Meet the Girls

We have three different breeds of chickens: 1 Barred Rock, 1 Buff Orpington and 2 Araucanas. Rob and I researched various breeds based on their personalities and egg laying capabilities.

Barred Rock hens lay brown eggs and have a gentle disposition so they make a great breed for the small farm or backyard grower. Below is an example of a full-grown Barred Rock hen.
(Parker holding Bowser who is a Barred Rock.

Buff Orpington hens are heavily but loosely feathered, appearing massive. Their feathering allows them to endure cold temperatures better than some other breeds. The hens lay light brown eggs even in the winter time. They are a very gentle breed that is suitable for families with small children. They are often times smarter than other breeds, with some having learned tricks and even coming when their name was called. (www.blueskyhatchery.com) Below is an example of a full-grown Buff Orpington hen.
(Mesitos who is a Buff Orpington.)

It is most likely that our Araucana hens are not pure-breeds. Most are hybrids that come in a variety of colors, so we are not sure what ours will look like when they are full grown. Araucanas are hardy and gentle and are well known for laying light green to olive colored eggs. Below are two examples of full-grown Araucana hens and what their eggs may look like. (Little Jerry Seinfeld is an Araucana.)
(Debbie is also an Araucana)

Most of our hens will lay 4-6 eggs per week during the spring/summer. Egg laying frequency depends on the amount of daylight which is why egg production decreases during the fall/winter months. We are excited to see what our first basket of eggs looks like!