It started so innocently.
We had a gift certificate to pick up at the feed store. It was one of the gifts I had given the kids for Solstice but we had never picked up the paperwork. (Everyone gives feed store gift certificates in stockings, don't they?)
We were really running out for buckets for our maple taps, but we were making a quick detour.
When I heard the chirping as we walked through the door I knew it was all over.
The next thing I knew we were driving home, maple trees forgotten with peeping cardboard boxes on our laps and my VW Beetle smelling very much like a chicken barn.
And now my only bathtub is full of poultry.
We brought home far more birds than I meant to. Six guinea hens – famous for being loud (not so fun) and for eating ticks (very fun!) – were my first selection. We live in one of the two worst parts of the country for Lyme Disease, so we'll take all the guineas we can get.
And I added six new layers since we never have enough eggs.
And then… and then it was time for the kids make their selections.
And they did.
Six fresh tiny bantam hens are now occupying my downstairs bath. They are cute beyond description.
And because the feed store guy took a liking to my kids he threw in two or three extra. It made for good homeschooling math on the way home.
As Sage put it, peering into one of the boxes on the drive home, "We're swarming with cuteness in here!" Which, frankly, is way more fun than math today.
Oh, yes. We are crawling with cuteness, I tell you. More than one bathtub can possibly contain.
And so it begins.
Before we know it we'll be welcoming sheep and bees and – if my children have their way again – rabbits and a horse. (Hm. We'll see how this goes.)
For now at least they still all fit in the tub.
Welcome to the farm!
How fun!!!!
dang! they are 5.95-6.95 at the “urban” farm store. ; ) we could drive to the country and all, but then there’s the price of gas! very interested in how you find the guineas.
How wonderful! I am in the midst of planning an order for chicks from Murray-McMurray and it will be our first bout of chickens! So excited! We’re building a coop and everything and I think I’m way more excited than anyone else in my family!
Oh my, are they cute!
I hope you have a shower though :-))
I think here they are normally a bit more but he was on February-overstock. Worth it either way! 😉
It is wonderful to see those first chicks arrive. Enjoy it!
Ha! Yep. We do. Hoping to move them out to the coop this weekend, too.
ooooo, guineas are at the top of my list once we build a bigger coop- it’s already busting at the seams with our 7 chickens. we’re in southern Vermont, which is downright awful on the lyme front…my son ended up with it last Spring…I’m all about getting guineas to put a dent in the tick population!!!
They are so adorable! How exciting! 🙂
This is unquestionably the best blog post title ever. I just had to tell you that.
They’re wonderful! I’m hoping for some this year, but with a small city lot we have to do some planning first. (Including – get this – securing a chicken license from the city. I couldn’t make this up…) Maybe this year, maybe next… Have fun with them! xo
You’re kind of my hero now! I am hoping to get a few layer hens sometime soon – I am urban, so can only have four or fewer, and am trying to decide what style of coop to build. It is so exciting to see the next step in action.
That is so much fun! We are going to attempt to hatch more guineas around here. If we are successful we’ll let you know. I have come to enjoy their noise around here – and we had 15!
I can’t wait to hear more about your chicken adventures to come!
Awww my boys are wanting chicks (we don’t have a farm, so we live through others’ in blogland). I’m wanting sheep and bees too. Can’t wait to what else arrives on your doorstep 🙂
I am contemplating getting chickens, but I just can’t convince myself yet – I’m not much of a bird person. Now bees – I could never have enough of them! Enjoy your poultry and all the eggs!
We have guineas and a few words of advice…get more.
They are the dumbest fowl we have but also the most useful. They scour our property like a roving militia. We never see a tick on any of us and the eggs are heavenly since they eat so much protein. However, they are the first to get killed when a raccoon makes it into the barn and are horrible mothers. They abandon their chicks as soon as they get distracted by something. Best thing to do is put their eggs under a good broody chicken and let her mother them.
We try to keep between 15 and 20 around at all times but it is a challenge.
Good luck!
Thank you for the wise words! I read your amusing/educational comment aloud to Pete and we are now strategizing more guineas. Wondering if your guineas stay with your chickens or if they have separate housing. I know people who do it both ways…
I get it. Im secretly terrified of full-grown birds. (My little secret.) But since our chickens run from us most often I can roll. And I love them, as long as I dont have to pick them up.
There is a comment below yours suggesting letting a broody hen hatch their eggs. Maybe thats an option for you! xo
🙂
Lyme around your area and mine are about the worst. I hardly know a family that hasnt had it – if not repeatedly. (Mine included.) No fun!
That is so exciting! I’m reading this a few days later. I hope that all is still going well in that down stairs bathroom tub! I’m so happy that all of your manifesting and finally paid off. IT’s been so lovely to follow along with this blog over the past 4 years and see you grow and changes. 🙂
Thank you KC! Yes. They were just moved out to the coop moments ago. The house is oddly quiet… Thanks for sticking with me for all of these years!
I have 5 chicks in my brooder up in my sons play room. That’s 2 more than I expected to get but the last 2 are Welsummers. How could I resist? We are going to have to build a new larger coop since we just more than doubled the size of our flock.
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