As you may have noticed, I have taken a brief hiatus from The Kitchen Flamingo as of late. Being lazy is certainly part of it, but more importantly.. we have new additions to the Kitchy Flam family! These little babies are already growing up so fast… they’ll be full grown chickens before I know it.
Meet Buttercup, Clementine, Olive, Harriet, and Ginger
I have been obsessed with chickens since I was a wee tot, chasing my aunts’ girls around her backyard. I was fondly known as “The Chicken Wrangler” and took my title very seriously. When it was time for the ladies to go in at night, I could be relied upon to corral and cuddle them all the way to the coop. As an “adult” who is lucky enough to have a yard, I decided that it was high time that I got a flock of my own. After doing hours upon hours of research about raising chickens, I decided to order mine from a reputable site that could ship a large selection of breeds right to my post office. I went with My Pet Chicken because they provided vaccinations, friendly customer service, and had the exact birds that I wanted. Also a guarantee of getting female chicks – always a plus when you aren’t allowed to have roosters in your neighborhood!
When the girls arrived, I was ecstatic. I had been joking around at work all week that I was going to go on “maternity leave” once they got here. It turns out I did end up using a vacation day on Friday to make sure that the gals were getting settled into their new digs nicely. I was told by fellow chicken owners that you’re supposed to hold and cuddle the chicks as much as possible when they’re young to make sure that they get used to being picked up. (This is supposed to make them friendlier in the long run) I mean, gosh, if I have to…
Chickies meet cucumber for the first time
After determining that they weren’t all going to spontaneously combust, Ben also allowed himself to get attached – make that very attached – to the gals. He says he doesn’t have a favorite, but Buttercup the Buff Orpington knows otherwise. {She is fondly named after Princess Buttercup from my favorite movie of all time} I think he is going to turn out to be a pretty good Chicken Dad.
We haven’t even had them a week yet, but the babies are already growing up so fast that it seems like new feathers are popping up every time we blink! Is this what having a kid is like? Maybe with significantly less cheeping…
Even though they’re only babies at this point, owning chickens has had a definite influence on my food choices already. You won’t find any boneless skinless chicken breast in our freezer! I like to use vegetables in my cooking as much as physically possible anyway, so the step to limiting our meat intake seemed completely natural. Honestly the thought of taking a bite out of one of my new babies just kind of wigs me out… This means a lot more vegetarian and vegan-friendly recipes coming your way!
I will be posting more on my adventures in chicken farming soon, especially as the ladies reach their awkward teenager stage. (I can’t wait!) I’m already predicting that Clementine our Australorp will be the first to go full goth on us..
