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The welcome sign is always out on the coop at 1840 Farm. It usually welcomes guests to our farm. This week, it will be welcoming our new batch of day-old chicks.
The big day has finally arrived! Today is the hatching day for our new chicks. We’ve been waiting for this day to come for several months now. We’ve been talking about and planning for these chicks since January. In a few short days, we’ll finally be able to welcome them to their new home.In so many ways, it seems like old news that we are chicken keepers here at 1840 Farm. Yet, we have only had chickens for 18 months. In the grand scheme of things, it is an incredibly short amount of time. I guess it is the weight of our decision to become chicken keepers that makes it seem as though they have been here for such a long time.
The seven hens that call our coop home have changed us in so many ways. Before they arrived, I would have called myself a gardener. Now I wear the title “farmer” with immense pride. Somehow, “gardener” just doesn’t suffice anymore. Once you begin tending to the daily needs of a flock of hens and collecting the resulting fresh eggs, “farmer” just seems more appropriate.Not only did our hens transform our family into three generations of proud family farmers, but they inspired us to think bigger. They showed us that we could handle more on our farm than we would have ever dreamed possible. The hens inspired us to add a herd of dairy goats to our farm. One short year later, we have experienced the birth of our first goat kids and the daily pleasure of beginning our morning milking in the quiet of the barn.
It’s really quite amazing that seven heritage breed hens could teach us so much without ever uttering a human word. They didn’t have to. With every egg they left us in the nest box, we were reminded that nature, when properly tended to, holds the power to return the favor tenfold. It was amazing to see that scraps from the garden and a bowl of warm oatmeal could be transformed into delicious fresh eggs. Being entertained by their antics each day was merely a bonus.
Now, as we prepare to welcome the newest and smallest members to our farm, I can’t help but think of the day in 2010 when the first chicks arrived. We had no idea what to expect when we opened their shipping box. Everything we knew about chickens had come straight from reading books and blogs just like Community Chickens in the months before their arrival.We read earnestly, looking for information from chicken keepers and experts alike. We visited neighbors who kept chickens to see how they had outfitted their coops. We talked to people we knew who had kept chickens in the past. We willingly and gratefully accepted advice and encouragement from every direction. We hoped that we knew what we were doing and that we wouldn’t make too many mistakes. We hoped that we wouldn’t regret choosing to add chickens to our farm.
We did make mistakes. Some were due to our inexperience; some were simply a matter of the trial and error that goes along with everyday life. Each mistake taught us something. Each misstep led us down the path of learning on the job and brought us closer to becoming experienced chicken keepers.
We’re still learning every day. The hens have taught us about egg production, calcium needs, molting, and how to cope with living through a hurricane by eating fresh eggs on the grill every night. I can honestly say that we have yet to experience a moment of regret regarding our decision to add chickens to our daily lives. Instead, we take immense pride in our chickens and our role as their keepers. Maybe that’s why we choose to welcome visitors to 1840 Farm by drawing their attention to our coop and its welcome sign.
While tending to our chickens every day has become a common activity, we are just as excited about the arrival of these day-old chicks as the last batch. My children have been counting off the days for months. First the proclamation was the number of months until they were hatched. Then months turned into weeks and finally to the number of days until we arrived at today’s hatching day.Now that the day is here, I will summon the knowledge gained in the fall of 2010 to prepare for the arrival of these chicks. I’ll make sure not to be midway through a session with the canning pot this time. Instead, I’ll be outside working to prepare our raised beds for planting this summer’s garden.
I’ll be ready to jump in the truck and go retrieve the chirping package from the local post office as soon as the phone call comes. When we return, these chicks will be introduced to the warm environment of the brooding pen that will be their home for the next few months. The food will be waiting; the water and apple cider vinegar will be flowing. The heat provided by the brooder will be ready to comfort them after their long and arduous journey to 1840 Farm.
My children will be close at hand while this process unfolds. They will take an active role and learn how to handle the day-old baby chicks from the moment they arrive. As I watch them, I will hope that as adults they will chose to be chicken keepers and also to teach another generation how to do so. I will hope that they will share their lifelong knowledge with friends, neighbors and family.
