I tend to see myself as a balanced person making rational decisions. Well, I'm also slightly spontaneous and stubborn. This combination can result in stories like this one. The beginning of me learning about chicken math...
We moved to a farm little over a year ago. Not a very big farm even by Swedish standards but bigger than a small patch. It's about 40 acres of grass fields, 12 acres are woodland pastures. Big enough to do something fun.
Our house in the back, and the cottage in the front.
Soon after moving here I decided that we needed chickens. As I was new to chickens I started to read, and realised that I would not have the knowledge to know if a chicken I wanted to buy were infested with bugs or in general ill. So I went for hatching them by myself to at least avoid bringing pests here to start with.
I went for the Brahma, big, beautiful and majestic birds. Of my first batch, hatched in a bucket with a lamp, two made it. The rooster had splayed legs and since I didn't know how to make the diagnose, and therefor couldn't fix it I had to put him down. But the hen is with me, my first, my precious, my Sam!
Sam, about 6 months old, and one of the marans.
I wanted more brahmas but couldn't find any eggs. A friend convinced me to buy some eggs from Black Copper Marans so I have two hens and two roosters, but one of the roosters is going to move soon to not put too much stress on the hens. They now make up one of my two groups. But I do love these marans, and hopefully I will have some new chicks from the hatch tomorrow!
Arne (left) and his brother Sockan with Kroktå (Crooked toe) och Vingtrasig (Broken wing).
I friend had made a mistake and had five chickens of Lohman origin she wanted to rehome, so I gave them room. Two of them are now hanging in the pantry waiting to get ready to cook.
The now gone brahma rooster Ni and the lohman chicks, he took them under his wings. <3
Roger and Grå (Grey).
Realising that the brown egg colour from the marans combined with blue or light green egg layers might give you dark green eggs. And I wanted a more egg laying chicken, so I decided to get some Silverudd's Blue. The winter came and I put the hatching on hold.
Enter January... My husband and I walks around the yard talking about what we could do where. He mentions that up to a hundred hens could work. To get eggs to sell etc. Add my thoughts on planning the spring and summer to that...
I read more about the Silverudd's Blue and decided that I wanted more of them, but from registered groups so that I can contribute to the breeding program for them. I found a man that could send me 20 eggs, also due to hatch tomorrow.
The same week I found a group of freshly hatched Old Swedish White Leghorns. There are not that many left of them so I thought that heck, why not get that group and be a part of that work as well, and get nice, white eggs from it. I call these guys the "turbo chicks" since they have a completely different energy level compared to the other I've had.
The Old Swedish White Leghorns huddling in a friends arms while I clean out their pen.
And the other day a friend asked if I wanted to make room for a Frizzled Buff Polish. I have strived to get what you might call "utility birds" (bad translation from Swedish, I bet there is a better description). But of course I had some room for her. Moving her into my second group (with the lohmans, brahma and silverudd blue's) she seemed so tiny (well, duh, she's a small breed). So I might need to get a few Cochins to keep her company. Um...
Fluff, so cute I can't help but melt...
Sam wants to have a look at that strange newcomer...
But I was good today, I managed to say thanks but no thanks to a friend when she offered me Faverolle eggs...
So, the conclusion is that I am in general a very balanced and rational person. Except when it comes to chickens. Something here ad BYC tells me that I might not be all that alone in that experience...
We moved to a farm little over a year ago. Not a very big farm even by Swedish standards but bigger than a small patch. It's about 40 acres of grass fields, 12 acres are woodland pastures. Big enough to do something fun.
Our house in the back, and the cottage in the front.
Soon after moving here I decided that we needed chickens. As I was new to chickens I started to read, and realised that I would not have the knowledge to know if a chicken I wanted to buy were infested with bugs or in general ill. So I went for hatching them by myself to at least avoid bringing pests here to start with.
I went for the Brahma, big, beautiful and majestic birds. Of my first batch, hatched in a bucket with a lamp, two made it. The rooster had splayed legs and since I didn't know how to make the diagnose, and therefor couldn't fix it I had to put him down. But the hen is with me, my first, my precious, my Sam!
Sam, about 6 months old, and one of the marans.
I wanted more brahmas but couldn't find any eggs. A friend convinced me to buy some eggs from Black Copper Marans so I have two hens and two roosters, but one of the roosters is going to move soon to not put too much stress on the hens. They now make up one of my two groups. But I do love these marans, and hopefully I will have some new chicks from the hatch tomorrow!
Arne (left) and his brother Sockan with Kroktå (Crooked toe) och Vingtrasig (Broken wing).
I friend had made a mistake and had five chickens of Lohman origin she wanted to rehome, so I gave them room. Two of them are now hanging in the pantry waiting to get ready to cook.
The now gone brahma rooster Ni and the lohman chicks, he took them under his wings. <3
Roger and Grå (Grey).
Realising that the brown egg colour from the marans combined with blue or light green egg layers might give you dark green eggs. And I wanted a more egg laying chicken, so I decided to get some Silverudd's Blue. The winter came and I put the hatching on hold.
Enter January... My husband and I walks around the yard talking about what we could do where. He mentions that up to a hundred hens could work. To get eggs to sell etc. Add my thoughts on planning the spring and summer to that...
I read more about the Silverudd's Blue and decided that I wanted more of them, but from registered groups so that I can contribute to the breeding program for them. I found a man that could send me 20 eggs, also due to hatch tomorrow.
The same week I found a group of freshly hatched Old Swedish White Leghorns. There are not that many left of them so I thought that heck, why not get that group and be a part of that work as well, and get nice, white eggs from it. I call these guys the "turbo chicks" since they have a completely different energy level compared to the other I've had.
The Old Swedish White Leghorns huddling in a friends arms while I clean out their pen.
And the other day a friend asked if I wanted to make room for a Frizzled Buff Polish. I have strived to get what you might call "utility birds" (bad translation from Swedish, I bet there is a better description). But of course I had some room for her. Moving her into my second group (with the lohmans, brahma and silverudd blue's) she seemed so tiny (well, duh, she's a small breed). So I might need to get a few Cochins to keep her company. Um...
Fluff, so cute I can't help but melt...
Sam wants to have a look at that strange newcomer...
But I was good today, I managed to say thanks but no thanks to a friend when she offered me Faverolle eggs...
So, the conclusion is that I am in general a very balanced and rational person. Except when it comes to chickens. Something here ad BYC tells me that I might not be all that alone in that experience...
