More CHICKENS!

We received a new batch of chickens today. We order 10 Buff Cornish (not the cross broiler but the real breed) and 10 Dark Cornish and 10 Red Broiler Cross-breed. This was our first order from Ideal Poultry in Texas. Overall condition of the chicks was good, but 3 did arrive dead and a couple of other ones were weak. We will have to wait and see how the hatchery responds to the shipping deaths. It has been extremely hot these past few days and that may well have contributed to the condition of the chicks. We intend on raising these birds for meat production. We have raised the normal Rock/Cornish Cross earlier this year. I was not impressed by their lack of energy to do anything but eat, sleep, and create manure, but they do grow extremely fast. A friend has called them Fraken-Birds and I have to agree with that assessment. So we are hoping one of these other varieties will prove to create a satisfactory meat-bird in overall size, that matures a bit quicker than typical chicken breeds. This is really a test run to discover our favorite type of meat-bird.

On the other chicken front, a friend gave us three more laying hens (Buff orpingtons). That brings our flock up to 3 roosters (one dominant Buff Orpington, one immature Aracana and one I'm not sure about) and 11 potential layers (some Buff Orpingtons, Aracanas and others I'm not sure about). Right now we are getting six eggs a day on average. Some of the hens have not started laying yet, but should soon. At our house we could easily go through a dozen eggs a day. Right now we feel very blessed by God to have what we have. Next on the mini-farm front will involve adding a couple of goats. More at that later