Finally...a new post!

It has been literally months since I have posted something on this blog.  Not that I haven't thought about it...guess I just hadn't got around to it.  Some of you know that we lost quite a few of our chickens to skunks in May.  In two nights, a skunk family took out 15 chicks that were about 8 weeks old and 2 pullets that were about 3 months old.  We finally caught one of the skunks in a trap and reset it for the next night.  We managed to miss that one the next night even though it ate the egg that we put in the trap for bait and Paul chased it out of the coop when we heard a ruckus going on in there at midnight.  A few nights later we caught the second one but not before it fatally wounded another 3 month old pullet.  For the rest of the skunk family....well, thanks to the neighbors dog (he cornered two) they are all gone.  We have slowly started to rebuild our flock and we decided to switch from Marans to Light Sussex chickens.

We still have a couple of Black Copper Marans hens still left in the flock along with our trusty Peachy, Redger and 4 Ps (our son affectionately named her Pick a Pack of Pickled Peppers ;- )

Here is our new Light Sussex rooster:

More Momma and Baby News

I need to come up with a good name for this hen....she is amazing!  She hatched a total of 6 of the eggs she was sitting on which were from a variety of hens in the hen house.  We then swiped her unhatched eggs (we knew some weren't going to hatch) and we replaced them with 4 day old chicks.  Momma was thrilled!  She is happily clucking away talking to her babies in their little brooder area this morning teaching them to scratch, etc.  One even jumped up and pulled on her wattle and then her beak.  She just kept clucking away.  So cute!  I also was putting more food into the area with my scoop and she stuck her head in my scoop and then pushed a ton of food out of the scoop and down to the chicks.  It was really remarkable how she used her head to get them a load of food.

She now has 15 chicks total and she is mothering them like a trooper. I'm not sure how they are all going to fit under her in a few weeks, but hey, she's already amazed me. I'm sure she'll figure something out!

She has such a blended family! :-)  She is raising the following chicks: Turken/Birchen Marans Cross, Black Copper Marans, Blue Copper Marans, Blue Birchen Marans, Birchen Marans, Buff Orpington/Birchen Marans Cross, Splash Marans, Rhode Island Red/Birchen Marans Cross, Black Sex Link/Birchen Marans Cross, and a Blue Orpington/Birchen Marans Cross.  Whew....what a crew!

Our broody hatched her chicks!

We were beginning to get worried when we went out to check out on our momma Tuesday morning and we were delighted to get a "peek" at her new little family.

How fun!  We then saw 3 more little heads peek out of various places around momma.  This is the only light colored one she hatched out.  The rest are all black or black with a dark copper spot on the head.  There are still more eggs under her and there was at least one that was pipped so we will have to check again tonight to see if she is done hatching or not. 

It is hard to see the chicks in this picture but if you can see her feathers are in massive disarray....those are chicks crawling all over her and they would stick their heads out for just a second to grab a piece of hay and then they would disappear again. 

Trying to be patient, but it is SO hard!

Our broody hen still has not hatched her eggs...I'm so glad that I am able to peek in her area without her seeing me so that I don't bother her.  Why is it so hard to be patient sometimes?  She has been so diligent to be on those eggs...

I will keep everyone updated with pictures of course as soon as we get a peek of those little tykes!

Some of our recent babies...

Wednesday and Thursday we had a bunch of chicks hatch and they were Blue, Black and Splash Marans. 

This little one is the biggest butterball and super fluffy!

Lost 2 Eggs...

Well, our broody hen lost 2 eggs, and unfortunately, I don't think by choice.  If you look in the picture I posted last of her on her nest, there is a bright light by her face.  She is in the old chicken tractor and then light near her face is coming in from the little door that the chickens use to get in and out to the small fenced-in outdoor area.  The other day she decided to turn around and have her butt near the door after she had got up to get a bite to eat and a drink.  I was afraid she might lose one out the door so I piled some extra straw over in that area to try to block them in.  This morning I found out that my temporary solution did NOT work....bummer...I went out in the morning to find two eggs outside on the ground.  Shoot!  How long had they been there?  How cold were they?  I got Paul and we moved the hen and her eggs into a different brooding area that we have.  She was not happy with us at all! She promptly got back onto her eggs and Paul put the 2 that had fallen out back under her.  They were very cold so maybe they won't make it, but we figured that it didn't hurt to try.  So, in the end she is still on 10 eggs, but 2 may no longer be viable.

We will have to be patient as the chicks are due to hatch on EASTER!  What are the chances of that???

