We’re Growing our Flock!

       With Spring approaching many farm supply stores are getting weekly shipments of chicks shipped in. I’ll be taking advantage of the deals and different breeds of chicks they get throughout this spring. I’ll also be selling some chickens we currently have to make room for the new additions. I’m not in a rush to sell them though since we still have quite some time before my pullets (young female chickens) are big enough to go into the coop with  my others. 

       We currently have 12 Hens and 2 Roosters. Out of the 12 hens we have we’re getting about 6-8 eggs a day, that isn’t bad considering I have a few hens that aren’t at egg laying age yet but 2-3 of the daily eggs I get are smaller then I’d like them to be. These small eggs are coming from some bantam breeds that I have, Bantam chickens are chickens bred to be smaller in size, with that small body size comes smaller eggs. I bought many of the bantams for my Son (3yrs old) I thought he would like seeing such small and cute chickens, he loves the silkies because of how “fluffy” they are. 

       I’ve decided that since I have a limited amount of space for chickens I need to focus on egg production. I’ve got 2 Silkie Hens and a Silkie rooster that I will part with, Silkies are one of my favorite breeds of chickens right along with a frizzle because of how unique and cute they look. If you’ve never seen a silkie I recommend you google it. They are little balls of fluff with their feathers looking more like fur, they also have a great temperament so they are not aggressive around children at all. But with them laying such small eggs I’m not really being efficient with the small space I have, and though its not a huge difference in egg size (3 silkie eggs = 2 Regular sized eggs) I do sell eggs and I like to give my customers their moneys worth by giving them our large eggs and keeping the smaller ones for ourselves so getting more large egg laying chickens will help me get cartons of eggs out faster to my loyal customers! 

       I currently have 2 awesome egg customers, 1 buys 30 eggs every two weeks and the other buys a dozen a week, then we save enough eggs to supply our little family. I’ve had many people on our waiting list for fresh eggs but unfortunately we don’t have the supply for the demand. That leads to us purchasing some more chicks, but since we are getting young chicks we won’t see a growth in egg production until probably next spring to give them time to mature into egg laying age. 

        I bought 6 more chicks, 2- Rhode Island Red, 2- Barred Plymouth Rock, 2 Gold Star and I will be buying more in the near future. I’m looking for specific breeds and it really depends on what our 2 local farm supply stores get in but chicken raising has gotten very popular these past couple years so the chicks are selling out FAST, I’m not complaining, I’m excited to see so many people trying their hand at something I’m passionate about that will make them a little more self-sufficient.

       I’ll make sure to update y’all when I purchase more chicks, I’m saving up to purchase an incubator so I can start hatching out eggs from my own flock. I have a Speckled Sussex Rooster that I plan on keeping to fertilize the eggs when I do get the incubator. Things here on the homestead are growing little by little, I’m excited for the future but I’m making sure to enjoy the journey! I’m grateful for everyone who’s supported us, I love being able to share my life in this way with everyone. I’m learning day by day and I hope I can share what I’ve learned to make your journey easier. Don’t forget to follow us on Social Media for daily updates and posts. I post a new blog post once a week so check back weekly. 

                                                                                         -Shelby Ray

                                                                                        Let Her Roam

                                                                                     Red Dirt Ranchette