Hard to imagine by fall some of these little gaffers will be laying eggs.

The first hatch is out of the incubator today! Spring must be about to burst open. I'm off to see if the asparagus is up.

AWWWWWW, but don't chickens lay eggs all year round that have the potenshal to grow into big chickens.

The chickens I have live a less sheltered life than most, so at -40C they really aren't as fertile as the eggs are in the spring.

I used to raise chickens as a teen. Thanks for the reminder that even though it's still cold, spring is just around the corner.

Ian,
It sounds like we are similar in that the sunshine makes us want to kick our heels up and live life. I am sure the sun shines a little earlier here than where you live.

And nothing says spring more than the rebirth of nature and all things that grow.

The baby chicks ("spring chickens") look like they are ready to meet the world head on also.


Just wanted to make a personal note of interest to add to your photos.
I have a great neighbor who is such a wonderful "nature nugget" kind of guy.

He grows everything and has a naturalized yard that has more atmosphere than any park. Better in my eyes.
He raises bees and all of the favorite garden vegetable too.

He has the chickens and the eggs and is so generous with the beautiful brown eggs.
They make a wonderful rich ometlet with a little onion and olive oil, red bell peppers and mushrooms.

We have cared for the hens and chicks on occasion when this neighbor is out of town, and have named them "Henny Penny" and "Chicken Little".....etc.


At one time a wonderful rooster guarded the hen house, but neighbors from across the creek complained. I miss that Rooster!! What a joy to wake up to nature's alarm clock.

Someday I am going to have spring chickens too. I am going to carry on the tradition of raising biddies in my dining room like my gradmother use to do. :)

Thanks for sharing your chick chicks Ian :)

They are really cute. I love little chicks :) Thank you Ian for sharing this moment of new life. ;)

Spring is my favorite time of year! Fall is my other favorite.


My son was born March 2nd and My daughter was born October 28th. There is something magical about the change in the seasons :)

I have chickens but mine have never felt -40C the lowest they have felt 0C but the highst is probably around 50C some of them have died.

Spring is my favorite time of year! Fall is my other favorite.


My son was born March 2nd and My daughter was born October 28th. There is something magical about the change in the seasons :)
Where we live in the south eastern Canadian prairie, all four seasons are very distinct. I love them all and every minor gradient in between. That is one benefit of being outside any major centre is that the subtleties that mark those seasonal changes are always available in such fine detail. A feast for the senses.

Spring comes in with a violent rush that has just begun.
Cheers!

ian, your posts read like poetry. thanks for sharing your enthusiasm. :)

i don't know if i've ever shared my chicken story ... stories actually ...

i'm such a tease, 'cause i'm not going to right now either. too tired.

let's just say two things. i'm *not* a farm girl and chickens scare me.

i like looking at chicks, and chickens too for that matter. i just don't want to pick them up. i think it wouldnt be so bad if they weren't warm blooded.... i dunno, maybe i'm just weird.... :D

i can deal with aloof, so, cats are cool. but chickens and all their "clucking" well, i just *know* they are talking about me!!!

paranoid,

w.

Thanks ian for the pic, i love chickies :)

When we lived on a farm, we received 300 chicken ( that were for eating) and you get them at 2 days old or something. Anyhow , that was our first year, and we did not have heating lamps :eek: . And that day we got them it got very cold, for a june day here...So we moved all 300 chicken in the house, in one extra room we had LOL....they stayed inside for a week.
Let me tell you my sons were very happy lol, and it was unusual to wake up to the peeping of 300 babies :rolleyes: :) .

If I can find some wheat at a decent price close by, we'll have some meat birds too. The last time we raised some broilers, I got 80 I think. The run needs redoing before that happens. It's been very wet here for the past several years and all the fence posts have rotted more quickly than expected.

I have horses coming soon to pasture here. I've got to look after that fencing too sometime soon.

I pick up a dog tonight that's a prospect for an "inside" dog. http://shorterlink.org/233 Dave is a good friend. His dogs aren't what you might expect of sled dogs, but he sure wins with them. The one he's got picked out looks more like a whippet than a sled dog. Actually he said last night that he's to a few to choose from that he thinks will have great temperments for family life.

The grass is about ready to cut for the first time and the riding mower has a flat on the front. Life in the fast lane. Spring is a very busy time of year on the farm.
Cheers! Ian

ian, your posts read like poetry. thanks for sharing your enthusiasm. :)

i don't know if i've ever shared my chicken story ... stories actually ...

i'm such a tease, 'cause i'm not going to right now either. too tired.

let's just say two things. i'm *not* a farm girl and chickens scare me.

i like looking at chicks, and chickens too for that matter. i just don't want to pick them up. i think it wouldnt be so bad if they weren't warm blooded.... i dunno, maybe i'm just weird.... :D

i can deal with aloof, so, cats are cool. but chickens and all their "clucking" well, i just *know* they are talking about me!!!

paranoid,

w.

Yea you need to get a creativity award, I hope to see one tomorrow.

On the subject of chickens we are due to get six ore little one and the chickens have been eating some dead crows that flew in the pen but couldn't fly out. Must be cold for our chickens winter over here.
:) :)