Mail Order Chickens; Arrival Day!

They Have Arrived!!
The chicks are here! The chicks are here!

As many of you know, Monday was our “Hatch Date.” I’m not sure why, but in my mind that meant the chickens were coming that day. Wrong. Hatch Day is simply your estimated due date. If the chicks hatch on that day, then they’re shipped on that day. The likelihood of you actually getting your chickens on your estimated hatch day is pretty rare; the chicks would have to hatch early.

Because we are the family that gets overly excited about the little things, this day had been marked on our calendar for 24 days. Let me spell it out for you:

6 kids + anticipated arrival of baby fluff balls = Mommy trying to explain estimated due dates.

It also equals 24 long days.

But forget about all of that! Today was the day! While I was once again explaining how “estimated due dates” work, the phone rang. It was 7:03 a.m.

“Your baby chicks are here!” sang the postmaster.

My inner voice went crazy… “Omg!! Omg! Let’s skip school! No… Let’s be tardy!”
… I may have said that last thought out loud. Oops.

Honestly, I would have packed up the kids and made all five of them late to school because none of them have ever experienced getting baby chicks in the mail. How fun would that be! But, we are a blended family and I wasn’t a 100% sure on how that would go over with the others.

So everyone went to school. On time. Thumbs down. Boo.

After dropping the Littles off, I proceeded to head down to the post office to pick up the “babies.”

That’s when the fear set in.

My inner voice was shouting out my subconscious thoughts: “What if there’s a dead chick?” OMG.

What the hell do I do with it?

Toss in the woods? No. The dogs would find it.

Compost? No. The chickens would get it.

Throw it away? No. Just no. Well, maybe?…

Why did I not just have the kids skip morning school? Why am I doing this by myself?

A mile and a half away from the post office I did what any sensible mom would do; I called MY Mom. She would know what to do.

“Bury them.” She said.
Of course! “I don’t want to have a funeral in the rain.” I pouted.

I pulled into the parking lot, feeling a little anxious about looking in the box.
It was still early in the morning and the post office wasn’t technically open for the day, but they told me I could still come down and knock on the door when I arrived.

My first knock was so quiet, I really don’t think they heard me. It didn’t matter because I heard what I needed to ease my anxiety. The sound of a thousand little peeping chirps and my heart just swelled! Smiling uncontrollably, I knocked a little harder.
The postmaster opened the door holding a little box. The peeping chirps were louder now. She told me that they looked good, better than some that she had seen come through. I peeked in. 15 Little heads were bopping around waiting for food and water. I thanked the postmaster and hurried home.

Having warmed up the brooder before we left for school, I lifted each chick, one

by one, out of the box and introduced her to water and food before gently placing her under the heat lamp.

 

I then sat back and watched them explore.

But only for a minute; Princess was on the run. And the Barn door was open.

 

*We Ordered our Chickens from Valley Farm Hatchery