Our First Broody Hen of the Year!

Here is our first broody hen this year.  Spring has come and one of our Black Copper Marans decided that she wanted to be a momma!  Yipppee!  We are so excited to have her sit on 10 eggs...some are cross breeds and a few Marans eggs.  So far, she has been very protective of her eggs and Paul has been bitten and pecked multiple times when he has been trying to move her, clean her nest, give her an egg, etc. 

She definitely has a "Don't mess with me attitude"!

Black Copper Marans Eggs

I wanted to share the eggs that we have been getting from our Black Copper Marans.  According to the Marans egg color chart, the eggs are currently about a 6-7 which I would say is pretty good considering the darkest color is labeled as a 9.  We are a work in progress and I hope to get darker eggs, but right now I love seeing the eggs we receive everyday.

 Egg color on the computer and in pictures is a little hard to take completely accurately so I tried to take a few different pictures to try to get ones that reflect the real color the best.

This is the Marans egg color chart.

Meet our Newest Chicks!

We purchased a few new breeds to had to our hen house this year.  They were all born the last week of February so they are about 1-2 weeks old now.  Pictures were taking during their first few days.

Our Silver Laced Wyandotte

What she should like like as an adult

I love the lacing on these birds!

Our Gold Laced Wyandotte

What she should look like as an adult

Not sure I am crazy about the pea comb, but oh well...

Our Ameracauna

Well, Ameracauna girls are known for ending up as all different colors and patterns so I don't have an adult picture of her.  I am hoping that she turns out to me a lighter red and brown so we have some more color in the coop.  I mostly bought her though to change up the egg color a bit. I am hoping for a blue or green egg layer.

Getting Started Chick Kits - $40

We now have chick kits available for a one-stop-shop for your chicks and supplies.   

The kit includes the following:

1 chick base and 1 qt. canister feeder (available in purple or yellow)
1 chick base and 1 qt. canister waterer (available in green or red)
1 red heat lamp bulb (in box)
1 metal brooder heat lamp reflector with clamp
1 5 lb bag Manna Pro medicated chick starter feed
Basic Chicken Instruction Sheet
$10 voucher for chicks

All kit items (minus chicks) are brand new directly from the distributor's warehouse to our location.

Chicks can be a mix of whatever is available at the time.  Availability changes daily as chicks sell.

Special chick pricing for kit purchases:

1. Cross Breeds - These chicks are bred to be a hardy dual purpose chickens that are very good to excellent egg layers. The rooster is a Birchen Marans and the chicks come from the following excellent egg laying hens: Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington, Black Sex Link, and Turken. These chicks come in lots of unique colors and patterns.

Chicks Days Old: $3 each
Chicks 1-2 weeks: $4 each
Chicks 3-4 weeks: $5 each
Chicks 4-5 weeks: $6 each
 
They are unsexed.
Breed mix cannot be guaranteed except for Turkens (Naked Neck) as the rest are too hard to differentiate.

2. Marans - These chickens are known for their very dark eggs, but are also a dual purpose bird. The rooster is a Birchen Marans and our hens are Black Copper Marans and a Blue Copper Marans. These hatches will produce Black Copper Marans, Black Birchen (Silver) Marans, Blue Copper Marans and Blue Birchen (Silver) Marans.

Chicks Days Old: $6 each
Chicks 1-2 weeks: $7 each
Chicks 3-4 weeks: $8 each
**there is now a waiting list on Marans**

They are unsexed.
In the early ages we can only usually distinguish black from blue chicks.


If you are a newbie, don't worry, we can answer questions and help get you started.

Rooster or Hen?

This is the timeless question for the "unsexlinked" breeds.  Everyone always wants to know if a chick is going to be a rooster or a hen.  We have read lots of information and watched numerous videos and I think I've come to the conclusion that it is a skilled art. :-)

A friend of mine sent me this from Mother Earth News.  The picture below is from this link: http://www.motherearthnews.com/multimedia/image-gallery.aspx?id=64556

This is their theory and I'm not sure I agree with it or not as our Black Sex Link always lays very rounded eggs and I can hardly believe that she only lays females.  My Blue Copper Marans pullet, on the other hand, always lays a longer, more oval egg...I'd be devastated if she only produces males!


What do you think?  Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Chicken Hatching Calendar

I hope that calendar isn't too hard to see.  I thought it was the neatest explanation of how a chick develops and what happens on each day.  Unfortunately, our chicken eggs are WAY too dark to see all the things they state above.  Our mixed breed eggs are definitely much lighter than the Marans, but they are still all shades of brown eggs.  I itching to purchase a breed that lays white eggs for color variety and to be able to actually watch the chicken closer in the egg.  The kids already love watching what we can see, I can't imagine how excited they would be to see one each day through a white egg.

