A Sign of Spring - Chickens!

I'm all into chickens the last couple of days!

I don't remember where this photo came from but I LOVE it! Some hens are worth their weight in gold for being good mothers! And what a nice warm, snug place for a nap for a kitten! I have this pic on my computer as wallpaper. I don't know who owns her and her odd brood, but thank you for sharing such a neat pic! Of course I'll remove it if requested. I do envy them a neat hen!

We made the trip to meet up and trade chickens with some folks. Mr Roo went to live with some Isa Brown hens. The folks had a trio of Favorelles and they lay a pinkish egg. They wanted brown eggs. Their roo is a happy fella who likes to crow more than they liked too. So Mr Roo went there to tend their hens and I have a trio of Favorelles. I'm tickled as I love the coloring of a Fav roo. He's a handsome dude, was a "noisy" dude and is now dubbed Dude. He and his pair of hens have joined my Favorelle X and the Silkie X hens in the goat pen in the barn. They seemed happy to find the goats have grain scattered all over for them to clean up. My Fav X hen hid and the Silkie hen followed them around talking to them. The goats weren't sure what to think about the roo's bright colors and gathered round to investigate and watch them instead of finishing their dinner. It looked like it would all work out fine.

The hatching eggs are on their way, having been shipped from 3 hours away yesterday. They weren't on the am express truck at the PO but hopefully will be at noon. They'll need to settle so the air cells stabilize and tomorrow they and my collection of eggs will go in the incubator. This will be fun to hatch my own eggs. The eggs coming will be mostly light Brahmas. They are white with black hackle feathers around the neck and some long wing and tail feathers also black. They also have feathered legs. The shipper has an Australorp roo with some hens who are Australorps, buff Orpingtons, Americaunas and Rhode Island Reds. There will be a few eggs from that group of chickens also to make a full 2 dozen eggs.

I've been collecting my eggs with hope of having a new blue Cochin roo being a racoon or possum got Blue Man last week. My pen consists of the Cochins, 3 Americaunas, 1 buff Orpington, 1 Orpicauna and another Americauna X hen.

Depending on the breeds, I'll have a few roo chicks to either sell or butcher. The pullets will be kept or sold depending on the breed. And I hope there's a blue Cochin roo to keep or even a blue splash Cochin roo!

I'm making several trips per day to collect eggs with hopes they don't get too cold and then marking them with a pencil as to the date collected, how the egg feels (cold, tepid, warm) and if it was a Cochin's egg. I have gotten 1 blue Cochin egg and 1 black for sure so marked that also.

I have to take hubby to get blood work done Friday and I'm going to head out to TSC to see what they have chick wise. Maybe they'll have a few I "can't live without"! I already bought a bag of chick starter and I'm ready to set up the brooder tub.

I'm going to learn to candle eggs too! I've done it a long time ago but now it's "serious business"!

Did you know that chickens are our "pets" with benefits? They have a life expectancy of 8-12 years if they live a natural life. The hens are definitely "working girls" with a job that includes bug control, weed reduction, soil aeration, and composters. They often times share the experience of the cycle of life. They sing, dance, cavort around, race, play bug tag and fly a bit. They also supply us with eggs, sometimes meat, and an opportunity to pause to enjoy them and smile!

I'm off to get in gear! It's been a quiet morning but I have a lot I need to get done! Have a good day and thanks for stopping by my blog for a few minutes. I hope you find something enjoyable to read!