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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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....

2023 Testing with a Few Different Breeds

This year, we will have a few traditional breeds of chickens, but also some that we have never raised before. The breeds that we have the most experience with are the Heritage Breeds of Rhode Island Red and the Barred Plymouth Rock. Last year, we also had the Silver Laced Wyandotte, the Easter Eggers, Black Australorp, and the Lavender Orpington, but we didn't get a chance to raise any of them into layers since they were so popular that we sold all of them as young pullets. So, while these breeds are repeats from last year, the hope is to be able to keep some for our flock. The Splash Laced Wyandotte and the Cuckoo Marans are totally new to us. Also, we picked up a few special order chicks for a family that we may get to try out. The Cream Legbar and the Olive Egger. We only picked up one extra of each of these last two breeds, so health, gender, and survival will be the key to us having the opportunity to try them out in our flock. At the moment, the only ...

Summer 2022 Batch

This summer, we pre-ordered 20 chicks with 15 of those chicks being a "mystery" from the hatchery. We think we have the mystery chicks all identified. Rhode Island Reds, Barred Plymouth Rock, and Golden Comets. The hope is to sell most of these before needing to merge them into the flock. However, if we need to merge in order to winter over until they start laying in January, we can do that. We have done it before and have plenty of room in the main coop.

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