The grab-bag of chickens we ordered in September are maturing nicely. We have three roosters in the freezer. We need to put at least two more there. (We had our first killing cone experience-it worked well for us.) The Barred Rock and Columbian Wyandotte are nice sized. Bruce wanted to keep them around for breeding purposes. I personally want them in the freezer for eating purposes. We shall see. Our multicolor (possibly a Salmon Faverolle) rooster is beautiful, but smaller. I thought we had Black Jersey hen, but it is a rooster. We won't eat him because he has something wrong with him. He had a tumor growth on his chest and his crowing is affected by it. He sounds like a car with a dying battery. We also have a loner, who I though was an "easter egg" hen. But, it crowed. Not sure if it is a dominent hen because of the loner status, or really is a rooster and just small.
I am so excited! Our little hens have started laying eggs. I have had four small ones, and of course, Penny's normal sized ones. We have dark ones and light ones. No white ones yet. I am wanting to order the rainbow laying pullets later in the spring for fun and that should really brighten up the egg basket.
But first, next week, in fact, we have 25 broilers coming. Little leghorns to put in the freezer in about four months. I have shut down the one side of the coop, so all the chickens will get used to only going in on one side. There was only two that roosted in there anyway. I will do one more final cleaning this weekend and buy a new heat bulb. At least these little guys will be all white and boring, so they won't have names to get attached to. I am hoping that they will be big enough before the snakes decide to wake up and come looking for them. It would be wonderful to have 30 chickens in the freezer. That will last us all year, along with the deer and rabbit, and occasional squirrel. That just leaves all the pressure for me to make sure the greenhouse and garden can keep up...great!
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