Five Feathered Fluffers

Over the years I've learned a few things. One of them being that I cannot go to the Humane Society to say hi to all the lonely dogs. I've brought home too many. Well I think I'm going to have to add "Feed Store" to the "dangerous places to visit" list. I have resisted the baby chicks for several months now. They usually start getting in the spring chicks in March. I've done good. I walk past them without looking, get my feed and get the heck out of there. Well, I stopped to look at them yesterday. They were all cute and fluffy and chirping "take me home!". But I resisted! Until I got to a bin of little black chicks with the labeling "Cuckoo Marans". Oh no. Not Cuckoo Marans. I've wanted a few Marans in my flock for awhile (that and Cochins) and thought if they ever got those in I might be tempted.

Cuckoo Marans are a rare breed of chicken that lays dark chocolate brown eggs. They are making a come back and the major hatcheries are breeding them. The chicken is a barred black and white coloring, nothing real special. But those eggs! Beautiful.

So you know where I'm going with this. I brought home five tiny girl cheepers. They are precious and fluffy and the kids love them.

 The first batch of chicks were kept in the brooder in our living room. This was not a good idea in the long run. They were way too dusty of creatures to be in the living room. So the next batch of chicks went into one of the unused bedrooms upstairs where we keep the cockatiels and tortoises. This worked better but carrying that giant brooder up the stairs was no fun. This time round I asked very nicely if we could put the brooder out in Sean's side of the shop. It's insulated and stays pretty constant in temperature. It also has an air conditioner if needed.

Welcome to the menagerie little ones.