Brooder Time

Look at all those critters!

It's nearly time again:  the new batch of chicks will be arriving on April 15th, or there abouts.  My friends at McMurray Hatchery are patiently waiting for the Red Ranger and Buff Orpington chicks I ordered long ago in January to make their way into the world.  Then they'll be popped into a warm box and sent on their merry way from Iowa to Wisconsin--and then to me.  I can hardly wait.

Just a side note:  I highly recommend Murray McMurray hatchery.  Having ordered from them for several years now, I've had nothing but great luck with their day-old chicks, and their customer service can't be beaten.  They are so nice!  And, the chicks arrive happy, healthy and very very quickly, helping them get off to a great start.  If you haven't checked out their website or their mail-order catalog yet, and you're thinking about ordering chicks, I encourage you to check them out.

Before they arrive, though, I need to reconstruct the brooder in the car hut.  Remember it from the photo above?  It worked pretty good, although I think I may need to add some two-by-four supports and create some kind of a gate entry versus the whole "moving wall" thing.  I nearly squashed a couple of those cuties last year accidentally, and I don't want that to happen again.  There will be fewer chicklets to worry about this year, but still, I don't want any accidental squishings on my watch.

Part of this weekend will be spent in cleaning out the car hut and constructing the brooder.  Lucky me, I took a five day weekend in lieu of a longer Spring Break--it should be just long enough for me to tackle this project, I hope.

Well, that and shelling those beans currently hanging above the brooder space. 

P.S.  Today is the FINAL DAY before the drawing for the free copy of Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens!  If you haven't left your comment on that blog post yet, click RIGHT HERE to head on over and make your entry.  Don't forget, or it will be too late!