Our baby chicks have arrived! Well, actually we got them on Monday and it has been a chore keeping them warm in the cold snap were having at the moment. . . .
We got 66 chicks–25 Cornish Cross meat bird, 25 Buff Orpington laying hens, and several specialty breeds including Dorkings–one of the oldest chicken breeds, dating back to the Romans–Partridge Rocks, Indian Games–a very old English breed I am hoping to raise for our own meat bird stock–and some Jersey Giants just for fun.
The laying hens are to improve our present flock. The meat bird are a commercial venture, and because we can’t stand flavorless commercially raised factory chickens. The rest are for implimenting our own breeding program for future meat and laying stock. Besides all of this, chickens are just great fun to have around. They’re great to watch and they help turn our kitchen waste into fantastic fertilizer for the gardens, providing us with the top quality, fresh produce we love to work with. It is a perfect cycle of zero waste. Beyond that we are rewarded with the freshest of beautiful eggs that never fail to elicit praise from friends and clients.
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