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Friday, April 3, 2009

Run on Chickens

When we planned to order chickens for eggs, I never in a million years would have imagined that they would be hard to come by. I called and was online all morning with different reputable hatcheries from around the country. There has been a huge run on chicks. I was looking at ship dates in late May and early June. Maybe. No one could guarantee that I would even get them then. Some places had some but not all of what I would like to order and other places had next to nothing. I guess America is starting to see that knowing your food and it's source is of vital importance.
So here is the lineup of what I ordered from Randall Burkey this morning. This first picture is of a Barred Plymouth Rock. Docile, good layer and cold hardy.

This one is a Black Australorp. Also prized for its friendly nature, good large eggs and cold hardiness. I find that I am attracted to speckled chickens and tried to order a couple kinds of solid colored birds to make them an attractive mix.


This one is called a Buff Orphington. A pretty and large bird that is friendly and curious. Great for egg production and can still lay in good conditions during the winters of Idaho.


This beauty is called a Gold Laced Wyandotte and they are truly pretty birds. My husband was still skeptical about the probability of a pretty chicken until I took him back to the egg lady's house and he got to see one first hand. My friend, Brenda, has truly been my inspiration for having my own backyard flock.

This one is a Silver Laced Wyandotte and is a relative of the golden one above. Both are friendly and mild mannered coupled with great egg production. I love the pattern in their feathers. Each feather looks like it's own lace piece. Very pretty!
And last but not least, I ordered this interesting one. It is a Speckled Sussex. Good in all of the categories that mattered to me. I like the unique feathers and coloration of the whole bird.


These images are all borrowed from Google Images as I don't even know for sure yet when my chicks will ship. We are going to begin building our chicken house in the next week, I hope. I ordered a total of 30 birds which is about double what I needed. I figure there will be a learning curve even though I researched all winter. The hatchery I ordered from had a 25 bird minimum and I just have a gut feeling they will conveniently be out of at least one they promised me at shipping time. Most places have a 25 bird minimum as they are packaged to keep each other warm. I also paid extra to have them sexed so I have as few roosters as possible. We have quite a bit of family close by that will benefit from my over zealous ordering habits. I will keep you updated on our progress. I can't wait to start being a chicken keeper!

27 comments:

  1. Nice chicken choices. We're also going with the Barred Plymouth Rock and a Wyandotte - either Golden or Silver. I've also ordered an Easter Egger. Can't get mine until June 2 from our local nursery. There's going to be a chicken outbreak in the U.S.! Ha ha!

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  2. You made some good choices of chicken breeds! I've raised all of these in the past, with the exception of the Gold-laced Wyandotte and the Speckled Sussex. I really enjoyed my colorful flock! We also had a few Khaki Campell ducks. I think my favorite breed of chicken was probably Buff Orpingtons...for their mild temperament. They are good mothers and like to sit on their eggs. We are considering chickens again this year, but will get pullets from a friend and skip the chick stage. :-)

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  3. They are so beautiful! I wish I could convince Walt that we need chickens. Sadly, I'm not getting anywhere with that...

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  4. Now this will give the goats something to do - chase chickens. LOL Seriously, you really did get some pretty chickens. I was suspicious like your hubby but ya dun it!

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  5. I applaud your choices, on aesthetic grounds, and am only wondering what happened to the Rhode Island Reds? So cute.

    Now you will join the ranks of Chicken Ladies, led by the illustrious Dowager Duchess of Devonshire. She's the last of the literary Mitford sisters and very, very big in the British chicken world.

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  6. Ran into the same thing here. I contacted Dunlap Hatchery in Caldwell, and almost everything is already spoken for. It's a good thing I only wanted two hens because they only had ten of the breed I wanted that weren't spoken for. I pick up my pullets on May 5th. I hope that you get word soon on when you can expect your chicks. :) It's going to be fun to share our chicken experiences since we are both newbies to this.

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  7. Heather,

    Looks like real good picks. I had Buff Orphingtons when I lived in NC mtns, good layers of huge eggs.

