We still have the old girls that are laying less frequently. Their turn for freezer camp will be here next spring. Remember the little playpen we hobbled together in the mud a few weeks ago? It was filled with Aracauna chicks from the auction and the one Barred Rock I managed to hatch in the incubator. Here they are, all feathered out and scratching in the chicken yard.
About the time the old girls are butchered, these should be starting to lay. Any that turn out to be roosters will be accompanying the old girls to camp.
We still have Boston to do the mating chores for now. He's attacked me once so he won't be around much longer. If you recall, we purchased a silkie pair for broodiness. The rooster, Elvis, is still serenading us every morning-and all the doggone day- so he might be next in line for Boston's job. The hen died in an accident. I hated to lose her, she was my one hope of never having to buy chicks or hatch eggs again. Well, DH took pity on me and bought me a couple more silkie hens. They just started laying 2 months ago and a month after that- one of them went broody! I slipped a black marans egg under her to go with her tiny silkie egg and yesterday she hatched her first peeps!
Notice the egg? There are three more under her. I'll probably take them away if she stops doing a good job of raising the chicks. But for now, she's doing fine. I had to dodge her beak a few times to get the little peeps out from under her for a picture. She was glad to see me go! And I'm doubly glad to see my chicken mommy duties passed on to a more capable (and willing) partner!
