A new addition to the family

No, it's not Faranji yet... though I know some of you are betting he comes before the end of this month. Let's keep a lid on that kid for a little longer -- he's only at 34 weeks today.

Our new addition is: chickens!

The gals in their new home under the red heat lamp

We received six day-old pullets (female chickens before they lay their first eggs) in the mail this morning. They are currently cheeping away in the downstairs guest bedroom.

Five breeds are represented in our new flock:

• 2 Barred Plymouth Rock (the darkest ones with white spots on the back of their heads) already named Happy by Cora and Rascal by Nate
• 1 White Cochin (the only light colored hen pictured above)
• 1 Buff Brahma Bantam (the littlest grey gal in the front of the photo above)
• 1 Speckled Sussex (maybe the grey one in back with the white face?) named Bisoux by me after Cora kept kissing her this morning
• 1 Light Brahma (maybe the reddish lady in the middle?)

For the first month or more, our ladies can live in a cardboard box inside the house. But eventually they'll need a coop. Behold the early stages of our chicken "barn":

Nate and Cora test the coop frame