New Babes in Town

It was wonderful not to have to think about what day this is. Tax day! As we were able to get ours completed and filed last month. I do believe that it was the earliest we have ever had them ready. Instead for the past 2 days we have spent the time out at the farm, working on the house. Already it is taking on a new appearance as we remove the old to make room for the new. I believe the changes we are planning will give the place the look and feel of home for us. I catch myself standing in front of the windows looking out and daydreaming about how it will all look once we move in. Jason is helping us some and the days that he is there we get tons accomplished. More hands equals quicker success. We might actually make our proposed goal of moving in by the end of May, with his strong back and energetic stamina.

On the way back home last week we stopped off in Graham, Alabama to meet a lady I had been talking with about some baby chicks she was hatching. We have been looking for a local source of "Welsummers" to add to our flock without much luck this year. While looking through the GA Market Bulentin I was thrilled to see that she lived near our new home in Bowdon, Ga. A quick call and a meeting place was set for pickup. Ten, one week old chicks rode home with us that day to join the growing flock in our backyard when they are old enough. At present they are eating, sleeping and being baby chicks in a plastic tub in our living room. The tub has clear sides and we catch ourselves staring at them through it. A soft peeping is heard when they are awake and is like a sweet music to our souls. New life and another sign of Spring has joined us here.


The very next day "Big Mama" hatched out her second clutch of eggs. Five new biddies joined the Welsummers in the brooder box. One looks just like she did as a chick, cheery yellow with feathery legs, 2 are a honey gold with dark streaks in their fluff (Orphingtons possibly?)and 2 are black with yellow spots on their heads (future Barred Rocks?). Fifteen chicks all looking for a warm place to grow and giving Leah plenty to talk about. Her favorite thing is to point to one for me to pick up for a closer look and a gentle touch from a tiny finger. At present our chicken flock numbers at 38. Boy did that number climb quickly from the 16 we started with a year ago.


It was as if the "mothering" hormone was flowing through the chicken coop on the winds of Spring. For Mary (Barred Rock) became broody two days after Big Mama's deliveries last Saturday. On Tuesday I placed 4 eggs under this insistent Mother-to-be. Again all fat round ones. If all goes as smoothly for her we should have additional biddies to place in the brooder box on or about the 5th of May. We will be celebrating another birth that day as it is my daughter-n-law's birthday. We have definitely added new births and lives to our Spring this year. I look forward to having the opportunity to be apart of our goat's kidding (s) next year. I have been by my cat's side during labor and delivery in the past. But from what I have read on the milk-goats emails I receive, it is a wonderful experience. A little nerve wracking for first timers but a pleasure too.

Each day I look over the biddies to see if I can tell how many will become hens. Odds are there will be a rooster or two in the mix. It will be a few more weeks before we will be able to tell whether our experiment worked or not, in placing a certain shape egg in the nest for hatching. Good news is that the father to our friends who will be living right down the road from us has offered the use of his incubator whenever we want to use it. Hurrah! ! ! ! Lon had been talking about getting one after we moved but this will let us try one out before we buy. The Lord's blessings keep raining down on us. We are most thankful for them, too.

These future layers will be a big boost to our egg production come this Fall. For some reason we have been unable to discover the cause of why the girls have been slack in their laying for about a month. One would think with the warmer weather, increased plant growth and emergence of insects that they would be "fat & happy" right now. I pray that it is only a temporary lull in production, as we still have customer orders to fill and we do not want to go back to eating store bought eggs again. I have tried to eat them at a restaurant and can't stomach the smell or taste of them. Having fresh eggs and milk will definitely re-educate your taste buds to what real food tastes like. Going back to "confinement-grown" foods is not an option for us anymore. I even have one son who is a convert to the new way of eating and stated that the "name brand" milk tasted awful now.

Step by step we are gaining ground on the goal of raising our food sources and eating fresh, locally and nutritionally. With each one established comes the satisfaction of knowing we are contributing to our health and future.

Mother hen to many,

Deborah