We received an advertising e-mail from one of the three places where we've bought chicks in the past (Carolina Town & Country in Sanford), saying they'll begin having chicks from the hatchery the first weekend in February. That seems awfully soon to me. I know they'll need 4-6 weeks under a heat lamp, but with it still being winter, they'll actually need the heat lamp much longer than that. In the spring it's so warm during the daytime after 4 weeks you can cut the lamp off during the day and just have it on at night, but with the day time temps being in the 40s and 50s, that's really not an option.
And as nice as it would be to rebuild our flock and have a wider range of egg colors, the breeds we'd need/want are not all brought in on the same week. I'm not driving to Sanford every weekend to get the various breeds. There's also the timing factor, and Bobby wants us to hatch some of our eggs as well. To do that means we have to make a decision so we know when to start the incubator (so we won't have different age chicks which require different schedules at the same time).
A part of me says yes to new birds. We lost half our flock this fall. While egg production always slows down when the daylight hours are short, we are getting by on the eggs we have (though I did have to buy eggs last week), and we've not been able to give any away this fall/winter. I also miss the variety in colorings and personalities that comes with having various breed.
On the flip side, both hen houses are in need of work. The small one, where the chicks would go at 2-3 months until fully feathered, has a top door that is broken, and the attached coop needs some minor repairs to keep animals out. The big hen house has three doors that are rotting, and the door to the coop is off. I've been making do by leaning it against the entrance at night and placing cinder blocks in front of it (which a raccoon could move if it really wanted to).
So I have to decide: give myself extra work now when I'm trying to get some projects completed, or wait until the spring when there's more daylight hours in the day. It seems like a no-brainer.
And as nice as it would be to rebuild our flock and have a wider range of egg colors, the breeds we'd need/want are not all brought in on the same week. I'm not driving to Sanford every weekend to get the various breeds. There's also the timing factor, and Bobby wants us to hatch some of our eggs as well. To do that means we have to make a decision so we know when to start the incubator (so we won't have different age chicks which require different schedules at the same time).
A part of me says yes to new birds. We lost half our flock this fall. While egg production always slows down when the daylight hours are short, we are getting by on the eggs we have (though I did have to buy eggs last week), and we've not been able to give any away this fall/winter. I also miss the variety in colorings and personalities that comes with having various breed.
On the flip side, both hen houses are in need of work. The small one, where the chicks would go at 2-3 months until fully feathered, has a top door that is broken, and the attached coop needs some minor repairs to keep animals out. The big hen house has three doors that are rotting, and the door to the coop is off. I've been making do by leaning it against the entrance at night and placing cinder blocks in front of it (which a raccoon could move if it really wanted to).
So I have to decide: give myself extra work now when I'm trying to get some projects completed, or wait until the spring when there's more daylight hours in the day. It seems like a no-brainer.
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