We have been keeping laying hens ever since we first came to this little farm back in January of 2003. What a joy it is to have fresh eggs nearly year round. I'm sure you have all heard this before, but there is no comparison between farm fresh and store bought eggs.
Certainly there have been times when we were down to just two or three old hens. Old hens who rarely if ever layed eggs, but because they live on this farm they will die on this farm of natural causes as payment for their service. Besides any one who has kept a layer until she is an old bird knows that there really isn't anything to throw into the pot.
This past winter was one of those times where we were down to just a couple of old geriatric hens. It was time to bring in a fresh workforce. As I was planning on what birds I wanted to order, scouring the catalogues, hemming and hawing over what breeds to get, etc., I received a phone call from my niece. She is a real go getter, a brilliant Phd., and a foodie with a penchant for super healthy foods. She was placing an order for some laying hens and wanted to know if I would like to jump on the bandwagon to help with minimum orders and shipping costs....or something along this lines. I agreed and asked her to order 10 or so Buff Orpington hens for me. She ordered a mix of Buffs, Barred Rocks, White Leghorns and Rhode Island Reds for herself. I think the order came to around 15 birds in all.
Well, shortly before the order was to arrive....I received a second call from niece. This call had a somewhat frantic tone to it , though. In her zeal to raise home grown eggs for the health of her family, she came to the realization that D.C. suburb she lived in frowns on back yard chickens. Ordinances and town laws kinda got in the way. So she asked if I would be able to take all of the girls....to which I said sure.
2 Buff Orpingtons and a Barred Rock ...
A couple of weeks later while walking with my family through TSC, my son saw a brooder box with Black Australorp peeps and he just had to have some..... add 10 more chicks.
Some of my son's Black Australorps...
The flock is growing... The chickens my niece ordered are just over 5 months old and have started laying what we call "pullet eggs", little eggs about half the size of a large chicken egg and mostly all yolk. Notice the large egg in the center and the two pullet eggs on either side in the photo below.
Just a few weeks after getting my niece's chicks, I was with my wife on a trip to TSC and noticed that they had Indian Runner ducks for sale.....had to have them ....add six ducks to the flock....they haven't started laying yet but should within the next few weeks I believe. Below are some of our Indian Runner ducks....
So when does a pullet become a hen ??? well.... depends on who you ask. Some folks say a pullet becomes a hen when she reaches one year in age. Others would say a pullet becomes a hen when she lays her first egg, I kinda land in this camp. What do you think? Bonus question when does a cockerel become a rooster ???
Let me know in the comments below!!
Bonus pics of a double yolker I had for breakfast yesterday morning.....
As always, thanks for stopping by and do come back again !!!
