The coop is brimming with poultry!! A few weeks ago I went to a local poultry swap looking for a pair of laying hens. My one girl got eaten by a fox... :( Another girl had stopped laying months ago, another just stopped laying (maybe stress from the fox attack), and the third girl had a brood of chicks to take care of and hasn't laid since she started sitting. Soooo...the only eggs we had coming were from my lonely quail in the dining room, Miss Quaily. She laid one every day, but if you've ever seen quail eggs, you need a lot for an omelet!
Soooo....off I went to the poultry swap! I did find two araucanas who the owner claimed were currently laying, plus a third funny haired girl who was suppose to start laying soon. What I also found....
Ducks!! They had more ducks than chickens at the swap meet and after talking extensively to some of the keepers there, I decided to bring home a pair of females. Duck eggs are a little bigger than chicken eggs and are good for baking and have really strong shells, which are good for crafting. They are young and are supposed to start laying soon.
The chicks are getting really big...there are nine now and they eat a ton!! They all have the same dad, but three different biological moms (only one mom mom). I'm really starting to see which chicks belong to which mom.
I can tell this one is Ginger's! Look at those buff feathers!
This is Penny...I forget what breed she is...but she's the littlest girl.
Dinah was a bit abused by some roosters it appears, but her feathers will grow back in time and she'll be a very pretty hen.
Winnie enjoy scaring the ducks and running in circles around the outside of the coop...silly girl. It's been almost a month, and so far I'm not much better off in the egg department. Winter's coming, which doesn't help egg production and aside from the occasional blue egg from either Dinah or her sister, I'm still waiting!! :) I did get two more quail friends for Miss Quaily and the quail eggs are piling up! Phew! Thank goodness for the trusty quail!
