New Babies in the House!

We got a call from the post office that our baby chickens came in the afternoon run!  The kids ran to the van and were SO excited.  We walked in the post office and could hear little chirping coming from the back.  I just told the postmaster that the loud package was ours.  Everyone in line was smiling at Claire and Chandler dancing and singing through the post office, "We have baby chickens!  We have baby chickens!"

In the van

That is the loud box full of chickens!

Sneaking a peek!

When we got them home Mom and I made sure they all were introduced to the water.  Baby chicks do not require food for the first 3 days after hatching.  They absorb all the yolk before breaking out of the shell, this is so the mother hen does not have to leave her eggs before they are all finished hatching to help her babies eat.   We had to dip each of their beaks into the water and make sure they swallowed - and that's all they needed!  We kept a close eye on them for the first few minutes they are rather silly.  They kept trying to climb into the feeder and one actually got in and got stuck!  One chick needed to be shown the water again, but they all figured it out quick.  Not bad for only 2 days old! 

We are splitting the order with 3 other families so we ordered 50 chicks and we got 56!  Murray McMurray Hatchery sent me a wonderful batch.  I highly recommend them!  They always throw in one exotic breed for you as a bonus and we are trying to figure what the little stripped one is.  Possibly Araucana?  They rest are just a brown egg layer mix.  It looks like Buff Rock or Buff Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, Black Stars or Australorps and possibly Sussex??  But they are so hard to tell at this age!  Many breeds are extremely similar as babies.  I guess we will see!

Introduced to water and food and being so cute!

Claire and Chandler watching, they kept exclaiming "They are so cute!" over and over.

Claire is in love!