Okay, I've never really done this before.. But after some serious heartbreak, my mom and I are trying one more time to get chickens before I go to college.
The story: In September, we got new chicks. Let's just say, they ended up to be COMPLETELY gorgeous. We ended up with.. Two speckled sussex hens, three Welsummers (one roo, two hens), two silkies hens (lucky us!), and four Ameraucana hens. They were the friendliest chickens we'd ever had, especially the speckled sussex who would run up to the edge of the fence every time we would come home, or even when I called them from across the yard. One day, my mom came home while I wasn't home.. And half of the chickens were just gone. There were feathers EVERYWHERE. The rooster, one silkie, and two Ameraucanas were all that we had left. I was completely devastated, as this was the first time I'd actually been the only one who raised them since they got here. Apparently, the fox got through TWO layers of chicken wire.
So.. A few weeks ago, my mom decided we could get new chickens, mostly because she's doing an egg share program at her store. So, I got all excited and started researching.. My mom's friend decided to go in on our order from McMurray and they were supposed to be here next week. BUT.. She backed out, saying that she only wanted bantams. So, we decided to get them from the feed store. We called about ten places, and had it narrowed down to a few. One of them said they would get a new shipment of assorted rare breeds in two days. They did. It was red sex links. The next one said they would get the same in. They did. Black sex links. The next one said they would special order them from the hatchery and they'd be there today. They called. The hatchery is completely sold out.
So.. I ask my mom if we can just hatch some, expecting her to tell me to wait until August and raise them 'til they're a few weeks, then leave. Surprisingly, she said YES. So, here I am.. Trying to find the perfect assortment of eggs to enhance our chicken lives.
I don't know if any of you out there have several different types of chickens that are laying.. Or if you focus on only one. But I've only seen sets of one breed together, and my mom prefers having several different colors of chickens and eggs, mainly because then we can name them and be able to tell them apart, then we can tell which egg was laid by which chicken.
What we're looking for: Golden/Silver Campines or Buttercups
Ameraucanas
Welsummers or Marans or any dark egg layer
Any kind of orpington except for buff
Polish or any top hat breed
Hamburgs
Black Australorps
Wyandottes (BLR?)
Speckled Sussex
**Really, anything pretty/eye catching that lays pretty eggs. No feather feet, please, my mom hates them a lot (I love them, though.) My mom also despises turkens in every way.
If you can offer an assortment of eggs, please do! The main reason for the assortment is less shipping costs, and making sure that they all are shipped/hatched around the same time because we don't own the incubator I'm using. Also, my mom loves different egg colors and I love the different chicken breeds, plus her egg customers love all the different eggs. They're amazed by them.
I hope this post isn't too long.. I just don't want people to think I'm crazy for just wanting a few of each breed. We would always order one of each breed before from McMurray, since we're weird and don't hatch eggs at all, so no need for purebreds.
The story: In September, we got new chicks. Let's just say, they ended up to be COMPLETELY gorgeous. We ended up with.. Two speckled sussex hens, three Welsummers (one roo, two hens), two silkies hens (lucky us!), and four Ameraucana hens. They were the friendliest chickens we'd ever had, especially the speckled sussex who would run up to the edge of the fence every time we would come home, or even when I called them from across the yard. One day, my mom came home while I wasn't home.. And half of the chickens were just gone. There were feathers EVERYWHERE. The rooster, one silkie, and two Ameraucanas were all that we had left. I was completely devastated, as this was the first time I'd actually been the only one who raised them since they got here. Apparently, the fox got through TWO layers of chicken wire.
So.. A few weeks ago, my mom decided we could get new chickens, mostly because she's doing an egg share program at her store. So, I got all excited and started researching.. My mom's friend decided to go in on our order from McMurray and they were supposed to be here next week. BUT.. She backed out, saying that she only wanted bantams. So, we decided to get them from the feed store. We called about ten places, and had it narrowed down to a few. One of them said they would get a new shipment of assorted rare breeds in two days. They did. It was red sex links. The next one said they would get the same in. They did. Black sex links. The next one said they would special order them from the hatchery and they'd be there today. They called. The hatchery is completely sold out.
So.. I ask my mom if we can just hatch some, expecting her to tell me to wait until August and raise them 'til they're a few weeks, then leave. Surprisingly, she said YES. So, here I am.. Trying to find the perfect assortment of eggs to enhance our chicken lives.
I don't know if any of you out there have several different types of chickens that are laying.. Or if you focus on only one. But I've only seen sets of one breed together, and my mom prefers having several different colors of chickens and eggs, mainly because then we can name them and be able to tell them apart, then we can tell which egg was laid by which chicken.
What we're looking for: Golden/Silver Campines or Buttercups
Ameraucanas
Welsummers or Marans or any dark egg layer
Any kind of orpington except for buff
Polish or any top hat breed
Hamburgs
Black Australorps
Wyandottes (BLR?)
Speckled Sussex
**Really, anything pretty/eye catching that lays pretty eggs. No feather feet, please, my mom hates them a lot (I love them, though.) My mom also despises turkens in every way.
If you can offer an assortment of eggs, please do! The main reason for the assortment is less shipping costs, and making sure that they all are shipped/hatched around the same time because we don't own the incubator I'm using. Also, my mom loves different egg colors and I love the different chicken breeds, plus her egg customers love all the different eggs. They're amazed by them.
I hope this post isn't too long.. I just don't want people to think I'm crazy for just wanting a few of each breed. We would always order one of each breed before from McMurray, since we're weird and don't hatch eggs at all, so no need for purebreds.
