Poultry

Brown Eggs (Locally Available)

Our flock of Buff Orphington hens are busy laying eggs and we are making them available for purchase locally for $3.00 per dozen.

Testing with New Varieties

We placed an order for chicks (pullets and cockerals) from the hatchery to establish a local breeding stock for 12 varieties of chickens.  All of the breeds that we ordered were brown egg layers with the exception of the "Easter Egg" layers that we got for the novelty of the colored eggs.  We have been very pleased with the Buff Orpingtons, but were trying to test a variety of breeds to see how they adapt to being raised on open range.

We have always enjoyed our chickens and try to keep them as happy as possible since happy chickens lay more eggs. :-)  Our new adventure was to move the chickens into the paddocks (pasture).  This is the way that we have always wanted to raise our poultry, and it was nice to be able to get this set up.

We used our existing egg boxes and assembled them into portable shelters for roosting and laying which can be moved from paddock to paddock as we rotate the chickens.  This gave the chickens free range over the paddock with the exception of separating the roosters and hens and setting aside areas for the actively breeding roosters and hens.

Also, we decided to start a selective breeding program for the varieties of chickens that we are raising.  We select for traditional traits such as broodiness in an attempt to encourage old farm heritage traits such as hatching and raising their own chicks.  Of course, this is counter the industrialized approach of intensive agriculture, but the truth is that we cherish the slow and comfortable lifestyle for both us and our animals.

The breeds that we have raised to learn about on open pasture were:

Heavy Breeds/Brown Egg Layers

Delaware
Barred Rocks
Partridge Rocks
New Hampshire Reds
Speckled Sussex
Dark Cornish
Silver Laced Wyandottes
Columbian Wyandottes
White Orpington
Buff Orpingtons
Black Australorps

Easter Egg Layers

Araucanas / Americanas

As it turns out, Buff Orpingtons continue to be our favorite breed of chickens and we have returned to a single breed flock.  The Buffs grow large and continue to lay well into the Winter while not getting upset about the least little thing such as other breeds do.

We keep our flock of Buff Orpingtons for selling eggs, young hens, layers, roosters, and week old chicks.