spring at last

it feels more like spring today. half the snow from our recent snowstorm has melted, and our chicks and ducklings arrived this afternoon. they are Super cute, and so full of life and noise... except a few of them. ordering from hatcheries is a risk at best, even when managed carefully, as the stress and strange experience of industrial hatch outs and shipping can easily injure, sicken, and kill baby birds. this year i ordered egg laying ducks (khaki campbells), welsummer chickens (very hardy heritage breed for eggs/meat), and cochin chickens for brooding. my goal is to have my birds hatch out their young at the ideal time of year, so i'm not left ordering babies from the internet that don't even grow underneath their mom's butt.

our indiegogo campaign is still going. it stalled out a bit yesterday, as we reached the boundaries of those among my immediate friends/family who found it easiest to donate. now we're working on reaching deeper, to e-newsletters, farther flung friends, bloggers, and others who might have a larger impact than we do. if you know folks like that, Please share our link with them, along with any flattering words you think are suitable (or cute animal pictures, if they're that type). the link is http://igg.me/p/96792/x/544801

thanks for your help! and for your patience, while my typical blog posts come more often, but peppered with what can easily feel like propaganda. the more help i get in this campaign, the more awesome (and less sad) stuff i will have to post about, folks. help this homestead thrive!