As some of you might remember, I purchased seven chicks in July, two bought from a local mom, and five ordered through the internet. Sadly, the best looking of them turned out to be a rooster and we had to find a home for him. Speck was lucky because he was purchased by a very nice lady who even sent up pictures of him and his new "friends". It was really hard to let him go.To my total surprise, raising chickens has turned out to be an wonderful experience (building a coop with my own hands was also amazing). If somebody had told me a year ago how much fun having chickens would be, I would have thought there was something seriously wrong with this person, now I know I was wrong. Holding a fast asleep chick in your hands is priceless, so is realizing that chickens are born with a personality, like children. Their nature manifests immediately, and it stays true when they are fully grown. Given the fact that our chicks never had a hen to show them how to be a chicken, we were amazed that they know what to do, instincts are really powerful.
I had hoped to get eggs at 4 months, but I should have listened to all the people who told me that in reality chickens start laying at 6 months. When we went to Italy we really missed our loud feathered friends, but we were pleasantly surprised to find our first eggs when we got back. Cloudy, our tiniest chicken, a bantam Ameraucana, started laying green eggs about a month ago, and they are the cutest thing, even though I never cease to be surprised on how something so big can come out of something so small. We were surprised again when we found the egg of the third chicken that started laying, as it was pure white. Yesterday, our biggest, blackest, and mellowest chicken laid her first egg, a beautiful pale beige, almost pink egg. Now we are waiting for the last two to star laying, and that should give us 3-4 fresh eggs a day, imagine the possibilities!
I know I cannot make everyone who has a garden get chickens and raise them, but after witnessing their excitement when they are let out of the coop, I had the painful confirmation that there is something really wrong and inhumane in keeping chickens confined in overcrowded cages, with no room for moving around. Since as consumers we have the power of making choices I strongly suggest that you buy eggs from chickens raised humanely. Besides the ethics against caging, the quality of nutrients from chickens raised inhumanely cannot be good, pumped with antibiotics and stressed from their living conditions. Thanks for listening.
