After a nearly 2 year chicken-break, we've decided to have a laying flock again. In the past I've kept red sex-links, RIR or Production Reds as a laying flock predominantly but this time I'm trying out assorted breeds I haven't had in the past. I've had sex links in both red and black, Easter Eggers and of course RIRs and Barred Rocks. I've also had tons of different breeds of bantams but it's been like 14-15 years now. So stay tuned to our website for updates on our chicken flocks and plans.

    On March 1st, we bought 12 pullet chicks from Tractor Supply. 4 Red Sex-Links, 4 Speckled Sussex and 4 Easter Eggers. A possum killed all but 7 in July. So we had to nurse one of the 3 Isa Browns back to health. She survived. So with 2 each Sussex and EEs plus the 3 Isa Browns, we had a small flock.A friend on Facebook had a Buff Orpington she wanted to rehome. She was 2 years old and not laying much so we figured we had tons of room, she could come here. She was slowly introduced to the pullets and that went off without a hitch so the flock was now 8. In July we also bought a group of Olive Eggers. 5 roosters and 3 pullets. I wanted the pullets but had to get the roosters too so I sold 3 the same day and later another one of the 2 blue ones. So we also introduced them slowly to the main flock and that brought us up to 12 birds in this flock. 1 rooster, 3 Olive Egger pullets (now as of Sept they are old enough to lay) and they're 2 months younger than the others. This currently makes up our laying flock though only Buffy (Buff Orpington) and Goldy (Isa Brown) are laying. 

     I ordered chicks from Ideal Poultry in late June. It was an assorted heavy pullet deal and I wound up slowly selling off most of them. We kept the one Lavender Cochin and 5 chicks which are 3 Barnevelders and 2 we aren't sure about but maybe Welsummers? I ordered specific breeds in August and got 3 California White, 3 Black Australorps and 3 Brown Leghorns from Ideal. From Hoover I ordered 3 Sapphire Gems, 3 Salmon Faverolle pullets, 1 Salmon Faverolle rooster, 3 Blue Laced Red Wyandotte straight run and 5 Egg Layer pullets. They sent us an extra Faverolle rooster and in the 5 Egg Production pullets we were sent 3 Isa Browns, 1 Barred Rock and a Brown Leghorn. I ordered eggs on ebay to try out our incubator and 5 chicks hatched. So we have 5 straight run BLRW and I couldn't help myself, I cleaned out Tractor Supplys pullets at the same time and brought home 3 Sapphire Gems (I LOVE blue chickens) and since they only sell with a minimum of 4 or more (and initially there were only 2 Sapphire Gems until he moved the waterer to catch the others and found a 3rd under it!), I didn't want to leave a couple we said we'd take the rest of the Sienna Stars which wound up being 5! So to tally that up, we brought home 8 chicks from TSC and with the 5 at home we have 13 in the brooder. Yes I promise that's it for now! I'll have to decide on who to sell later.

     I have downsized the layer chicks some to lighten the feed bill. At some point I will again sell down the layers because I simply don't need that many.