A few years ago I acquired some hens to be able to enjoy fresh eggs and their company. I started with some ISA browns. ISA stands for “Institut de Selection Animale”.They are the average keeper preference because they are egg machines. They are readily available in the spring at most local farm stores and are affordable. They have nice temperament and are winter hardy. They lay large to extra large eggs. The drawback is that their egg production is limited to a year or two. After that period their egg count is reduced and many egg producers will sell their hens after that period. Lucky for me, because I’m more after looking after them with the egg portion being a plus. It wasn’t long before I had too many eggs so I started selling them to friends and people I knew.
On the second year I added some Rhode Island Reds. They look very similar to the ISA but they lay smaller eggs. They are said to be the best breed for homesteaders and backyard coops. I personally have not noted very much difference between the two and couldn’t tell which are which and if I even have Rhodes or ISA in my flock. Like their ISA counterpart they are good egg producers and are winter hardy.
When I needed to add a few more to my coop of 4 I decided to add color to it. I went and got some year old Buff Orpington. They are a bit of a larger bird but they are friendly. They seem to tend to be more protective of their eggs while the other two breeds don’t mind that I lift them up to get the eggs under them. The Orpingtons will peck at me if I try to steal their eggs and make a ruckus if I succeed. Otherwise they get along good with other birds even smaller ones. They are pretty birds and they carry themselves proudly. They produce large light brown eggs in smaller quantity then the Reds. The lady that had them named them Rosie 1 and Rosie 2. I have no idea who’s who. I once named my hens but I couldn’t keep track of who is who because they were all the same color. The only one I do recognise is my 3-4 year old red hen that I call “Old Chicken”. She is a bit rougher looking because of her age but she’s the boss of her coop.
I still had room for a few more hens. I found someone with too many Barred rock pullets so I went and got some. They are a laced grey hen hence the name barred. They are about the same size as the Reds and they also produce brown to light brown eggs that are a bit on the medium to large size. They are friendly chickens but I have yet to find out if they are winter hardy. I have been told that they are.
Then I was hooked to the colorful plumage of my hens. I needed more. I found a pair of Lavender Orpington crossed with an Isabel Orpington rooster chicks. I wanted to try raising some little one to see if that brooding some down the road would be an avenue I would like to visit. They were fun to raise and their chirping was enjoyable. What wasn’t was the lack of preparedness to the messiness they would create. A note to myself would be to not use a dog kennel as an enclosure. They tend to scratch the bottom of the cage and throw everything outside. My dog Badger loved picking up the poops that flew out of the cage. Not a good thing for her to do. Lesson learn I guess. Now I have a proper cage and a proper system. I have no idea how my chicks are going to turn size wise and even if I have a rooster or not. I hope I got hens. The chicks are now grown enough that they made their way to an outside coop.
After these two moved out I found a tad more colored chicks. I got a black, a lavender and a fawn Ameraucana cross and one Brahma cross. The Ameraucana carry the blue egg colored gene. I’m hoping that at least one of the chick will lay blue eggs. Those are also a mystery as to how they are going to grow and if I have roosters of hens. Fingers crossed for hens. The Ameraucana should be the size of the barred rock. They should have a nice temperament and about the same level of broodiness as the Buff Orpingtons. It’s to be discovered! The Brahma are supposed to be the largest breed of chickens. I saw the parents to mine and they are gorgeous. They also have feathered feet which is not seen in the other breed of chickens I have. I have read that they are very docile and friendly. They are raised both for egg laying and meat so they are called dual purpose. I’m excited for this new adventure!
The pictures above are those of my own chicks. The one below is what my Brahma cross chick should look like as a full grown hen. I’m praying for a bunch of hens but I will only know as they grow older. I hope you enjoyed my post about my chickens and leave comments if you have any questions. If your pictures have been used for this post please let me know I would love to give credit to the right person.
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Bike in Time 