Spot On Freshly Gathered Eggs

I just gathered my eggs and took a picture of them. Aren't eggs beautiful? These eggs come from the chicks I posted about last year. The chicks that grew up into chickens.The chicks were Ameracauna and Cuckoo Marans. The Ameracauna hens are Aracauna chickens bred with different varieties of chickens and the shade of green, from blue to mossy green depends upon which variety of chicken the Aracauna is bred with. If an Aracauna is bred with a brown egg layer the hen will lay the darker mossy green eggs. If the Aracauna is bred with a white egg layer the eggs will be a light minty green to almost aqua or blue. These are my favorites. The Cuckoo Marans lay a dark brown egg. The best of the Marans lay an egg that is a dark chocolate brown, my desired brown egg color. My favorite way to eat freshly gathered eggs is to whisk 3 or 4 eggs with a dash of soy sauce and Johnny's seasoning salt to taste. I cook the eggs in a small frying pan turning and turning with a spatula until the eggs are JUST done and not a bit more. I then add a lot of grated cheddar cheese, turn over in the pan again until the cheese is melted then flip it onto a plate. I pour myself a cup of freshly ground and brewed coffee and butter bread right out of the toaster to add to the plate. This is the best brunch ever!( I don't eat breakfast, my tummy does not desire it) A brunch like this is often all I need to sustain me for the whole day and I am very happy to repeat this again the next day.If you're unable to raise chickens yourself it is well worth it for you to find a source of fresh eggs from a local egg seller, the difference in taste of fresh eggs versus the best eggs from the average supermarket is vast. Try it, you'll like it, fresh eggs that is.

A Cuckoo Maran Worth A Second Chance & Glance

I gathered these eggs last week, my first eggs from my new flock. I am now getting at least 2 dozen eggs a day from my old and new flock. My new flock consists mainly of Cuckoo Marans, but also a few Welsummers and Americaunas. ( They lay blue to green eggs) So I am getting baskets of pretty eggs, kind of looks like I get to gather Easter eggs all year round. I LOVE it!

Awhile back I posted about this little Cuckoo Maran. She is at least 3 years old now and I do not how how she manages, but she does.

As a new little chick she had curled up feet. I kept thinking she would die , but she did not. As she got older it was hard for her to get around the pen, or to perch...but I just could not cull ( kill ) her because she was so plucky. She just had to work very hard to do what came easy for the other hens, but she did not seem miserable. She touched my heart and I decided as long as she did well she could live, if she seemed to suffer I would remedy that.

Look at her curled up toes. She wobbles-falls, wobbles-falls, every where she needs to go. Well, she is still alive and doing very well...wobbling-falling everywhere,....

....And she is still regularly laying eggs. I don't think she read the poultry books that say she should be a very un-thrifty animal and not worth the effort and expense of keeping.Just goes to show we can't ALWAYS predict the outcome of some things in life and sometimes even the most pitiful creatures are sure worth a second glance and chance.

Chicks Are Here....

~What can I say, the cute factor is here big time at Cedar Pond! Chicks...little, teeny, fluffy, peeping, cute, baby chickens!~

~My order ( yes, ORDER ) of chicks came in the mail today...in a little box too! I ordered 15 Cuckoo Marans , they are the black and white chicks, and 10 Welsummer chicks. Both breeds will grow to lay dark, chocolate colored eggs. ( above, the chicks in their box before I moved them to their brooding box)~

~ I couldn't resist, I let the chicks run around for awhile. Welsummer chick is on the left, the Maran is the black and white chick.~

~It is so amazing to me that as soon as chicks hatch out they are able to drink water, look for food, and all they need is warmth, food and water, and protection. They eat, drink, forage and seek warmth by themselves. Nobody taught them this!~

~My cat proof brooder. See, the very grill you barbecue your chicken on can also be the very grill that protects your little chicks from the house cat...our Miss Marple. Here ( above ) I have placed the chickens in a big Rubbermaid bin with the grill as a cover, and the heat lamps are sitting on top to keep the chicks warm. They will be in this brooder in the sun room for about a week, then I will move them outside to a my big brooding shed.~

