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All Grown Up (well, mostly)

October 17th, 2018

The tiny little chickies that I got from Murray McMurray back at the end of August are pretty much all grown up. Typically I let one of my broody hens hatch out little ones, but I’ve been wanting to add a wide variety of colorful eggs to my egg cartons. The folks that buy the eggs get all excited about the colorful batches. For a while I had a nice selection of olive and blue eggs, but those chickens have all gotten too old to lay or have been nabbed by predators.

Since chickens don’t start laying eggs until they’re 3-4 months old, I decided to get chicks in the fall so they can start laying straight away next spring. Most chickens don’t lay very well during the winter months when light levels fall below 12 hours of daylight.

These little nuggets hatched on August 26th, they’re just over 6 weeks old, still months away from laying, but they should be just maturing to kick off late winter laying in style.



For my selection, I ordered: Whiting True Blue (blue eggs), Whiting True Green (green eggs), Black Star (brown eggs), Single Comb Brown Leghorns (white eggs), and Black Andalusians (white eggs). I will still add a few red production hens to the mix next year, they are great layers of brown eggs and lay better through the winter than many of these other breeds. It’s always a challenge to try to have hens producing eggs throughout the year in the quantities needed for the egg customers and for our household.

Do you purchase eggs from a local source? Any colored ones in the batches?

2 Comments to “All Grown Up (well, mostly)”
  1. Grannie M on October 17, 2018 at 6:45 pm

    In the past I have ordered from this same hatchery and have always had good luck with their chicks. I always ordered in pairs of different breeds that I found interesting or pretty to get my minimum of 25 chicks. The single comb brown leghorns laid eggs the longest during the year and for the most years. I only have six chickens ourchased at a local farm store n and they give me more than enough eggs, but I miss being able to special order all the different breeds..

    Reply to Grannie M's comment

  2. Joan Ray on October 22, 2018 at 9:05 am

    My Americaunas were the best winter layers that I had. They didn’t lay as many eggs as some of the other breeds, but I valued them because they were on a different schedule.

    If I ever have chickens again I want to add Cuckoo Marans to the mix, so that I get some deep chocolate brown eggs to go along with all the other colors.

    Reply to Joan Ray's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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