My husband and I started raising chickens in 2007, after rescuing a quickly-diminishing flock that had been abandoned by a neighbor. We penned them up to keep predators from totally decimating the little flock, and the rest is history.
One of my favorite memories as a child was helping my grandmother gather eggs. I couldn't see into the nest, so I would have to blindly reach over my head into the nest - never knowing if the hen was still sitting and would give me a little peck. I would watch her gather up her apron made from flour sacks filled with the daily eggs. I think that is the proper way of carrying eggs back to the house, even if it's only in the hem of my baggy T-shirt.
We have branched out into several breeds since then. We have 7 acres on our little farm, and we have dedicated about an acre to peacocks and chickens. All are fenced in large areas, covered by batting-cage netting, and surrounded by two strands of electric wire.
Easter Eggers:
We have a nice flock of Easter Eggers that produce sky-blue, green, and olive eggs.
French Black Copper Marans eggs - Bev Davis and Wade Jeane lines:
Olive Eggs shown in center, surrounded by Copper Marans and blue/greens.
This is an Olive Egger hen in front of one of the French Black Copper Marans roo:
These are our EE roos and a few of the hens:
EE babies are the cutest chicks in the world!
French Copper Marans: We have laying hens and roos from both the Bev Davis line and the Wade Jeane line. The lines are penned separately.
Silkies:
Here's a few of the hens...
and these two young cuties:
We have several Polish. This is Rod Stewart, a White Crested Black Polish roo. His little flock includes several WCB hens (Patti LaBelle, et al) and a solid white hen...some recessive gene at work, I suppose.
Then, there's the barnyard favorites...we have several Delawares, Rhode Island Reds, Golden Comets, Barred Rocks, and Buff Orpingtons.
This is "Walter". He rules the roost, for as long as the hens allow it.
We have several India Blues and Pied peafowl. What a treat they are! This is where I go to relax after work every day. My DH and DS surprised me with a wonderful flight pen...they wanted to get the peas out of the batting cage before spring!
And then there's Buckwheat. He thinks he's a dog...it's a long story.
One of my favorite memories as a child was helping my grandmother gather eggs. I couldn't see into the nest, so I would have to blindly reach over my head into the nest - never knowing if the hen was still sitting and would give me a little peck. I would watch her gather up her apron made from flour sacks filled with the daily eggs. I think that is the proper way of carrying eggs back to the house, even if it's only in the hem of my baggy T-shirt.
We have branched out into several breeds since then. We have 7 acres on our little farm, and we have dedicated about an acre to peacocks and chickens. All are fenced in large areas, covered by batting-cage netting, and surrounded by two strands of electric wire.
Easter Eggers:
We have a nice flock of Easter Eggers that produce sky-blue, green, and olive eggs.
French Black Copper Marans eggs - Bev Davis and Wade Jeane lines:
Olive Eggs shown in center, surrounded by Copper Marans and blue/greens.
This is an Olive Egger hen in front of one of the French Black Copper Marans roo:
These are our EE roos and a few of the hens:
EE babies are the cutest chicks in the world!
French Copper Marans: We have laying hens and roos from both the Bev Davis line and the Wade Jeane line. The lines are penned separately.
Silkies:
Here's a few of the hens...
and these two young cuties:
We have several Polish. This is Rod Stewart, a White Crested Black Polish roo. His little flock includes several WCB hens (Patti LaBelle, et al) and a solid white hen...some recessive gene at work, I suppose.
Then, there's the barnyard favorites...we have several Delawares, Rhode Island Reds, Golden Comets, Barred Rocks, and Buff Orpingtons.
This is "Walter". He rules the roost, for as long as the hens allow it.
We have several India Blues and Pied peafowl. What a treat they are! This is where I go to relax after work every day. My DH and DS surprised me with a wonderful flight pen...they wanted to get the peas out of the batting cage before spring!
And then there's Buckwheat. He thinks he's a dog...it's a long story.
