We have CHICKS.. And ducks! | LIFESTYLE

Sooo we're building a farm over here....

I never really thought about (ever, really) having any chickens. Although I'm a huge animal fanatic, having any type of poultry never really crossed my mind.. So here's the story behind it all:

We had to start cutting our grass once it started growing back in from the construction and that's when it became pretty apparent that we were completely outnumbered by bugs. Huge. Freakin. Bugs.

Mainly grasshoppers. Large ones that fly - and by fly, I mean do a great job of flying-down-your-shirt when you're on the riding lawnmower and you about wreck the thing because you almost have a heart attack.

 I'm not particularly scared of bugs. No doubt I don't like them but the only time I really lose my mind is when I spot a spider and I go to grab shoe napkin and I come back to the last place I saw it and it's no. longer. there. That's when I start sleeping with my eyes open. 

But other than that, I tend to be pretty safe in my house, since I married a pest control guy and all, so going out to cut the grass, which I actually really like to do, made it a completely different story when these dinosaurs bugs decided to catch a ride in my bra. I ain't havin' it.

So I mentioned it to Devon and he off-the-fly mentioned getting chickens and how they could take care of the problem and that's when the light bulb went on... We're getting some - sign. me. UP.

The ducks came later (and on whim) but I'll get into that in a minute...

So we have a total of 10 chicks now! I did some pretty extensive research about the type of chickens we would want and we decided on 4 Easter Eggers and 6 Amberlinks. So why these two breeds? Well, we wanted to make sure we have chickens that could withstand cold weather (and unpredictable weather since Virginia) and they had to be docile birds that were relaxed and of course good with kids. 

I found the Easter Eggers online and bought all hens since we don't plan on hatching our own chicks (just yet, anyway), we just really want the fresh eggs.. Plus Easter Eggers (or aka Aruacana) lay blue and green eggs so of course I had to have em'. The other breed are called Amberlinks and we bought them at Tractor Supply. I didn't plan on getting this many in the beginning but since Tractor Supply requires a minimum of 6 chicks, I figured that we built our chicken coop way big enough and I actually really love having and raising these chicks now so WHY. NOT. I said 6 chicks it is.

Then we saw the baby ducks. Ahh. my. gahh.

They are so cute. and soft. and they gnaw on your fingers and it's super adorable. They're heart melting. And since P "asked" for them (I used her as the excuse to get them) we ended up purchasing four lil ones. 

I can't even tell you what breed they are because I didn't even care to check. So responsible, I know. 

But you see what I mean???! They are adorable. And they can room in the chicken coop too sooo we're going to add a run for them and a small pond on their side of the coop - I'm pretty excited. Devon, not so much but only because he has a liiiiitle more building to do now (sorry, babe) but don't let him fool you... they're freakin' cute and he knows it.

That's all I have for now on these little guys! The Easter Eggers are already almost 5 weeks old so this time next week they'll be in the chicken coop like big girls. We will let our chickens free-range so  once they move to the big coop, they have to stay inside for about 3 weeks and then they can wander outside and start eating the lovely grasshoppers. I'll also give them some lettuce and other fruits and veggies as snacks. I've started finding myself treating them like my other 14 kids. Lol. But realllllyy..

If any of y'all have ever had chickens, let me know your experience!! I always find that research is awesome but experience trumps everything so I wanna hear it all - especially the things you think we should know. I have to say that I'm getting the hang of it but we still have more steps to figure out (listed above) so feel free to chime in and give me your thoughts :) 

xx, tbp