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Sunday, March 29, 2009

Marveling at the Wonders of New Life...Spring Chicks!

Marveling at the Wonders of New Life....


Our latest family project is raising chicks. We bought our six little chicks from my friend Joyce's young sons. They're making a little business of it. We've had the chicks for a week and a half now and all are healthy and strong. I recommend buying from someone locally.




We've got the chicks in our garage now that it's getting warmer and they're getting bigger. It's amazing how much they've grown in such a short time. These photos were taken when we first got them. It's another great hands-on homeschooling project. I hope the little critters will reward us with some eggs, too.

They are a "straight run" meaning that there are girls and boys. The girls will be our hens. They should start giving us eggs in about 6 months. The boys will be the roosters. At 8 weeks, they'll either be in the soup pot or sold.





My friend Nancy told me that I could hold them by the head for a moment and they would either pull their feet up or put them straight down. The ones who pull their feet up are hens and the ones who put them straight down are roosters. We tried it and found we had three of each. Nancy tells me that the test is 99% accurate. We'll see, won't we?


Well, that's enough for tonight. I've got to be up bright and early to work on a mailing for the Shepherd's Guide.


Blessings to you!

Laura
Adding a Few Feathers to Our Nest


Too good not to share!

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11 comments:

  1. UnknownMarch 30, 2009 at 6:44 AM

    I miss having chickens, esp. baby chicks, so cute! I've never heard that testing theory, hope it works? Every time we would get straight run, we'd end up with more roosters than hens? LOL

    ReplyDelete
  2. DebMarch 30, 2009 at 7:29 AM

    Until you get fresh eggs, they are .49 a dozen at Aldi......

    ReplyDelete
  3. Marie RaynerMarch 30, 2009 at 8:56 AM

    They're so sweet Laura!! I wish we could have hens here, but my boss might not like it and we have too many foxes.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Judy GoddardMarch 3, 2015 at 11:04 AM

    I look forward to starting eggs in a few weeks. We have a hen and rooster out in the yard and will collect eggs just as soon as she starts laying again. It will be very nice to have fluffy chicks again.

    Your photos are so cute!

    ReplyDelete
  5. StephanieMarch 3, 2015 at 5:20 PM

    Awww... aren't they precious! My husband's side of the family has chickens and ducks so we enjoy theirs :)

    Thanks for sharing at ROI. Hugs to you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. doodles n daydreamsMarch 4, 2015 at 5:11 PM

    I love this post, I have a friend who once did 'chicken sexing' for a job. I'm not sure that's how she did it but who knows! The kids will enjoy raising them.

    Diana

    ReplyDelete
  7. ConniecrafterMarch 4, 2015 at 9:31 PM

    awww they are so sweet

    ReplyDelete
  8. Laura of Harvest Lane CottageMarch 5, 2015 at 12:57 PM

    This was a flashback post.
    We enjoyed that batch of hens so much because they were hand raised.
    Blessings,
    Laura

    ReplyDelete
  9. Laura of Harvest Lane CottageMarch 5, 2015 at 12:59 PM

    I was surprised at how hard it was to find information about it, Diana.
    Blessings,
    Laura

    ReplyDelete
  10. KathyMarch 9, 2015 at 10:36 AM

    I so want chickens! This is such a sweet post - I will be featuring your post in this week's A Return to Loveliness,
    Kathy

    ReplyDelete
  11. Laura of Harvest Lane CottageMarch 14, 2016 at 5:13 PM

    Marilyn, that's one of the sweetest comments I've ever read. Thank you!
    Laura

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for writing me back!

This life only works with Jesus. The next life is a continuation of this one—make sure you spend it with Jesus. Jesus is the only way to God the Father!

Laura Lane

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