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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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....

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