Pint-sized Pioneering: Chick fix

Ours are not the only chickens in our neighborhood. The family 2 doors down got 6 chicks a couple of months before we got ours in May 2008. In retrospect I think that our getting chicks was a seminal moment in our friendship because it gave us a reason to visit each other regularly and to discover other commonalities.

Kim stopped by to chat the other day and told me that she had agreed to let each of her 3 boys pick out a chick. I think that Kim wanted more chicks so decided to "let" the boys get them. Sneaky lady!

Sure enough the family drove up this Saturday afternoon with a massive box containing 3 delicate little babes. After you've had full-grown hens for a while, you forget how dainty and small chicks are. I think that hers are about a week old. Chicks are only cute fluffy things for about 3 weeks total. They grow and change right in front of your eyes.

The boys' cousin walked up with a mewling grey tabby in his arms. He told me proudly that his aunt and uncle had adopted her. She was so sweet and adorable, no wonder. The dad rolled his eyes and told me it was a lost cause once his wife said it was OK with her but dad had the final say. The 3 sons and their cousin dialed up the doleful eyes and begging... and well, you know the rest.

Their 3-year-old dubbed the new cat "Chicken" but Kim overruled him and is calling the kitty "Twinkle" after the book The Kitten Twins.

Also new to their household are an Easter Egger and 2 australorps. Apparently all of the chicks have some variation of "Elephant" in their name. Leave it to a 3-year-old!

This is an Easter Egger. She should lay eggs that will be blue or green.

They also got 2 australorps, one of my personal favorites. They lay brown eggs.

Australorps are wonderful hens. I just love the look of their faces - I think it's the big dark eyes. Their personalities are friendly and sweet, and they're very chatty birds. They've got the softest feathers of the flock.