Reviews by WashingtonWino

My olive egger is a Marans/Ameraucana mix from mypetchicken. She is a cruddy winter layer and she makes more noise than the rest of my flock put together. Her sister is the same. It's not all that fair to rate "olive eggers" since different mixes will have different traits but this is just my experience and the particular mix I got. If you're concerned about upsetting your neighbors or if you're trying to hide chickens from your HOA, this might not be a good mix for you. When mine are laying, they are good for about 4 olive eggs per week and neither have gone broody.

My Cackle Australorp is one of my favorites. She'll run over whenever you come outside to see what's going on, but she's not so ostentatious that she'll invite herself up onto your picnic table, like some of the more "in your face" breeds. She'll happily cluck around on the ground and mind her own business. She's laying 5 eggs a week and she started laying just under 20 weeks old. She's a big heavy bird and prettier than you'd think for a plain black chicken. Their big black eyes, shiny green feathers and red combs make them stand out in a mixed flock. Every now and then she'll get a little squawky but for the most part she's a very quiet and well-behaved backyard buddy. She doesn't pick on the other chickens much and she is near the top of the pecking order. I think I'll always have one in the flock, mine is very mild-mannered.

My Cackle Welsummer, Wilson laid her first dark, speckled egg at just under 21 weeks old. She was not the most easy to handle chick, nor does she seek attention, but she's not a total lunatic. She just keeps about 5 feet away from me unless there's food around, which is absolutely fine by me. She makes more noise than the rest of my mixed flock and beats up on the new additions given half a chance. If you are trying to have secret chickens, don't get one of these, they'll rat you out with loud squawks every time they lay an egg. Or every time they are THINKING about laying an egg. Or whenever they see something alarming. Or food, etc etc. That being said, when I read reviews of the Mediterranean dark layers, the wellies seem quite calm and docile by comparison and their eggs ARE beautiful. I'll probably always have one for those cool speckled eggs. I'm getting 5 a week. This is my first Welsummer, so take this review with a grain of salt, of course.

My Gold Comet from chickensforbackyards.com is my favorite of the mixed flock. She is the friendliest and has learned to come when she's called. She was the first to lay, at just under 19 weeks. She's got a funny little personality and is so bold! She'll invite herself to outdoor dinners whether you like it or not. She hasn't taken a day off since she started laying. I love the heritage breeds and the fancy eggs they lay, but highly suggest getting one of these to crank eggs out while the fickle and finnicky fancy fowl are taking their sweet time to mature. Sadly, I'm told that all those eggs take their toll and they are not long-lived chickens.

I recently ordered 6 chicks from Chickensforbackyards.com. I was attracted to their selection of hard(ish)-to-find chicks, their early ship date and their low minimums. I selected five chicks from their fairly generous selection and asked the customer service rep to "surprise me" with one of the breeds that I couldn't decide on. The lady I was working with was very sweet and seemed delighted by the task. She seemed to put some real thought into the matter. Six peeping, warm healthy chicks were delivered to me, double-boxed and with a heat pack. I asked the customer service lady which hatcheries they work with, and she said they work with a few of the local hatcheries in Missouri, very vague. I did a bit of sleuthing and noticed that the available/unavailable dates for each breed on the Cackle website exactly matched that on the chickensforbackyards.com website. So I suspect that chickensforbackyards acts as a middle man/shipper for Cackle, which allows you to get a small number of chicks (Cackle's minimums are 25 chicks I think) with a not-unreasonable markup. The price paid also comes with customer service that a backyard flocker like me would be pleased with. We are notoriously high maintenance... I emailed several times with questions and received replies the same day, and not just computer-generated auto emails. Perhaps this is Cackle's answer to backyard chicken keepers.

At any rate, the chicks are now 11 days old and all are happy and healthy. The Black Copper Marans is growing like a weed and is feather-legged. The Gold-Laced Wyandotte has very nice lacing so far. My Easter Egger developed a badly crossed beak at 6 days old and had to be culled by day 10. I don't hold this against the hatchery as it seems common among EEs and looked perfectly fine until day 6. There aren't many reviews on this company, so hopefully someone will find this helpful.