At one time this blog was pretty much nothing but posts about chickens and running. I am really going to try and not do that again. As much as I enjoy both chickens and running, when I go back and read my entries I almost fall asleep with boredom. I think a once-in-awhile post is timely though, and because yesterday was the first day of SPRING I feel entitled to write a chicken post.
This week I will be putting 10 light sussex chicken eggs into the incubator (pic of light sussex is above). I am extremely excited about this. Last year we didn't hatch out any chicks, and we didn't buy any either. In the fall I culled the flock and only kept my 6 youngest hens and my old, favorite hen that I can't bear to get rid of. So I am only at 7 hens and that entitles me to some baby chicks! I really don't like to keep any more than 10 hens at a time. The coop starts to get crowded over 10, and even though I do sell eggs, it is a pain and I prefer not to do it if I don't have to. Ten hens gives us more than enough eggs for my family, my mother-in-law, my parents and some extra to sell or give to friends.
Right now I have 2 Buckeyes, 2 Welsummers, 1 Austrolorp, 1 Speckled Sussex and my old, favorite Americauna hen who at this point is at least 6 or 7 years old. All of these birds, with the exception of the Americauna are very dark. I really felt the need to get some lighter colors into the flock, and the Light Sussex are gorgeous birds with white feathers and a black neck. In May I have 5 Buff Orpington chicks coming, but I am only going to keep 2 of them and the other 3 are going to a friend. So I am injecting some white and gold into the flock and the result will be a beautiful diversity. I am dreaming about some blue or lavendar to make up a supremely colorful flock, but that will have to wait until next year!
No comments:
Post a Comment