And here they are, back in the barn, under the heat lamp...

Wishing you a happy day, from our peeps to yours...

xo

Can't get enough farm cuteness?! Continue here to see last year's photo shoot, along with the basics you'll need for raising chicks...

Sharing with:
Savvy Southern Style
Jann Olson
Katherine's Corner
French Country Cottage
Thoughts from Alice