Trip to Store Yields Baby Chicks

On Friday night, we trekked to our local tractor supply store to stock up on chicken supplies. There in the middle of the store were four well-stocked tubs with baby chicks. Now, to be fair, we had been talking about getting a few new chicks to keep up with the growing demand for our farm fresh eggs. We had even researched the best egg laying breeds. Then, fate intervened. As we stared at the chicks and my kids begged for them, the store clerk stopped by and asked if he could help. He then told us all the chicks were half price. How could we resist?

Our eight new companions are a mix of two buff orpingtons and assorted red pullets. The red pullets could be any of the following: rhode island red, dark rhode island red, new hamphsire or red sex links. It's kind of scary, but also kind of fun, to watch the chicks and wonder what they are. All four varieties are good egg layers and quite hardy, so no matter what, they'll fit the bill.

These chicks had been in the store for a few days, and it's interesting to see the difference between them and getting them directly from the hatchery. For one, they don't like it very warm in their brooder. If I get the temperature over 85 degrees, they pant. And two, they aren't overly noisy or skittish. In fact, they're downright friendly.

I figure they've got to be hardy considering they hung out in a tractor supply store with lots of people looking at them for a few days. So, I'm not too worried about them. I've just been enjoying their antics and can't wait to find out what varieties we picked!