After the baby chicks have been welcomed to 1840 Farm, we will observe them for a few moments and then leave them to acclimate to their new surroundings. Then we’ll mark the time on the clock, and prepare to make the next chick check two hours later. Each time, my children will come along with clipboard in hand to document the temperature in the brooding pen, the activity and health of the chicks, and any changes that we make to their environment.By performing these simple tasks, my children are proudly claiming their place as sixth-generation New England farmers. They are committing to memory how to care for a flock of chickens from birth to laying hens. As adults, they will not need to consult a book in order to learn how to prepare the brooder or tend to the daily needs of their hens. Instead, they will only need to draw on the experiences that they are collecting right now.
Hatching day will be a happy occasion here at 1840 Farm. A collection of new chicks will emerge from their shells and begin their journey to our home and our hearts. Two children will begin their formal education as chicken keepers. They will grow and learn together taking turns occupying the role of teacher and student respectively. Me? I’ll be the proud mother hen watching the beautiful story unfold.
I know that you are as proud of your flock and coop as we are. All of us at 1840 Farm would like to help you welcome guests to your family’s home in the same way that we do. One lucky winner will be chosen to receive a handpainted “Welcome to our Coop” wooden sign to proudly display on their coop. The winner’s sign will be handcrafted at 1840 Farm and customized with the year that their coop was established.
To make sure that you don’t miss any of the excitement, giveaways or unending supply of cute photos of baby chicks during the A Year in the Life at 1840 Farm Series, daily news from the coop at 1840 Farm.
27 Comments
we started keeping chickens in 1990. It was great for our young children to experience homegrown food and hatching, both natural and incubated. My girls give me pleasure everyday.
We established our flock of 6 hens in March 2012 and it has been an incredible experience! I now know that I will always have chickens. 🙂
Thanks for the blog. We have had our flock for a year now and I read and read and read some more. I agree you learn every day!!
parks90@comcast.net
I loved the article. It sounded like I was reading about me…waiting for my first peeps which will be arriving this coming week. All the reading and prep. So excited. And my grandaughter is anxiously waiting too.
I shared this post on Pinterest.
I established my coop this year 2012 and can not even begin to tell you how wonderful it is. My girls are amazing and maybe a guy to.
I established my flock in 2010 too and my world has changed forever! Love the blog!
We started our flock of 6 hens in April 2011. I purchased 3 white leghorns and 3 Rhode Island Reds from our local tractor supply store, starting them out in a cardboard box with a heat lamp in our garage, then moving them into a portable dog kennel while I built a small chicken coop suitable for 6 chickens. I have them enclosed in a 10′ X 40′ run on my back lot and allow them to free range during part of the day. I love fresh brown eggs, thus the breed I purchased. I used to buy farm fresh eggs, but my supplier stopped so I decided to take matters in my own hands a decided to start my own flock. My grandparents lived in a farm in Mass and I used to love to help with the chores when I was a kid, so now some 60 years later I am reliving my childhood memories.
I have shared this post on my Pinterest board. 🙂
I shared this blog post and contest on Facebook. 🙂
We established our coop this year, 2012. It was a dream come true for me! It was a long time in the making but my sweet husband played along so nicely. I can just picture where this sign would fit perfectly! Thank you for this opportunity. My four sweet little hens would be thrilled too, I’m sure. 🙂
My husband and I are new to the “chicken world” and have been planning for our new “2-legged kids” for 2 years. We had originally planned on building a coop and getting chicks last year but when an awesome young man came to us one evening and asked for our blessing to marry our daughter…well…it was either chickens or a wedding. (I’m sure you know which one we ended up doing!) =) So, we started building our chicken tractor February 18th of 2012 and got our first 10 chicks on February 29th. They have been so much fun to watch grow! I am constantly reading and researching web sites and blogs like yours and Fresh Eggs Daily and Backyard Chickens for more & more info on these awesome creatures. I have learned so much on the past 2 months and there is SO much more to learn! I have a feeling this is going to be very addictive! =D
Hello, I enjoyed reading your post, our first chickens started shortly before yours. Lol but mine started in 2009. It started with wheaton bantys, since then I’ve raised barred rocks and golden coments. Now I have a mixture of breeds, which are columbian wyandottes to black sex links, polish, Americanas, cochins, barred rock “show birds” still got the wheaton bantys, too many lol. I will post on FB.
