*chickens here, chickens there, chickens every where!

One of our beautiful Australorps, this is one of the first chickens we added to our farm just a few years ago.  They have produced nicely and are a beautiful addition to our flock with their gorgeous
blue greenish black feathers.

 We started out with three Barred Rocks, but have been reduced down to two.  They are two years old as well and have just feathered back fully after months of having gone through a molt.  She looks like she has a major attitude, but she is pretty friendly.

Another one of our beginners, Lucy one of the three Delewares.  She is a talker, with a distinctive voice which will be heard.
 

To the left is one of our Buff Brahmas whose feathers are totally different since she has gotten feathers back since her molt.  She looks totally different now.  Strange.  To the right is one of our Welsummers, such a pretty read head.  So.. apparently we don't have enough nesting boxes for our flock.  With 20 boxes to choose from they fight over about 3, silly chickens.

Oh, how I love our Americaunas!  They not only are gorgeous to the look at, but they also lay beautiful blue green eggs.  They can be a bit flighty though.

And this little charm, Fritter. She is our Buff Laced Polish hen that is spoiled.  She might occasionally be found on some one's shoulder while they walk around the barnyard.  She too, has a distinctive voice that is captivating.


Our flock is doing well, we currently have about 40 hens and will likely have to do some culling later this year because some of our girls are going on their third year. We just want to make sure we keep a flock that is productive which will continue to be a benefit to our farm.  Since the days are still short, our egg count is not at its max.  Daily we are bringing in about 20 eggs from the coop, which is good, but 35 would be better!   Patience! As the days start to lengthen, we will have that increase I am looking for.  Last year we used a timer on the lights above the coop in order to artificially stimulate the endocrine system to produce more eggs, but this year we have decided to let the hens take that natural rest that their bodies need in order to produce the rest of they laying season.   It only makes sense since we are trying to do all other things in their natural habitat.. why wouldn't we do the same with the chickens.   Live and learn...