National Poultry Day

So you may have heard of all the "days" that are important now, Donut Day, Ice Cream Day, the list goes on, and on, and on.  I looked up an "official" list here http://all-funny.info/real-list-of-national-days and had a good laugh.  It just so happened that yesterday, March 19th, the day before the official first day of Spring was National Poultry Day.  I now know this due to my reading list that includes many, many chicken, homestead, and garden blogs.  We celebrated by getting a surprise package a day early...........

Freedom Ranger chicks!

50 new chicks, plus our special needs chick we hatched about 2 months ago

nice and cozy!

YES!  More chicks.  I will admit I was not as happy about these since, at first, they were a surprise to me.  I enjoy surprises, but sometimes my husband knows just how to pull one over on me.  Luckily we just got the big new coop complete and all the chickens, plus the youngest from the brooder relocated.  This gave me a chance to deep clean the old coop and convert it to our official chick brooder.  The new arrivals seem very pleased with their space.  They are sooooo tiny!  Only a couple days old, fluffy, curious, and so adorable!  They are meat chickens, so right off the bat we told our farm girl that they will be processed when old enough for the freezer.  She took a bit to wrap her head around that, but realizes this is where food comes from.  We have 50 Freedom Rangers which should grow fairly quick compared to the egg layer breeds we have.  I am interested to see the differences as they grow.  From the hatchery website we ordered from, they specifically hatch this type of chicken, it reads that they will grow in 9-11 weeks to be 5-6 pounds.  It is considered a mid-range grower, not the kind you read about that has been bred to grow so quickly its legs may break due to weight.  Poor chicken :(   We will free range these birds again, and raise them as they others are.  Then process them when big enough.  I guess this is the next adventure!  Look for garden posts to come, starting seeds, and a BIG new adventure for us as a family, happening weekly this spring/summer.  Happy Spring!



My farmer boy helping me check the chicks for pasty butt, yes it is a real thing, and can kill them!