Repopulating The Flock

It has been a little over a week now since the loss of other chickens. However, we couldn't leave poor Toula and Satine alone in such a big coop. Last Thursday we were able to purchase 4 more chickens and bring our McCluckski's family back together.

When deciding to get new chickens we both decided the hassle of raising them from 5 days old was not worth it (especially with our own newborn coming soon). We ended up finding some postings on Craigslist about older chickens for sale. We ended up heading out to the H and J Ranch to pick up two 8 week old chickens (the same age as the one's we have). If anyone is ever interested in purchasing older chickens or having some wonderful fresh farm eggs (of course we bought a dozen and made deviled eggs for the 4th of July--delicious!!), we both would highly recommend this ranch. The head rancher's name is Henry and he will help you with picking out some great chickens and answering all your questions (512-926-1773). We purchased one Buff Orpington and named her Nala and one Barred Plymouth Rock and named her Latika (we are still sticking to the theme of female movie characters...can you guess the movie?).

Latika free ranging in the yard


We were still down two chickens and ended up finding the breed that we were searching for originally when we embarked on this chicken adventure. The breed of chicken is called Silkies. We both think these chickens are so cute and interesting looking. The only hiccup when it came to purchasing the Silkies was the fact that they were only 4 weeks old. However, we couldn't pass up the chance to get this breed. We purchased two chicks, and named them Buttercup and Ariel.

The babies...


Nala and Latika had to be separated from Toula and Satine in the coop for about 3 days. This is recommended when introducing new chickens to a flock so the chickens can get use to each other without a fight breaking out (they need to establish their pecking order). Now the four chickens are getting along great and have transitioned into a flock without any problems. The babies (that's what I like to call them-- I wonder if I'm ready for my baby to be here??) are still in the garage, but will move out to the sectioned off area of the coop this weekend. They will stay sectioned off for longer because of their small size.

Latika and Nala sectioned off from Toula and Satine


It's great to have the flock back. However, we still miss our old guys. We have both learned some good lessons about having backyard chickens. We now keep Bella inside when we let the older ones have free range time in the yard. It's working out great and there is no worry of Bella making a run for them. Hopefully the transition of the babies to the flock will go smoothly and all will be back to normal. Then we can start to look forward to some eggs---that's the reason we got these guys, right?!?

The last family pic of the old McCluckski's, a new will be on it's way...