Chicks!

Cross one big goal off the list: we now have yard chickens!!  Well, they're only two weeks old, so they are not "yard" chickens quite yet, but in a few short months we'll be gathering fresh eggs from our very own birds!

I think one of mes dames might actually be a garçon.  From what the Internets tell me, there's really no fool-proof way to tell until they either lay an egg or start crowing (unless they are a sex-linked breed).  A veteran flock-keeper who follows me on Instagram (Luckiest, if you're interested in viewing inordinate amounts of pictures of my child and chickens), saw a picture of one of my Barred Rocks and said she bets it's a rooster.  Upon further research of the Internets, she may be right.  He has a wide bar pattern on his wings, his legs are more gray than black, and his head spot is sort of splotchy.  We'll see!  Austin allows roosters, so maybe we'll just have fertile eggs and a self-perpetuating flock!


I'm super excited.  I really, really, really, really want to work up to having a bit of a city farmstead.  Austin is a great city for that, because they allow chickens and miniature livestock, meaning I could have a dwarf-variety goat for milk and butter.  We have enough space for a flock of chickens (the city doesn't limit the number), maybe even a broiler flock (although someone else would have to do the dirty work), a big enough garden to feed us through the growing season with enough left to preserve, and a pair of goats (with some strategic fencing).

If that vision comes into fruition, it will be years in the making.  There's a steep learning curve and start-up costs.  Little by little, though...

We got four chicks from a woman with a little hatchery in Buda.  Two Barred Rocks, two Ameraucanas (they will lay blue/green eggs and are also known as Easter Eggers).

Anyway, pictures!

Asleep atop the feeder. This is why they say to put pebbles in the water, so they don't fall asleep and drown!

John and the yellow Ameraucana

Barred Rocks up front (possible rooster on the right), Ameraucanas in back

OH HAI!

This is Ma. She's the only one with a name. Suggestions are welcome!

Our only fail so far is that when I bought feed last week, I never double checked the bag the guy gave me, and he accidentally gave me layer feed instead of chick feed.  Of course we brought the chicks home on a Sunday, when every feed store in the universe is closed.  John went out and got chick feed today, and giving them adult feed for a day didn't kill them.

I can't wait for eggs!