Funny how things turn out. All that time ago, right at the beginning when I didn't have any chooks, DH and I had aslightly public disagreement about the number of hens I planned to get. I mentioned the F word, as that's where I'd got to in my thinking, and he was still trying to come to terms with the idea of Three.
Anyway. We agreed that the gap left by Lydia needed filling, and we both agreed that it's not good practice to try and introduce just one hen, so we were both agreed, and the F word stopped being unacceptable.
I spent a lot of time over the last week trawling the internet, phoning breeders, trying to get the chooks that I wanted. My first choice was impossible to get, even Wernlas aren't breeding them at the moment. There then followed a lot of toing and froing while I tried to sort out in my own mind what two chools to get, and then to find a breeder who did both. My second combination was proving impossible, and then my third. And Wernlas weren't even taking orders for these two as their waiting list was already too long. So I picked one of the breeds and a fourth breed and tried again. And then the other and a fourth. And so it went on.
Breeders weren't very good at coming back to me (even though I asked them to call back even if it was a "no"), and I had just about decided to go and get two hybrids of some sort. And then one of the breeders called me back. Yes, I have a - but they are only 8 weeks old, she said. Blimey. Right, can I come and visit tomorrow?
When I got there, not only did she have a -, but she also had a --, one of my originally desired combinations. Blimey again. She also had a couple of other breeds, and I was sorely tempted to sneak in a third, but I resisted. There is always later in the year, I thought.
So my chicks are reserved. I didn't bring them home because they are the perfect size for my cats to want - and be able - to eat, and I don't feel experienced enough yet to take them on at such a tender age. So she's keeping them for me until they reach 14 weeks. It's going to be a looooong 6 weeks while we wait!
Anyway. We agreed that the gap left by Lydia needed filling, and we both agreed that it's not good practice to try and introduce just one hen, so we were both agreed, and the F word stopped being unacceptable.
I spent a lot of time over the last week trawling the internet, phoning breeders, trying to get the chooks that I wanted. My first choice was impossible to get, even Wernlas aren't breeding them at the moment. There then followed a lot of toing and froing while I tried to sort out in my own mind what two chools to get, and then to find a breeder who did both. My second combination was proving impossible, and then my third. And Wernlas weren't even taking orders for these two as their waiting list was already too long. So I picked one of the breeds and a fourth breed and tried again. And then the other and a fourth. And so it went on.
Breeders weren't very good at coming back to me (even though I asked them to call back even if it was a "no"), and I had just about decided to go and get two hybrids of some sort. And then one of the breeders called me back. Yes, I have a - but they are only 8 weeks old, she said. Blimey. Right, can I come and visit tomorrow?
When I got there, not only did she have a -, but she also had a --, one of my originally desired combinations. Blimey again. She also had a couple of other breeds, and I was sorely tempted to sneak in a third, but I resisted. There is always later in the year, I thought.
So my chicks are reserved. I didn't bring them home because they are the perfect size for my cats to want - and be able - to eat, and I don't feel experienced enough yet to take them on at such a tender age. So she's keeping them for me until they reach 14 weeks. It's going to be a looooong 6 weeks while we wait!
