And 6 are now 3

WOW has it really been a year since I've written?!?!?   (oh, where does the time go!)
There have been some exciting (and not so good) things happening around here. First, let me give you an update on the hens that I got last May:

The 3 white hens - turns out they're White Plymouth Rocks, not Columbian Wyandotts like I had hoped. BUYER BEWARE! Get your chicks from reputable feed store if you do not get direct from a hatchery. This is not all bad as they have been good layers of medium-size light brown eggs. My husband calls them "Ghost Hens" as they are up and out sometimes before daybreak, so all you see are these little white things running around out in the pen!

"Ghost Hens" featured on promo postcards for Coop Tour!

These girls were the "poster chickens" for the 2013 Chicken Chat & Coop Tour hosted by The Wade Creek House in Estacada. Featured on the 2013 Tour Map, they are also on our new promo postcards advertising our event - 15 minutes of fame! I know they would much rather have mealworms and scratch grains...  Who knew they were so photogenic!?  I lost the biggest hen (the one pictured front & center) mid-January to respiratory ailment.



Back of postcard - Christina's coop pictured (pretty coop for pretty chickens!)

If you missed this year's tour, don't worry, there's always next year! I will post a new TAB to highlight the coops that were on the 2013 tour.




"Cyclops" - my lone Welsummer hen!

The 3 Wellsummer hens, did not fair so well. They were picked on by the bigger white hens, so I think that had alot to do with their untimely deaths. I lost 2 before Christmas to some weird respiratory ailment, and I have 1 left - I call her "Cyclops" as she is blind in her right eye. When she started laying her eggs were beautiful stong-shelled terra cotta brown (which was the whole reason I got this breed!), but after about 3 mos they were light brown, very thin-shelled and for 5 weeks damn near every one she laid would break in the nest. Oyster shell was available, but not so sure she was consuming it. It's better now, but shells are still thinner than they should be and I've only had 1 broken in the last month.

There are so many different breeds that I want to try, I will rotate out my flock every 2 years. I tend to purchase dual-purpose birds so that I can have eggs and meat. These 3 hens will go into the freezer next year - if they're still around.

New for 2013!!

• I got 6 new babies back in March that should start laying the end of July: 3 Ameracauna, and 3 Black Jeresy Giants.
• I also raised a flock of Cornish Cross for meat this Spring - what an experience! Chick to Traeger in 8 weeks! 

Check back for more on these 2 stories!

PEAS OUT!
~GP