The new flock has arrived (well most if it anyway)! How cute are they? We are busy brooding over here and it is so much fun. Who am I kidding? Most of the time is spent just adoring these adorable sweeties.
We are trying some new breeds for our next batch of layers. Right now we keep Black Stars, Red Stars and Ameraucanas (not pictured). This time around we will be keeping Amberlinks (not pictured), Welsummers (the cutie on the right) and Ameraucanas. For you chicken-folk out there Black and Red Stars are amazing! This was our first year keeping them and we love, love, love them. If you haven't kept them we highly recommend them. They lay very big, brown eggs ranging from light to medium in color. They are docile, although they lack any significant personality in comparison to other breeds we have kept. The only reason we are not keeping them again is purely experimental and aesthetic. Amberlinks and Welsummers are both breeds that are much more likely to range away from the coop and get a great deal of their daily ration from whatever they may find. Organic grain is expensive and we are committed to staying organic so we thought it would be interesting to see if we note any difference in grain consumption during the next laying cycle. Our chickens free range but yet the Black and Red Stars hang around (and in!) our house most of the day. Amberlinks are quite popular in Europe since many more of their poultry farms are leaning toward free-range operation. The only downside that I can see so far is that they are a mostly white chicken, speckled with brown which makes them a lovely stand out target in free range situations.
The Welsummer chicks look an awful lot like an Ameraucana chick. Our Chippy got her name because she looked like a little chipmunk when she was a wee bitty chick. I would say this lady does as well.
The black chick in the first picture and next picture was a 'freebie' and anyone who has ordered chicks knows what this means. Rooster! They sent five of them. Thank you very much.
But don't they look darling together?
Next up, the Basics of Brooding. So many people are getting into keeping backyard flocks so I thought it might be fun to share some of what we've learned over the years and show you how we go about brooding our baby chicks! Stay tuned!
Oh, by the way I added the Facebook 'Like' feature to the blog. It's in the sidebar there somewhere. I am not sure where to put it yet! Go ahead and 'Like' away :)
How exciting! your girls (and even guys) are adorable. I just ordered ours today from ideal poultry too - waiting over a week was torture but i couldn't find anyone to split the minimum order chicks with until this morning. Thanks again for all your help - i'm starting with three each of the black and red star and ameraucanas. of course my kiddos and i spent the afternoon learning everything we can about brooders - i cannot wait for your post. please post what you line the bottom with - i've read everything from towels to newspaper covered with mesh grid. so much fun! Happy weekend to you and your family!
Posted by: larissa | May 21, 2010 at 11:16 PM
Totally curious--why is the rooster free? Undesirable? And what the heck happens with 5 of them?! Is this a too many cooks in the kitchen sort of scenario? Me = city mouse.
Posted by: Cirilia | May 22, 2010 at 10:39 AM
yes, hatcheries always have an excess of roosters so they use them to 'insulate' chicks while en route to their destination. we only needed 15 welsummers so they sent along 5 to 'fill the box'. the less chicks you order the more roosters you will probably get.
then, it's up to us to decide their fate. until now we haven't been able to do anything but let them be roosters. i already found a home for at least one of these boys. the rest, who knows? :|
Posted by: Abi | May 22, 2010 at 10:49 AM
i am so excited for you guys too! and i can't wait to see your babies! i'll be sure to address that issue too with the Brooding post :)
Posted by: Abi | May 22, 2010 at 10:50 AM
Oh, my goodness, they really are soooo sweet!
Posted by: Charity | May 22, 2010 at 11:19 AM
soon, you'll have your own cuties :)
Posted by: Abi | May 22, 2010 at 02:40 PM
Utterly cute, they belie all the work and thought that goes into them! Thanks for the awesome pictures.
Posted by: karin | May 23, 2010 at 12:02 PM