New Chicks are on the Way

We've been searching Craig's list for anyone selling chickens locally. Last week we found a woman in Mooresville selling some Buff Orpingtons. Her only requirement was that we had to buy two roosters as well. She had way too many chickens and needed to get rid of some birds. I did some calling around and found a local meat market that would trade the roosters for a couple of cut-up chickens.

We agreed on a price and day/time that we would pick up the chickens. As you can imagine, we were pretty excited at the thought of finally building our flock back-up. The night before we were set to pick-up the chickens, she emailed to say that someone stopped by that day and took all of the "buffs". Arrrgh!!! We had an agreement and she goes and sells the chickens to someone else. Why? I was livid and wanted to report her to Craig's list, but "being a jerk" wasn't an option for flagging the post.

So we decided to go ahead and bite the pullet (like the pun), and get more chicks. This time we're ordering from a hatchery in Cameron, Texas - Ideal Poultry. They do not require a minimum number of chicks, just a minimum order of $25. We're ordering Buff Orpingtons (4), New Hampshire Reds (4) and Dominques (3). They will ship on July 7th and should be here the next day. The Reds and Dominques should start laying eggs faster than the Buffs. Since Dirty Harry (our cat) is living in the east wing, we plan on setting up the brooder in the garage/workshop. It will be fun to have chicks again.