Here chick, chick, chick!

As John and I were about to take the plunge into early retirement and move back to his hometown near Kansas City at the end of this past January, my mind was racing with all the many new and exciting “country” adventures that awaited us there. So, when my brother handed me a small, neatly wrapped box this past Christmas morning, I had my very first country surprise. There, nestled in the box, was a gift certificate to Murray MacMurray Hatchery in Iowa, my chick order form for many common and exotic breeds of chicken. Why I was so surprised I don’t know, because most everyone who knows me knows of my near obsession with all things “chicken.” Yes, you read that correctly. I have been living vicariously through YouTube for the last many years in New York, studying everything I could find out about chickens. I even subscribe to Chickens Magazine for goodness sake! I was determined to have my own laying hens one day and now it appears that that was about to happen.

Of course, I could have gotten my chicks locally. Chickens are a common sight in rural Missouri after all, and “Chick Days” is right around the corner at the local feed store and tractor supply, but I wanted a colorful “egg basket” consisting of blue, green, brown and white eggs, which will include a few exotic breeds to begin my small flock with. For those of you friends who may not share my chicken obsession, you may be interested to know that there are hundreds of different chicken breeds worldwide! The American Poultry Association recognizes over sixty of them in our country alone. With different breeds come many different colors of eggshells. The blue, green, pink, dark chocolate brown and all various shades of eggs in between, are just the same as the white and brown eggs you would buy in your local grocery store, the only difference being in the pigment produced by a particular breed of chicken during the egg making process. I noted with some amusement last Summer, when I found myself in a rather upscale grocery store in New York City, that that store was asking a dollar more for a six-pack of blue eggs over the more common white and brown varieties. I guess the pretty blue eggs do look a little more exotic to a consumer after all.

What a wonderful Christmas gift to have received – the gift of life, and the beginning of a completely new adventure! The chicks are due to arrive at the beginning of July, which will give us ample time to get our chicken tractor (coop) situation in order, but more on that later. Fun times ahead, and, of course, I will keep you posted.

K.