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  8. Yes, yes, go Heather!!!! I've had and have everything you've ordered except the Black Australorps. I agree about the sad lack of Rhode Island Reds, Ameraucanas, and Delawares, but otherwise, you're doing great! Buff Orpingtons and Spangled Sussex are my faves, also love the Partridge Rocks. But they're all colorful, personable, wonderful chickens!

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  9. What a great variety. I can't wait to follow along with your progress.

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  10. I wonder what my city zoning officials would say to a chicken coop on 7th street? LOL. Beautiful birds. We had them when I was a kid. I don't remember much about them, but I do remember the hogs.

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  11. Beautiful chickens! I'm heartened to hear that there is a shortage of chicks because so many people want them. Perhaps the entire world hasn't gone mad after all! Now if I could just convince Teresa to let me get a few chickens...maybe I could sneak them in and say they just showed up!
    Love your blog!

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  12. Hi Heather~~ Back in the day (roughly 15 years ago) my hubby and I relented, mostly Rhode Island Red. The kids loved them. My son who was 13 at the time was always out there tinkering with the fencing or the hen house. I hope you get your order. Keep us posted.

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  13. Super JEALOUS!!! Thank you for sharing this chicken research. We are hoping to add some chics to the farm after the rabbit barn is complete. Your information is greatly appreciated.

    I just adore your blog! Happy Spring

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  14. wow its amazing that raising your own chickens is catching on! that's great. i wish we could have more but the city ordinance where we live says 3 only. we have a silver laced wyandotte that seems like the smartest of our bunch. they are a lot of fun- hope you enjoy them!

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  15. *sigh* No chickens allowed hereabouts. So I'm really going to enjoy reading your posts about these lovely ladies (and the crowing gentlemen) you end up with. :-D

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  16. Geez, I hope they show up. It will be so fun having a bunch of chickens in the garden!

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  17. Neat! My mom has many of those. I like Buff Orphington the most. She looks like she might lay golden eggs. Good luck to you with all the chickens.

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  18. That's so cool...apparently we are actually allowed to have chickens in the city here, but my partner has vetoed my request which is probably fine - I think the garden will keep me busy enough!

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  19. Heather, I love how the chickens are described "friendly and mild mannered"..do they come to you as chicks or fully grown?? You are truly becoming the FARMER! Thanks for visiting my blog earlier. BTW, why do I get that blue "trash can" icon when I leave a message for you? I don't notice it on the others...

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  20. Great shots Heather. They all look so proud:)

    I know nothing about chickens other than grandma had red ones, white ones and an old black rooster who flogged me once.Sent me screaming :) I think he was in the pot on Sunday afterwards. And I know that the eggs taste so much better from your own chickens than those old store bought things.

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  21. You have picked out some beautiful birds. I haven't seen many of them before this post. I would like some chickens but so far I have been unable to convince the Equipment Manager of this. I'll be looking for their arrival. Hope the snow is gone.

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  23. Beautiful chickens, and what fun!

    I've had horses, cats and dogs but never chickens. I toyed with the idea of guineas at one time, but never long enough to take on the task.

    I guess I'm just, well, chicken!

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  24. In particular, I love the Barred Plymouth and the Speckled Sussex -- this one looks as if it has chicken dandruff! HeeHee! Of course, you know that I am biased and think you should throw in a few geese for good measure!

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  25. The Wyandottes are so pretty!! Please keep us updated with how you like them! I've had Arcanas (which are crazy in groups!!) and Barred Rocks (which I liked a lot more than the arcanas even though they don't have the pretty blue/green eggs that the arcanas lay). I don't have any chickens right now but I will once I move back to Montana and get settled in. I love seeing your photos! Good work so far with the trellaces and raised beds! =)

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  26. thank you for this interesting post. i too would like chickens but so far hubs is not into it. sounds like everyone wants them!

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  27. Acouple of our chickens appear to have dandruff. Any ideas what this is and how to rid them of the issue?

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Thank you for your ideas, suggestions or greetings. I love to hear from you and read them all.
-Heather

About This Blog

We started this blog in Feb. of 2009 to help us stay motivated and to track our progess in the garden. We live on 5 acres surrounded by Idaho farmland. We have wildlife galore and are attempting to attract more in the bird catagory. This is our journal. Welcome!

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