Easter Came Early

We really struggle to find gifts for Easter that will remind our boys what we are celebrating and the sacredness of it - and avoiding all the materialism that has crept into every other gosh darned holiday.  But this year we found a gift that they would be excited about and that would kinda embody the day.  And once we though of it - we couldn't wait until the weekend.  We got them chicks and here they are!

We got one for each member of the family so that we never run out of eggs.  We got three different breeds - all good layers.  Black Australorps, Rhode Island Reds, & Americaunas.  Americaunas don't lay as many eggs - like maybe 3 a week but they are bluish greenish eggs and they are such beautiful birds that we couldn't turn them down.  I would have liked to have found a Wyandotte and a Barred Rock but didn't this time.  Here's a close-up of the Americauna:

And here are some other cute ones:

Getting cozy to stay warm:

Tired so fast...

And the poopy outtake of the first image...

These chicks are all about a week old and won't lay eggs for at least 20 more weeks  - which means we're looking at late August.  I wasn't planning on starting with chicks again but they're just so cute and irresistible...don't you think?  And it's fun to bond with your birds and they with you. I always notice a difference with the hens I raise from birth to the ones I buy as older pullets.

Happy Easter!

p.s.  I've had several people ask me how I took these shots.  It was actually really simple.  I had already taken some product shots for a friend on some white butcher paper.  I took the paper and taped it up behind - letting it roll out in front without an noticeable edge creating a never-ending white backdrop.  It was right next to a bunch of bright windows that I used for my lighting.   It's super easy and you could use any color paper.  Maybe I'll do a "how-to" post some time...