Todas son girls

That is a direct quote from my neighbor this morning as she looked at the chicks in the triangle tractor: "Todas son girls."  All are girls.  So I have six pullets, not five and a cockerel.

The conversation started out with a bit of a joke. "Donde estan los blancos?" (Where are the whites?)  Me: "In the freezer now!"

In case anyone has a doubt, yes my neighbors are Mexican.  Their English is better than my Spanish, but I still try to remember what I learned in high school (maybe not so much what I learned on the factory assembly lines, though).  It gets amusing for both of us when one or the other flubs up a word.

She knows I have chicks on order, and was asking about Ideal's specials.  I told her the current specials are for a different ship date (the 14th) and I am waiting for mine to ship on the 21st, so Thursday or Friday I will know the specials.  I think I will place a call up to Lynn up the highway who asked to be let in on a chick order as well.

Maria also asked what I am ordering this time, so I pointed to Feyd, my beautiful Golden-Laced Wyandotte rooster, and told her "Twenty-five more como el!  Y 25 rojos por comer."  She calls the Cornish-Rock nuggets "los blancos grandes" and I translated red broilers as "rojos por comer".

SIX pullets, not five and a cockerel

all 6 cockerels, but
the red one is blending in with the leaves

This is as good a post as any to mention my chicken "dreams and schemes" that are moving into the realm of concrete plans.  My next chick order will likely be in March, and I will get 25 partridge Plymouth Rocks and 25 assorted Silkies, as I can't seem to make my mind up on which color variety of "incubators disguised as featherdusters" I want.  Plymouth Rocks grow fast, which is why they are crossed with Cornish so often for broilers, and they also get good-sized.  Ideal's website says Rocks get a bit bigger than Wyandottes, and Feyd is quite the tank!  The two barred cockerels are likely Rocks out in the tractor, but the barred feathers just don't tickle my fancy like the laced/spangled feathers on the partridge birds do.  Ideal even has partridge Wyandottes, but I adore my beautiful boy even if he did get hubby's shin a good one the other week.

So those are my chosen breeds: Golden-Laced Wyandottes, partridge Plymouth Rocks, and Silkies as incubators, with red broilers and assorted egg-laying hens.  I won't bother with keeping a red broiler cockerel (I believe those are a specific cross-breed like the nuggets?) since I will have a partridge Rock rooster anyway.

The electric netting fence is out for delivery today ... I kind of feel sorry for the UPS driver bringing it, as this is not one of my lightweight yarn boxes.  Hubby is now leaning toward building only tractors, with electric perimeter to protect against the land-based predators.  I'll reserve judgement until I see what he comes up with for a layer tractor, although the broodies will need stationary pens for setting a nest.

So that is where our chicken plans sit for right now.