First of all, in case you're wondering what chickens have to do with gardening, they just happen to eat all kinds of bugs and ours are a great help in the yard and garden.

So, our little flock has dwindled over the years.....from some predation, from old age, etc., and it was time to buy some new chicks. We only get new chicks about once every 4 or 5 years, so it is always a fun day.

Yesterday we picked up two dozen chicks at the Orschlein's in Ardmore. We got Ameracaunas (they lay colored eggs), Lakenvelders (gorgeous black and white chickens), Polish Crested (love their feather-top!), Bantams (because they are so cute), Buff Orpingtons (beautiful, sweet and good layers) and Summerwells (they lay the largest brown eggs you've ever seen). They'll be joining our flock of old hens that have been around quite a few years (but still lay well), which consists of Black Astralorps, Barred Rocks and Silver-laced Wyandottes.

We haven't had a rooster since our old Rhode Island Red rooster died unexpectedly two summers ago. It's been nice and fairly quiet (although, when you have no rooster, one hen becomes the dominant female, develops the ability to crow and takes charge of the flock), but it will be fun to have a rooster or two again, I think. Some of the chicks are pullets, but others are straight run so we'll see what we get. Really, one rooster is all you need and I am sure we probably have several in this batch, but they'll work that out between them.

Meanwhile back at the ranch....two guinea hens are sitting on a huge pile of eggs, but we're not holding our breath and waiting for them to hatch. Unlike a broody hen who generally won't leave her eggs long enough to eat or drink, guineas really don't like to sit on their own eggs and tend to sit a few days and then abandon the nest. That is, I think, one reason guineas are not more common--they aren't good at perpetuating themselves.

If our guineas abandon their nests, I am hoping one of the hens takes over and hatches out the eggs. In all the time we've been here, though, we've only hatched out a handful of guineas that have survived long enough to reach adulthood. If our guinea eggs don't hatch out, we'll probably buy baby guineas in June when they arrive at the feed store. This year the coyotes have been really hard on our flock of guineas--getting about one of them per week.

For the next couple of months, we'll have to really keep an eye on the babies. The cats won't bother them once they are about half-grown, but the snakes and other predators can be relentless around chicks and can be a problem until they are full-grown, and even after that to a certain extent. We don't lose chickens to predators as much as we lose guineas because the chickens are smarter and hide under the bushes or the raised porches when hawks fly over. Guineas, on the other hand, seem a lot more carefree, and careless, and pay for it by losing their lives.

That's what's happening in our 'barnyard'.....lots of babies. DH, DS, and DS's girlfriend all lobbied for ducks, but we can't keep ducks alive here.....too many predators.

Dawn