I grew up having chickens. Now that I have a family of my own I wanted to let my kids have the same experiences. I have enjoyed reading all about your experiences too. Thanks for posting. We all learn from eachother. God Bless
We have some under a broody momma as we speak! Hopefully they will hatch. Established May of 2011!
Love your blog. Have had chickens for two and half years and love every minute of it. Your chicken sign is absolutely adorable
I enjoyed reading your post. Our coop was established in 2011. We live in the suburbs and only have 2 girls. Ginger Rogers is a Buff Orpington & Myrna Loy is a New Hampshire Red. They are such good girls. We hope to have our own farm w/i the next few years. The 1st thing I’ll do is get more girls! Thanks so much for the chance to win. I’ve already commented on FB & now I’m headed over to Pinterest. I’ll pin to my FarmGirl Life board 🙂
Want to start my coop in 2012, I am gathering so much knowledge from my facebook friends and I will post this to my facebook page and also pin it to Pintrest. Thank you for the opportunity to have a chance to win this great sign
Such a beautiful sign! I have been contemplating putting a sign on our main coop that says “The Big House” and the small coop next to it that we use for integrating new pullets and cockerels, I want to put a sign that says “The Halfway House”! I love spring because we start hatching in March and every week through September we have chicks hatching! It is so much fun and I never thought we could turn chickens into a fun family business when we got our first chicks back in 2008!
We have 8 more baby chicks, but I am now looking forward to putting them into their coop! It’s hard having them in the garage!
We just got our baby chicks last Thursday. It is our first time raising chickens and we have six. My husband is building the coop right now and we will have it ready for our girls in a few weeks! We are very excited and so happy to have them with us.
We started our coop in 2009, with 6 chicks from our local feed store. We now have 37 chicks and chickens (19 different breeds in total) plus 5 ducks. Loved your blog post and would love to win this sign. I will be following your blog from now on.
I spent many years raising chickens with my family as our children were growing up. Our kids were active in 4-H and we spent lots of time preparing our birds for shows and hanging out at the poultry tent at the county and state fairs. We had as many as 30 in our flock. It has been perhaps twenty years since I’ve raised poultry and I no longer live on a farm. My husband and I will have our new coop finished for our urban ladies to move in this year!!!! I can hardly wait. You have so much helpful information in your blog. I feel like a newcomer, so reading what you and others experience is good preparation for us. Thank you, Jennifer. Blessings, Rita “Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral.” Frank Lloyd Wright
Dear Jennifer,
I forgot to mention the year that we began chicken farming so I am starting over…We began chicken farming in 2010 just like you with 6 day old babies that I picked up at our local post office. And,like you I eagerly counted off the days until on my calendar. So egg-citing !!! Now I have 10 wonderful laying hens and have enjoyed every minute of it ! I love the way their individual personalities develop and I even have a little Black Australorp gal who really truly tries her darndest to crow !!!!
I enjoy reading your blog and FB posts and thank you for this opportunity to win such a cute welcome sign for my coop !!!
Karen Doll Mamabirdy55@aol.com
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I love reading your blog. You have so much knowledge it is hard to believe you have been doing this for such a short time. We started in 2009 with two hens, and expanded from there. We have 50 meat bird that are a month old, 36 heritage birds hatched from our own eggs that are 3 weeks old and about 45 layers and 3 roosters that run free. We also raise rabbits for meat and I hope to get a pig very soon. I LOVE being a small farmer.
We too have had the pleasure of introducing new chicks to our home! We have ordered chicks and it is so fun bringing them home. Last year, we ordered 25 Top Hats and it was so fun watching them as they grew up and changed. Really enjoy your posts. Our coop was established in 2009. Have a great day! Shannon