YES...I ORDERED MORE (!) CHICKENS...MILLE FLEUR d'UCCLE BANTY CHICKS

HELLO & Welcome to Garden Daddy here at the urban farm! Yes I can hear you all now...screaming at the top of your lungs as to what am I thinking. But I called yesterday, Monday, to verify my order last week of the Black Sex Links & Rhode Island Reds (6-each) and was on the hatchery website at the time of the call, looking at the pretty Belgian Bearded Mille Fleur d'Uccle chickens and just "shot the moon" and added 6-bantams of the breed.

Isn't she beautiful? (online stock photo - NOT MINE!) Feathered legged, bearded and oh so pretty! By the way, "MILLE FLEUR" means "a thousand flowers" OR "tapestry of flowers" depending on which definition you go with. And of course looking at the little hen above, is that not one thousand flowers on her? Roos of this breed on average run around 26oz. while the hens run about 22oz. I am hoping for some small little pullets...I have threatened on my club site, West TN Poultry Club, that I might have to move one or two roosters, if there are any in the order, to either my spare room upstairs or to the basement so I can have a rooster to breed the hens to. Don't think I would not try that too. But I have some fellow club members who will take any roos I get in the order of straight run chicks. This hatchery only allows straight run orders of all bantams. As a reminder to you, most hatcheries allow either rooster orders, pullet orders or straight run chicks which are you get what you get...no sexing will be done on the chicks to give you all roosters or all pullets, etc. I should be saying "cockerels" meaning young rooster, like a young hen UNDER one year old is a pullet UNTIL they are a year old.

Also, we are still on day 11 or 12 of "hatch watch" depending on how you are counting. I think the full 21st day will be Saturday, September 3rd around noonish or so is my take but will keep a close eye on the little Buff Orp hen all Friday and Saturday morning. But remember, Friday, Sept. 2nd, all these chicks are arriving...let's see, I currently have 13 hens, 8 eggs being brooded, 18 chicks on the way...that totals : 39 chickens here at the urban farm...WHAT AM I THINKING? Really it is not that bad, as the 8 eggs a'hatchin' are going back to the person who gave them to me are just for the hen to brood over, the 3 Cuckoo Marans are being sold (I hope) this coming weekend, the banty Mille Fleur d'Uccle chicks I am planning to put into the current compost bin that I will convert, as I have mostly been putting the compost stuff straight into the garden anyay.

So I will leave you today with our ongoing gardening affirmation in mind: "URBAN FARMING: ONE EGG AT A TIME!"