The Big Chicken Decision

We are finally closing in on getting the fencing in for our chickens. I spent all day Saturday clearing the area needed of copious amounts of snow, and with some serious nagging of GH, I'm hoping to get the frame erected, then the mesh up together. The master plan is to be able to pick up six lovely pullets this weekends.

Now, the real hard part - deciding on what breed(s) to get for our lovely backyard patch. The local farm store where I'll be picking them up has five breeds of pullets currently available:

                                                                      Golden Comets

                                                                   Silver Wyandotts

                                                                  White Leghorn

                                                                         Brahmas

                                                                       Delawares

 

 

 

Since our city only allows a flock of six, this is tough choice. I consider the chickens to be the cornerstone of all of my self/sufficiency projects. In short, this means productivity is high on the list, followed closely by Winter hardiness and general temperament.

 

 

My research has me leaning towards the Leghorns - these seem to be the most productive of the available breeds. However, I really like the look of the Silver Wyandotts best out of all them. I'm thinking of possibly doing a mix, but I'd really like to make sure my flock is harmonious.

 

 

Here's where I enter a plea for help - Please, experienced chicken owners, what would your advice be for selecting my small backyard flock with these breeds available? Help!

Seed Saga Continued

To my suprise and delight, I received a lovely email from Katie Wagner at Peaceful Valley appologizing again for the issues with the shipping of my seed order. She went on to say they couldn't figure out where the fluke occurred that caused the delay, but to make it up to me, they were returning the shipping and handling I paid on the order.

It's things like this that really make a difference to me. I don't have a lot of money, so when I spend it somewhere I like to know my business is appreciated, as measly as it may be. This has gone a long way in redeeming Peaceful Valley in my eyes. Hopefully I can place another order in the near future to see how it goes the next time around.

In the meantime, I'm still very excited about my chicken forage seed mix - can't wait to grow it and see if it is chicken approved.

Updates

A little catching up from the holiday week:

Update #1: Seed Fever

My seeds finally arrived from Grow Organic (Peaceful Valley), coming in at just under a month from when I ordered. Everything was there except for my onions, which I had already been informed would be another month's. Boo. However, after my last post, a very nice rep from Grow Organic emailed me to let me know she was looking into what had happened to delay my order for so long. Still haven't gotten a follow up on that, but I'll give it a little more time I suppose.

On the plus side, yeah seeds!

So lovely

I'm really hoping the chicken foraging mix is worth it, because at this point, it may be the product that brings me back. We'll see.

In the mean time, I've placed another seed order, this time with Botanical Interests. This is the company my idol Mavis uses, so I'm hoping they come through. I ordered a whole bunch of seeds, including some overlap of what I ordered from Grow Organic. I'm going to do a kind of Pepsi challenge with this year's crops to see what grows best, and what I'll go back to next year. Results, and general frustration to follow as things progress.

Update #2 : Projects

Not a lot of movement on my planned projects. However, I have found a potential local source of 55-gallon food-grade barrels for $30 a piece. Score. Work has said I can scavenge a few of their wooden pallets. My reclaimed windows continue to sit in my garage, waiting for the day they will be transformed into my greenhouse.


Update #3 : Chickens

There is a coop in my backyard. There is fencing in my garage. Still no chickens yet, but we're moving closer.......

Update #4 : Neighbors

I made retaliation cookies just in time for Christmas and delivered them to the neighbors via my own adorable minions. Then, yesterday, I met neighbor mom face to face. She's very cute, very young, and apparently, far better then me. Just as I feared. When I casually mentioned I have a horse (always my cool card) she responded by telling me about her high-school career riding Dressage on Stephen King's horses in Bangor. I nearly choked to death. Sorry neighbor wife, you're apparently far too cool for me - this is now abundantly clear.

Update #5 : The Girl

After several people we knew shared with K that they too had suffered taunts and torments throughout school, I think she felt validated. She also got a mountain of new clothes for Christmas. Hopefully she feels a little better equipped to face her first day back at school today after the holiday break.