They're here! The first week for our chicks.

We had been contemplating, pondering, considering chicks for about a year before their big arrival last Tuesday.  If you've ever glanced at the Recent Reads sidebar on the right, you could guess the inevitable, that we would one day be keepers of backyard chickens.  And now we are, excect they live in our kitchen.  Seems appropriate, because that's where they will end up.  At least the eggs will.

Our chicks came to us the way nature intended.  Through the US Mail.

Turns out that just before hatching, chicks absorb the yolk as their nourishment and hydration, allowing them to be just fine without food or water for about 48 hours.  In your standard barnyard, this is so the mother hen can sit patiently on her whole clutch, while the slowpoke eggs take their time hatching and the early birds don't starve.

In your small city, this is so they can arrive via Express Mail to your local post office.

Their box was lined with straw, had plenty of holes for air, and even its own heating pad for warmth.  And so our 6 chicks arrived last Tuesday around noon, just 24 hours after hatching!

Here they are in their new home, a galvanized tub in our kitchen.

Within minutes, they figured out that chicken feed is delicious.  And soon after, that water is awesome.

Within just a day, adult feathers were replacing the fluff on their wing tips.  And they were doing chicken-y things like preening, flapping, pecking their neighbor, and crazy yoga-like stretching.

My family took to them right away, and we snuggle them whenever possible.

If we are still and quiet, they fall asleep right in our hands.

We have two Salmon Faverolles, 

two Barred Rocks,

and two Buckeyes.

Unfortunately, this little one has fallen ill and won't be with us much longer. 

And then there were five.

These five have gotten so jumpy that when I change the bedding in their tub, I'm forced to put them in my tallest stockpot to keep them from hopping away!

They've gotten a little bigger by now, but I couldn't help but notice that a newborn chick weighs less (at 38 grams) than an egg (about 55 grams)!

And all of us humans stand motionless above their brooder tub, amused by how birdy they are.

The jury is still out about their names, but I think a family meeting is in order to determine this soon!