For the past few days we have been waiting with excitement for Thursday. Why Thursday? It will be delivery day! A few days ago we ordered 15 chicks from a hatchery in Missouri. We decided to go with a hatchery after several weeks of searching on craigslist and talking to people, trying to find chickens the results kept coming up empty.
The ordering process was super easy. We knew we wanted dual purpose birds, eggs and meat. Once we found the breeds, we went with Wyandotte and Buff Orpington, we checked the box for female, put the amount we wanted and then added to our cart. Buying sexed birds does cost a little more or you can purchase not sexed. The hatchery sent us an email receipt stating we would be notified when they have a shipment date. The chicks are overnighted to the post office. The post office will call us early Thursday morning for pick up.
In the mean time we are prepping for our small flock. Since we don't have a large amount of birds we will keep them in a tall plastic bin. In the bin we place several inches of wood shavings or you could use fine mulch. Other supplies we had to get were a heat lamp, container for water, feeder, and organic chick starter. The chick starter has lots of vitamins the chicks need for a good start. We went with organic to make sure we avoid GMO feed. So, before the chicks get here we will have their pad set up. We will also put some fresh grass clippings for greens and soil on a newspaper in the bin.
If you find yourself in the same boat we were in, not being able to find chickens, try a hatchery. We are pleased with the process thus far. Check back as we share the rest of the story later this week!
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Blessings to you,
Shaun & Alisha
