2019 was the year it became time to renew the egg hen flock. The remaining hens had a good life producing lots of eggs over their years of production and could now live out their lives 8n the retirement flock.
Last Spring, when chicks were readily available at local feed stores, it was time to start a new flock. There were so many nice varieties available, it was hard to chose. In the end, the new flock would consist of Australops, Americanas, Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, ISA Reds, Gold Lace Wyandottes, and Silver Lace Wyandottes. The plan was just a few of each. Factoring in a few losses, a mixture of 6-10 of each (but only 2 Australops) totaled 46 chicks. True to realistic planning, only two didn’t make it so that left 44 – or more than double previous year flock size. Of course the extras could be sold off, but the decision was to keep the whole batch and maybe sell eggs in the Spring, once they started to lay.
Along comes late October when the egg flow began. Even with colder temperatures, lower light levels, and all of the conditions that are supposed to work against egg production (include 1 Americana who started crowing), these silly chickens have laid 660 eggs this Winter! Selling eggs has started a bit earlier than expected