Our chickens and the breeds!

Hi, everyone.
     As promised I want to introduce everyone to our chickens.  They are new here but are the sweetest and most loving chickens I have ever seen in my life.  They love to be held and petted.  No pecking on us or anything.  I could hardly believe it. 

Cuckoo Marans

    We have 2 of these hens.  What I love most about this breed is the color of their eggs.  The lay really deep, dark brown eggs that are large in size.  So dark brown that they have a tint of maroon in them.  This breed originates from France and are considered heavy chickens with roosters that get between 7-8 lbs and an average hen is 6 1/2 lbs.   They lay about 150 eggs a year or 2-3 a week.  They are mainly egg layers but they do possess really fine meat qualities also.

White Leghorn

   We have 2 of the White Leghorns.  These are just like the bird in the cartoon "Foghorn Leghorn" but the word is really pronounced "Leggern".  Anyway, these are the birds that lay the eggs you find at the supermarket.  They lay X-large white eggs almost every day and average about 300 eggs a year.  They are really hardy chickens and can stand really cold winters and hot summers.  They are considered to be medium in size and weigh on the average about 6 lbs.  They originate from Tuscany, Italy.  They are egg layers and not viable as a meat producer.

Cinnamon Queen

   We also have 2 of these pretty hens.  The Cinnamon Queen is also called the Cinnamon Queen Sex Link.  It is called a sex link because it is a crossbreed from a Silver Laced Wyandotte and a New Hampshire rooster.  The Cinnamon Queen are known for their fast body development and fast egg production.  Meaning that these hens start to lay their eggs at a much younger age than most other breeds.  They lay large brown eggs and are considered to be a dual purpose bird.

Golden Laced Wyandotte

       We have one of these little pullets.  At maturity, the hen will lay a decent sized brown egg 4 times a week or an average of about 200 a year.  The roosters get to be about 8 1/2 lbs. and the hens weigh about 6 1/2 lbs.  They are a dual purpose breed (meat (large breasts) and eggs) and make good show birds.

Silkie Bantams

Buff Silkie

Black Silkie

Blue Silkie

We have one of each of these colors:  one buff silkie; one black silkie; and one blue silkie.  I know they lay very small eggs but I think they are so beautiful that I was a bit impractical and bought them anyway.  :-)

These are really neat because of the hair-like plumage they get and they are also different because their skin and bones are both dark blue/black and they have 5 toes instead of the normal 4.  The meat is very different so they are not usually eaten but they make awesome moms.  In fact, they will lay on other chickens' eggs, as well as duck or turkey eggs too.   They do make great show quality hens also.  Silkies are quite small with the males weighing 2 1/2 lbs. and the females at 2 lbs.  They lay small cream colored eggs about 2 times a week and average just 100 eggs a year.  

    Well, that is it.  So, what do you think of our new additions?   Feel free to leave your comments and subscribe to this blog.

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In Christ,
Melody

Loving wife of Ronald and incredibly blessed home educating mother with fantastic children.

‎"Tough times never last, tough people do." -Robert Schuller

We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today. ~Stacia Tauscher