Chick Breeds for Spring 2022

This year, we are adding some new breeds due to customers wanting some breeds that we don't normally raise. This year, we included Black Copper Marans, Silver Laced Wyandottes, Easter Eggers, Australorp, and Lavender Orpington to our mix. We also ended up with more roosters accidentally from the hatchery. We ended up with three this spring, after it was all said and done. Although we did raise a small batch of Production Red roosters for a customer, we tend to have a difficult time getting rid of those "accident" roosters. We had a lot of fun though, this spring, with all the special orders while learning more about the personality traits of the breeds that are new to us.

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FAQs - Why We Brood Chicks

Why do you Brood Chicks? We enjoy it. We watch over the chicks, ensuring to protect them from Predators like rodents and mites, and from other dangerous events such as Brooder Fires (caused by improper use of heaters/heat lamps), illness such as Pasty Butt or Dehydration, other health conditions such as Splayed Leg or Impacted Crop, and generally to attempt to get them started with a healthy organic life. How Many Chicks do you Raise per Year? Actually, not very many compared to most poultry farms that raise hundreds. We typically raise no more than 25 in a batch and we start about three to four batches per year. At most, we brood 100 broiler and layer chicks per year. Some of them we keep but most of them are sold. Why Organic? We have found that Organic Raised Layers and Broilers produce the best tasting Eggs and Meat! We can tell the difference in the flavor of the eggs, and so can others who eat our Hens' Eggs. Also, the Meat is very tender with very li...

Where We Started

We started like many backyard farmers with a small flock of four chickens. We chose the Russian Orloff. They are a beautiful bird that will lay about 100 to 150 medium-sized light brown eggs in the first year. They are quite hearty for cold regions which I can attest to that when we had many weeks of subfreezing weather that first year we started the flock. However, they do not do so well in the very hot summers which we have started experiencing year after year the past few years. 3-week Russian Orloff Pullet Because we live in an area that is renowned for predatory animals, we built an A-framed coop and run with a footprint that was just big enough for four hens. It was so sturdy, that we couldn't move it without a tractor! First Chicken Coop The first coop had all the fancy bells and whistles, like an auto feeder and watering cups, electricity to it for lighting, and insulated. Like I said, all the bells and whistles....

Ducks for a Change

We ordered Ducks this year for eggs and for sale. We are hoping to keep four Runner Duck Hens for ourselves, and selling the other four. They are adorable. I had never held newly hatched ducklings and didn't realize that their down is more like holding a brush. Duck down is stiffer than the chick down. Also, they are a lot messier than chicks. Who Knew?

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