Uh-oh, we did it again!

Or subtitle, Chicken raising take 2.

43 chicks in the garage nursery

Since the first round of chickens went so well, we've decided to try it again with the goal of having a year's worth of chicken in the freezer.  I have to say, we've been most impressed with the quality and taste of the meat from our first venture.  It was a bit of a stunning realization to look down at my dinner plate earlier this week and know that every item, except a bit of cheese in my salad, was something we had grown ourselves (chicken, swiss chard and green salad).  It made us feel all self-sufficient (and a little smug).

Boxes of chicks

Are you my mother?

So our current batch of Cornish Rock cross chicks arrived on Wednesday from Jenks Hatchery in Oregon.  We ordered 40 chicks (43 were sent), and we'll be splitting the bounty, butchering and cost with some good friends of ours.  This group of chicks display a much different personality than the original mob, being more spunky and curious.  They are currently working on digging a tunnel through the deep liter in what we're guessing is an effort to get out to the world beyond.  They also think our dog is their mother.

So here we go again.  I'm not sure how much I'll blog the process this time because we're roughly doing the same thing, but who knows?  Baby chicks are pretty darn cute so they might get more then their share of air time.