Finally got around to getting chicks

This is somewhat of a late post in the sense that it should be dated 06.11.10.

Over the past few months I've put much thought into raising chickens in my backyard. It started out with a late night aimless web surfing session which somehow landed me on a Craigslist posting by a woman in Coney Island giving away a rooster she accidentally received in her recent order of chicks. The thought of raising chickens had never crossed my mind until then but afterwards I was definitely intrigued. I began looking up any information I could on raising chickens on the web. "Backyard Chicken" as deemed by many is a movement by many suburbian and city folk who raise their own chickens in their homes/yards. Everybody has their own reasons; from fresh eggs to more humane treatment of animals and even to use chicken poop as fertilizer. My reason, a little of everything but mainly just for the experience.

I drove out to New Egypt in New Jersey with my girlfriend which is a solid hour drive away to purchase baby chicks from their local Agway. They order chicks from a farm and they keep in stock throughout the summer. Breeds will differ from each order. One time I had called and they had listed out to me over 10 different breeds. When I arrived they were only carrying Rhode Island Reds and Golden Comets. Since the minimum purchase as required by state law is 6 chicks, I got 3 of each.

Although I really didn't want to, I ended up purchasing a bag of medicated chick starter feed. I would much rather have fed them organic things but with their little mouths and being my first time, I just didn't know what I could even feed them.




As I was getting gas on the way home, I decided to pick up one of the golden comets to hold in my hand. She flew out of my hand and landed on the dash board.