We're Expecting!

   I know what you're thinking: we're crazy. We already have too much on our hands. But I have begun thinking that two just is not enough. After all, pretty soon they will be out of the "nest" and then what will we do? My motherly instincts kicked in this spring and I found myself preoccupied with babies. So I am pleased to announce that sometime around April 27th, we will become the proud parents of just-hatched Black Australorps and Barred Plymouth Rocks.

Barred Plymouth Rock

     They weren't my first choice. I wanted Buff Orpingtons and Silver Laced Wyandottes. For a while, I thought about Speckled Sussex. In the end, I had to decide on breeds that were available at the same time as the broilers I was ordering. The white broilers will mature in about 8 weeks, which is just before we go on vacation. As usual, I am behind.

Black Australorps

     Plymouth Rocks were the traditional breed on Delmarva farms before the broiler industry revved up in the 1930s. My Delaware chickens are a cross between Barred Rocks and, improbably, red-feathered New Hampshires. (See my blog entry "Chapter One: My Chicks Are Born" describing these breeds). Black Australorps are actually an Australian breed, known for laying even in hot weather and for their luminous black feathers. They are also hardy in winter. My only other requirements were that they lay brown eggs, are productive and are "heavy breeds." I don't want them to get beat up by my other hens.
   I am worried whether we have enough room for more chickens, and how I will find the time to care for them and raise them right. But like any other parent, I will do the best I can and try to focus on the joy they bring me--not to mention the eggs.