Birds, Mammals, and Reptiles, Oh My!

 Yesterday morning, under sunny, blue skies, we took off for the feed store to pick up the chicks that they were holding for us.  The countryside is ablaze with color right now... the Eastern redbud trees making the hillsides pop.  

 The ride to the feed store was a a treat in itself.  Although the destination was important, the journey was indeed a treat!  

The previous day, over the phone, the feed store told us that they had about 19 Rhode Island Reds...

 and 17 mixed Black sex link and white Leghorn chicks left, but that the reds were reserved for someone.  

When we arrived at the feed store, we were told that if we wanted to, we could take all of the chicks, because no one had ever picked up the reds.  

So, naturally (because, as Hubbs says "we always have a tendency to over-do things"),  - we brought all 35 chicks home to the farm.  We have plenty of room in our henhouses, so... why not?  Our current flock is somewhat geriatric and no longer laying reliably.  

It looks as though we are starting over.

In a few months we should have plenty of eggs!  (Too many, actually.... but we love to share them!) We got them settled into their new house with a heat lamp for warmth, and plenty of food and water.

I'll check on them several times a day.  What fun it will be to watch them grow!  With 35 new hens, it will be impossible to name them all.  We might have to go with group names... such as, "the Lucilles, the Blanches, and the Jetts."

Once home, I stopped by the mailbox and was greeted by a visitor...

To many, a visitor like this might be unwelcome, but because snakes help with rodent control, I tolerate them.  Actually, they intrigue me.  This one is a black rat snake (identified by his lighter underbelly).

We had a short conversation and he told me he was just out enjoying the warm sunshine and the heat of the driveway.

Back in the barn, the Beatrixes are spending their days in the rafters... watching the barn swallows as they enter and exit the barn.  The swallows are smart.  

They have built their net in the middle of the stall rafters... far away from the grabbing claws of two black kitties.