We got our baby chicks this past week.  As usual, I’m late…every year I fully intend to order them right after Christmas so we can get all the fun and funky varieties that I want for our kids to show in 4H at the county fair.  And every year I end up ordering them…now.   Saying a little prayer that they are all laying by August for fair… 🙂

My wonderful father in law takes care of the baby chicks for us when we get them, as he has the space and equipment to do it at his farm.  This isn’t as much of a “how to” as it is an “oh how fun!” post…

The “chicken whisperer”…

My littlest urban chicken farmer… She named her chick “Minimus”…Sofia the First anyone???

Excited about his chick (he named it “Big Teensy”)…

The kids liked this cochin’s fluffy feet…

We’ve ordered our chickens from Cackle Hatchery every year for the past three years, and we’ve been happy.  They ship well, we get them quickly, and they always send a few extra birds just in case one dies en route (the last couple years we have lost a bird along the way).  I have ordered ducks from them in the past, and this year we intend to get some big old heritage turkeys for the kids to show for 4H…and eventually to put meat on our table.  They have a great variety… my favorites are the rare breeds (my daughter won Overall Poultry Champion at our fair her first year in 4H with a breeding pen of their buff cochins :-)).  This year we did a mix of “practical” birds for egg laying, and rare breeds.

I ordered golden laced cochins and barred rock cochins, which I had not seen before…I’m looking forward to seeing how beautiful they are as they grow!

This post was shared at Butter Believer’s Sunday School; The Prairie Homestead’s Homestead Barn Hop; Real Food Forager’s Fat Tuesdays; Cooking Traditional Foods Traditional Tuesdays;