- Jul 1, 2013
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I joined years ago when I first started out with chickens and was mostly a lurker. I often read the newsletter and come back to lurk or research off and on. I now have approximately 50-60 free-range hens, a dozen guineas, a dozen Khaki Campbell ducks and two Sebastopol geese. I also raise dairy goats and wool sheep. We keep the fowl primarily for entertainment and egg production, I sell excess eggs in town. 50+ is way more chickens than I like to keep on five acres, but many of my hens are older retired ladies, so I just recently added two dozen+ young girls to ramp up production. Hence the current high number. We have also had a coyote problem this past year, and a bobcat. We have reinforced our fences making them much higher and leaving the sharp wire cuts exposed at the top to discourage jumping. So far, so good.
My favorite breed if I had to choose one is the Easter Egger or Ameraucana, for their variety of egg colors, variety of feather colors, and great production. I think the White Leghorns are great producers, too, but they seem to be the easiest target for hawks. I’ve noticed that the white ones seem to disappear the fastest. I also love my Cuckoo and French Copper Marans for their often speckled dark brown eggs. Honestly, I love all the breeds and have just had great luck with all of them in terms of production and personality, and I love having a variety of egg colors.
This year, I am beefing up and improving my garden spaces and will be lurking to get ideas for keeping chickens out of young gardens when plants are vulnerable while still being able to allow them to later roam in the garden for pest control. This is a great community and one of the first I joined when we bought our homestead almost 20 years ago!
My favorite breed if I had to choose one is the Easter Egger or Ameraucana, for their variety of egg colors, variety of feather colors, and great production. I think the White Leghorns are great producers, too, but they seem to be the easiest target for hawks. I’ve noticed that the white ones seem to disappear the fastest. I also love my Cuckoo and French Copper Marans for their often speckled dark brown eggs. Honestly, I love all the breeds and have just had great luck with all of them in terms of production and personality, and I love having a variety of egg colors.
This year, I am beefing up and improving my garden spaces and will be lurking to get ideas for keeping chickens out of young gardens when plants are vulnerable while still being able to allow them to later roam in the garden for pest control. This is a great community and one of the first I joined when we bought our homestead almost 20 years ago!
