I went to work on Tuesday and all was normal; came home and there were 8 more little chicks! Sue made the mistake of going to Tractor Supply and took a peek at the babies. She took one look at the little guys and thought we needed to add to our brood!  We have now added five Speckled Sussex to our menagerie. According to the Murray McMurray Hatchery, the Speckled Sussex was developed in Sussex,Speckled England over 100 years ago! They are supposedly a good table bird, somewhere in the medium range for weight.  The chicks vary in color from buff to brown to striped.. we have so many different little guys I can’t tell the players without a score card.  We’ll have to see what everyone turns out looking like once they’re a bit bigger.  The Sussex seem to be a really nice looking adult chicken.  To me, they look as though they’ve been out playing in the snow. What we plan to do is save the hens (if we get any… you never know) and perhaps one rooster and breed our own, if we like the looks of them.  We’re striving for hardiness in the cold and in the heat so we are trying different breeds to see what works best in the area.  We found that the Buff Orpingtons are not that hardy in the cold, even though we like their temperament and their eggs… we lost too many over the winter. The Easter Eggers have been great thus far, they made it through the winter very well and seem to be tolerating the warmer days ok. We’ll keep working on what will be best, in the meantime we’ll keep as many hens as we can so that we can get the eggs.

FullSizeRender (6)Speaking of chickens (we were, weren’t we?), our teenagers are becoming more adventuresome as they become used to their freedom. Sue let them out of the brooder again today, but only a few made it outside. She snapped this shot of them all eyeing the outdoors, but electing to stay inside. It’s scary transitioning to a new open field; no roof over your head, no warm light to sleep under, dirt on your feet, and who knows what else. They will get out there soon.

IMG_0628Roman is hoping they get out very soon, because he/she has to be in the large crate while they are given free rein.  We tried to let him/her out with them, but Roman pulls on their feathers now.  That little tyke is never going to find a tribe at this rate. Today Sue put a tub of water out for Roman’s first bath… it was a very successful endeavor! Roman seemed to like the tub a great deal, but the really fun thing is splashing around in IMG_0627the mud! What a cutie pie.  The other really fun thing to do is torment the ducks through their fence. I don’t know why this is fun, the ducks just hiss and try to shoo Roman away; Roman insists on trying to engage them. I guess they’ll make friends or Roman will get tired of the whole affair.  Poor little gosling, all by itself.  At least we’re around to cuddle with!

Other news around the farm… Sue has started building the next, new and improved, chicken tractor.  We’ll update on that after the weekend.  Also, the electrical line passed inspection yesterday and there are now lights on in the Dinky House. For us, it’s nearing the end of Holy Week and we are slowly approaching Easter. We are looking forward to hosting Easter Dinner with family and friends, perhaps we’ll have photo ops with Roman and post them on our FaceBook page Sunday. I’m sure we’ll do some silly things with all the little guys. Until then, as always~
Thanks for reading!

Today’s Weather: A beautiful 86° today, but rather windy.  We’re hoping that the wind calms down so that we can have dinner outside on Sunday.  That would be our prayer.  If you find you’re in need of Easter Dinner, please give a shout and join us!

Egg Report: 11.  See our Facebook post today for more info on the ongoing egg count!