Since moving here to our little farmstead almost five years ago, there are three sounds that will forever remind me of spring: 1. The sound of our boys playing outside as the days grow longer 2. The sound of frogs croaking at night (usually noticed the first evening it's warm enough to open the windows!) 3. The sound of baby chicks happily chirping...
When thinking about the breeds of chickens we would add this year to grow our little flock, there were two things I wanted... A beautiful chicken breed, and a breed that would lay colored eggs.
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I saw a picture of a Lavender Orpington in a recent issue of Country Living Magazine and loved the look of it... It has a beautiful, rare color, and grows to be a large, docile chicken. I tried to find them locally, but couldn't. There was a store I found that I could order them through but their minimum quantity is ten per breed. That was more than we needed...
I was happy to find out about Chicken Scratch Poultry. They are a small breeding farm that focuses on rare, heritage poultry and raise them as closely to the standard as possible. Chicken Scratch Poultry can mail you hatching eggs, chicks, and pullets (young hens). You can mix and match your order of breeds, which is especially nice for smaller farms or flocks, where you don't need large quantities of each type.
Along with the beautiful Lavender Orpington chickens, we decided on the Crested Cream Legbar for the pastel sky-blue to light green eggs that they lay. They are medium size chickens and good natured, with a cute little tuft of hair on top of their heads.
Our chicks arrived at our local post office, spreading joy with their happy chirping. Chicken Scratch Poultry packs them in a ventilated box with heat packs to keep them warm, and hydrating gel to keep them hydrated on their journey.
I'm excited to share these new-to-us breeds with you again when they are grown. Our current, full-grown hens include: Barred Rock, Delaware, and Rhode Island Red. We have had the adorable Silkie chickens before, but they are a much smaller breed and tended to get "picked off" by predators where we live.
If you'd like to learn more about the different types of heritage breeds, you can find descriptions here. And to find out more about what's happening at the Chicken Scratch Poultry Farm, you can find their blog here. You can also follow along on Instagram and Facebook.
Thank you for stopping by today. Do you have chickens? Which are your favorite breeds?
Xo
so cute :D
ReplyDeleteThank you Agata - we think so too! :)
DeleteThanks for sharing your chicken resource? we are looking at building a coop next year... just been busy studying the different breeds!
ReplyDeleteHave fun with the planning and dreaming stage!
DeleteI live in New England, and I usually get Rhode Island reds or similar. They can handle our harsh environments well. But this year a friend of ours had bought a bunch of fancy chicks as a collection more than just for eggs. He shared with us 6 assorted kinds. We just put them outside since it is getting warmer in the little coop my husband built for the littles when we get them. My question to you. Are you putting the special ones with your usual or separating them? I'm just concerned that my Rhode Island Reds will attack them when they become pullets because they'll look different. What are your thoughts? Cindy
ReplyDeleteIf you're unsure, just wait a little bit longer. I think they'll do great because there are 6 of the new ones. As long as you're not just introducing one or two, our experience has been fine. We usually start ours in a stock tank with bedding, then they go out to a small coop, and when they start to look too big for that, they're ready to join the other girls out in the main coop. :) Our Rhode Island Reds are very docile and have never attacked the younger ones, though all chickens will establish a pecking order. Hope that helps!
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