Chickapalooza 2020

January in Maine usually brings images of idyllic snow, blustery winds and L.L. Bean boots. But today, today it's 40 degrees F in January.

Not to be that person that talks about the weather, but it's been an unusual winter. I'm not complaining- I'll take any weather above freezing gladly. As a farmer and homesteader, so much of our lives revolve around the weather for the sake of our animals, our infrastructure and our to-do lists.

In keeping up with our to-do lists, a big one for us is expanding our flock of layers and show birds. The demand for our farm fresh eggs is high and we want layers for peak season - summer. If we hatch now, these chicks should be 6 months old by June and should go right into peak egg production instead of coming of age in the fall and having a short laying season before production drops for the winter. We also show our chickens competitively and having our show stock be older and thereby more developed for the Fall shows (and for the Northeast Poultry Congress next January) is ideal.

So that brings us to having chicks in January. Probably one of the earliest #chickapalooza events we have had in the past few years and it'll likely be the longest, as we are already saving eggs for the next incubator run.

It's always exciting to welcome new life to the farm.

Ah, winter. So much hope for the year. Here's to dreaming of the future and continually expanding and growing.

Cheers,

S