Chick Mom: Part I Joan Garuti Starting Down the Path of Raising a Flock I have always dreamed of having chickens, and just four short years ago I decided to make this dream a reality on a very small scale in a residential district. In speaking with our customers at The Cheshire Horse, I have quickly realized that many of us share this same dream. I am hoping that in starting this new miniblog series, I can help everyone realize just how much fun raising poultry can be and how simple backyard birds are to integrate into your life. Meet the Flock Fortunately, I live in a town that has no restrictions on backyard chicks, but I still visited with my closest neighbors to make sure that they were comfortable with my plans. To my neighbors, it was fairly important that my flock would stay in my yard and would not make too much noise (they were concerned about that infamous cock-a-doodle-doo!). Because of this, I decided to start my flock with three black sex-linked girls. These chickens are a heavy breed and therefore are not overly inclined to fly. Sex-linked chicks also have the added benefit of being able to definitively separate the roosters from the hens based on color. From the start, each chick had a unique Continued ON Page 36
34 4 Legs & a Tail
Spring 2021
