le peep {round 2}

Did you know that a group of chicks is called a peep?  A peep of chicks!  Is that not the cutest thing you've ever heard?

I wouldn't normally recommend getting two peeps of chicks, two weeks apart, but the breeds we wanted were going to be arriving at the feed store at different intervals so we decided to wait.  In this shipment we got four Australorps (my favorite backyard breed for our climate), two Araucanas, and three bantam Silkies.  Bantams are miniature sized.  Would you just look at how tiny this girl is?

Here she is cuddled up to a regular sized chick:

That is not a trick of perspective, the bantams really are that tiny!  And they can be found snuggled up to the larger chicks to keep them warm.  This particular chick is the loudest of the bunch.  I can hear her right now cheeping away in the garage.  I keep checking to make sure they are warm enough and it appears all of the other chicks are content.  This one is not happy unless she has a big sister to cuddle with.  Now I'm beginning to understand why the woman at the feed store was so excited to give us this bonus chick.  Awesome.
Anyway, back to the bantams.  They are not only smaller in size, but they also lay smaller eggs.  The perfect size for my favorite breakfast treat, a bird in the nest.

It is imperative to keep chicks of different ages separate from each other so while these sweet peas are in the garage under a heat light, the older chicks are out in the yard loving life in their Omlet coop.

We borrowed this "in between" coop from a friend and I love it!  If you live in the city, or only plan on getting two or three hens, this is a great option (they also have larger sizes for more hens).  It is easy to move, easy to clean and easy to use.  Can't say enough good things about it.



Next week I plan to do a couple of posts over chick care.  If you're interested in such things, please let me know of any questions you may have and I'll try to cover that!