Hi everyone! I am new to this board 
Last September I brought home my first chickens (a mama, a rooster and 10 chicks) followed by some more egg laying hens. Going into winter I experienced a few losses due to predators, processing and eating our extra cockerels and raising 25 "meat kings" and 4 turkeys for the freezer.
This spring I had a much better idea of what I would like my flock to look like and adjusting my long term goals.
When I started with chickens I had this very romantic idea of having beautiful and exotic breeds but now I realize, I love food coming from my own backyard and I don't need any fancy chickens in my life. Give me hardy, meaty, good egg laying chickens!
(Also, not a fan of the meat kings, I can't see doing those again! Slow grow birds for me please!)
I started this spring with what's left of my original flock- 2 reds, 1 olive egger, 1 Old English hen, 4 half Old English/half silkie hens and my rooster is also half OE/half silkie. My olive egger hatched 4 chicks a few weeks ago(2 olive egger eggs and 2 red eggs). I did trade 3 of my super duper broody young hens for heritage mix chicks, realizing tiny eggs are not my thing).
I also have...
18 barred Plymouth rock pullets
6 heritage breed mixes (I think one is a pullet and the rest are cockerels)
30 something heritage breed mix eggs in the incubator due this week (hope it's a good hatch!)
Aaaaannnddd....
20 Muscovy ducks (most of them after 8 weeks and younger).
My incredibly long term goal is to not use the grocery store anymore! I know it will take a lot of practice and many years to get to that goal but I feel likely something to strive for.
If you had told me last summer that I would have this many birds and be planning on eating most of them...I would not have believed you!!
Happy to be here and so curious what my flock will look like after harvest season!
Last September I brought home my first chickens (a mama, a rooster and 10 chicks) followed by some more egg laying hens. Going into winter I experienced a few losses due to predators, processing and eating our extra cockerels and raising 25 "meat kings" and 4 turkeys for the freezer.
This spring I had a much better idea of what I would like my flock to look like and adjusting my long term goals.
When I started with chickens I had this very romantic idea of having beautiful and exotic breeds but now I realize, I love food coming from my own backyard and I don't need any fancy chickens in my life. Give me hardy, meaty, good egg laying chickens!
(Also, not a fan of the meat kings, I can't see doing those again! Slow grow birds for me please!)
I started this spring with what's left of my original flock- 2 reds, 1 olive egger, 1 Old English hen, 4 half Old English/half silkie hens and my rooster is also half OE/half silkie. My olive egger hatched 4 chicks a few weeks ago(2 olive egger eggs and 2 red eggs). I did trade 3 of my super duper broody young hens for heritage mix chicks, realizing tiny eggs are not my thing).
I also have...
18 barred Plymouth rock pullets
6 heritage breed mixes (I think one is a pullet and the rest are cockerels)
30 something heritage breed mix eggs in the incubator due this week (hope it's a good hatch!)
Aaaaannnddd....
20 Muscovy ducks (most of them after 8 weeks and younger).
My incredibly long term goal is to not use the grocery store anymore! I know it will take a lot of practice and many years to get to that goal but I feel likely something to strive for.
If you had told me last summer that I would have this many birds and be planning on eating most of them...I would not have believed you!!
Happy to be here and so curious what my flock will look like after harvest season!
Welcome to BYC!!! 
