We've considered/looked at a few options for replenishing our flock this spring. One is hatching our own eggs, which I'm not overly crazy about (I prefer fresh blood as to inbreeding). I know this is crazy, but one of the factors that I look at when choosing hens is the color of the egg shell. Ever since I learned about Ameraucanas (also called Easter Eggers) that have blue or green shells, and that there are several shades of brown shells, I've loved the variety of egg color in my carton. I'd love to add another colored egg layer, as well as a few white layers, AND...there's two breeds that lay a dark brown colored egg. So some people look at the disposition of the hens, whether or not they are good meat birds, and how often they lay (some birds lay daily; others every 2-3 days; and some hens lay through the winter, though most don't).
We had to stop by Hudson's Hardware this afternoon for some things, and the girl let me copy their schedule of what birds are coming when. The good news is that they will be getting almost every single hen breed we would like to have. The bad news is that they're not all coming on the same week. I think we've decided we will only purchase during the month of April, so hopefully by the middle of May we can pull all the birds out of the brooder box and have them outside (though by then we will still have a set of birds only 3 weeks old so they may still need a light at night which could be problematic).
Either way, I'm excited about NOT pulling out the incubator while still replenishing our flock with a variety of birds. I know this means they won't be laying until the fall or next spring, but that's okay...it's a start!
We had to stop by Hudson's Hardware this afternoon for some things, and the girl let me copy their schedule of what birds are coming when. The good news is that they will be getting almost every single hen breed we would like to have. The bad news is that they're not all coming on the same week. I think we've decided we will only purchase during the month of April, so hopefully by the middle of May we can pull all the birds out of the brooder box and have them outside (though by then we will still have a set of birds only 3 weeks old so they may still need a light at night which could be problematic).
Either way, I'm excited about NOT pulling out the incubator while still replenishing our flock with a variety of birds. I know this means they won't be laying until the fall or next spring, but that's okay...it's a start!
Comments