Happy Reunion!

Chick that hatched on 4/04/10

This week I had the opportunity to visit the chickens I hatched this past April. I ordered a dozen Buff Orpington hatching eggs from a hatchery and put them into the incubator on 3/16/10. The first chick to hatch arrived on 4/4/10, Easter Sunday, it was a nice Easter surprise. Out of 13 eggs, I ended up with 10 that hatched. The first chick to hatch, for some reason, was smaller than the others. She was always easy to pick out of the flock because of her size.

Pictured above are the chicks on 4/14/10. They were playing in a pen I set up in the backyard. The sun was out and the weather had warmed up enough to let them play outside for a while in the afternoon. They were scratching at the dirt and looking for bugs. I knew I couldn't keep them, I checked with the town (which was probably a mistake) and was told I didn't have enough land to raise chickens. There are many cities and towns that have changed, or are changing their zoning laws to allow homeowners to raise chickens. There has been a huge uprising in home gardening and folks wanting to keep chickens mainly for eggs. Usually you are limited to 6 hens and no roosters. Luckily I was able to find someone to take them, who happened to be a friend of my daughter, so I am able to visit them and watch them grow.

Here are the chickens on 7/20/10. They are huge compared to the last time I saw them. Out of the 10 that hatched, there ended up being 3 roosters and 7 hens. A nice looking flock! Seeing them again made me wish I could have kept them and raised them. It was a very memorable and exciting experience hatching them, something I hope to do again soon.  Who knows, maybe I'll petition the town to try and get the laws changed!

A great book for anyone interested in raising chickens is The Joy of Keeping Chickens by Jennifer Megyesi.