The Chicks are Here! The Chicks are Here!

We had 33 chicks hatch on the 6th and 7th!  Oh, how fun to watch them break out of their shell.  It is such a miracle and I love to watch every time.  I highly suggest that every person get to watch a chick hatch and especially every child.  It is simply amazing.  I will have to record one hatching and post it soon.  All are healthy and chirping. :- )

Here they are in the broader box with their heat lamp. It is hard to believe that there are 33 chicks  in that pile.  They sure know how to squish together! 

On the floor is our recycled shredded paper which seems to be working great because it isn't has big as straw so they aren't tripping and it isn't flat newspaper so it isn't slippery.  In the back left corner of the top picture, you can see our small yogurt container that now has red rock and water in it.  The rock prevents the chicks from drowning and the red rock seems to attract them more to the water than the regular gray rock that we used in the past.

If anyone is interested in some of these chicks, please email me. You can find my email on the right side of the screen in the "About Me" section.

Each chick is $4
They are unsexed
We cannot ship chicks at this time

We got a rooster....

Well, low and behold one of the 6 Orpington chicks we purchased back in October has identified himself as a rooster.  The young fella tries desperately to crow and I don't want to laugh at him, but almost find myself busting out with a few chuckles because his crow is so raspy and well, just plain funny.  It is almost like a boy in junior high whose voice is in the middle of changing.  :-0 

 He sure is beautiful...I love the blue colored birds.

Funny thing is that there is a another Blue Orpington that is much larger than this one and also has a comb about the size of this guy.  I thought for sure the other one was a rooster and he still may be one, but maybe he's in on the scoop that the sooner he crows and the labels himself a male, the sooner he ends up in "Abbott Freezer Camp" or for sale.  Maybe he witnessed Paul butchering the last batch of roosters when he was a tyke and therefore has had nightmares ever since....well, I guess we will see if it decides to ever drop an egg out.  lol

Our Orpingtons are about 15 weeks old right now.  We just let them out to free range with the rest of the group for the first time this week and then we locked them in the hen house with the rest for the night.  Pixie has been vigilant on letting them know that they have to stay in the outside section of the coop.  At least she let's them eat and drink!

What I found interesting was that when we put the Orpington's in with the rest, Perry, our alpha rooster, barely blinked an eye at them.  I figured that he would help put them in their rightful place in the pecking order.  Low and behold, instead it was one of our young (17 week old) Black Copper Marans roosters that we have in the hen house that was chasing them around inside the coop and pecking at them.  He even grabbed some of their feathers at times and would yank.  Such brutality!  So, it must be the one just above the newbies that put them in their place.  We have been keeping a close eye on them and each day they get along better.  The Orpingtons have learned to huddle real close together for safety's sake, I believe.  lol.  The best part is that they are already bigger than some of the hens and our two young Black Copper Marans roosters!  I guess size isn't everything.

This young Orpington rooster has also stopped crowing.  I haven't heard a peep out of him since he ended up in the hen house.  We'll see how long that lasts...

Speaking of which...I haven't ever heard the two young Black Copper Marans roosters attempt to crow either.  They are definitely old enough.  The only reason we know that they are roosters is because of their coloring.  It would be wonderful to have a couple "quiet" roosters for once.  I bet our neighbors would love it too!

New Chicks Due January 6th!

Happy New Year to everyone!

We will have new mixed breed chicks available on January 6th.  There are about 34 eggs in the incubator and because I am always so impatient and want to know how the chicks are doing, I candled them all last night. :-)  ALL of our eggs were fertile and growing right on time.  This round of eggs we are hatching came from Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington, Black Sex Link, and Turken hens.  After they hatch we will be selling all of them at $4 each so if anyone is interested, please contact me as soon as possible to be put on the pre-sale list as these tiny fluff balls always sell quickly!  Getting on the list doesn't obligate you to buy, it just reserves your spot to purchase some if you still wish once they are hatched.

The only mix breed that I can guarantee in this bunch is the Turken / Birchen Marans mix as they don't have the neck feathers.  Sometimes I will know which are Buff Orpington / Birchen Marans mix as they can come out a golden yellow color.

Just to recap:
Each chick is $4
They are unsexed
Mixed breeds from excellent egg layers!

You can find my email address to the right of the blog in the About Me section.