~Cuckoo Maran Chick~

Spot on Cuckoo Marans ( chickens)

~This is one of my Cuckoo Maran roosters. I love the cuckoo pattern on poultry, for that is what the term 'cuckoo' is referring to. The hens of this pattern or color, are darker than the roosters. The Cuckoo Marans resemble the Barred Plymouth Rock chickens, but the Plymouth Rocks are an American breed and the Marans are French. The Marans and the Rocks come in several different colors. The first batch of Cuckoo Marans I raised came from Sandhill Preservation Center in Nebraska, and true to the breed, some had feathered legs, some didn't. The current pen of Cuckoo Marans came from Murray McMurray, and none of them had feathered legs, and none of them are laying the dark chocolate brown eggs I desire. ~This is one of my Maran hens. Because she has seriously deformed feet I keep her only with a Maran rooster. Really, I should have culled her, but she survives qiuite well and lays eggs most days. The eggs shown below are from her. As you can see, they are not chocolate brown. ~Here is a basket of eggs collected from my flock. You can see the variation in color. I am getting only 2 dark brown eggs every day or so and believe they come from the only two survivors of my previous flock( the rest of the flock was killed by dogs) and 3 year breeding program directed at getting a certain color of brown eggs. ~Here are the survivors( below), and they are 3 generations of Welsummers and Marans bred together for dark brown eggs. I would have my bantams brood only the darkest brown eggs and raise the chicks. I think I am going to find another source of the Marans and Welsummers, the Murray McMurray Marans seem to be laying almost white eggs. Hey, even Barred Plymouth Rock eggs are darker than these. Meanwhile, we will use the bounty of eggs the flock we have produce, and I so enjoy watching my flock of chickens. ~"The Maran chicken was developed in France in the mid 1800's , imported into England around 1920 where most of it's improvement ocurred. The vast majority of the Marans are cuckoo coloured ranging from very dark grey to silver, red / bright orange eye color and white legs. The most notable charasteristic of this hardy chicken is it's very dark egg colour.." UK Maran Blessings: chickens, eggs

Spot on Mercy

~~~ I just named a chicken. You know what that means don't you ? If I name a chicken , she is no longer just a chicken. She has a personality and a place here. I should NOT have named her. She should NOT have been allowed to live. No practical livestock keeper should have allowed her to live this long. She should have become chicken soup....oh well. I guess she can stay , her name is 'Mercy'.~~~Mercy was one of 25 chicks to arrive in the mail. She is a Cuckoo Maran, and I ordered this breed specially. She did not appear different when she arrived. After a week or two though, there were 7 chicks that were showing some foot problems. This was a problem. There was no reason my chicks should be in distress. I am the sole caretaker of the chicks I ordered and they did NOT lack proper bedding, food, water, warmth. I was quite diligent about this. I have raised chicks for about 20 years and I know what I am doing. ~~~I ordered the chicks from a producer I have purchased chicks from for years. I have always been happy with the chicks they sent and they stand behind the chicks they sell. I do not believe they sold me bad chicks. What is going on here though ? 7 out of 25 chicks is more than a 1 to 4 ratio of problem chicks. ~~~Anyway, most of the chickens with problems were roosters, and a surplus of roosters is common and easily taken care of. ( they end up in the stew pot ) ~~~There were 2 hens with foot problems. One hen was trampled to death early on in her life because she was unable to get out of the way when the chickens fed. This is common, and had I realized she was unable to get away I would have culled her earlier. ( cull: kill, get rid of ) ~~~Miss Mercy was unable to walk well, but there was something about her that kept me from culling her. She was careful when she went to the feeder. I watched her. She patiently waited til the feeding frenzy was over and the other chickens were resting . Then she would wobble / fall, wobble / fall over to the feeder and waterer. After quenching her thirst and eating til full, she would wobble / fall, wobble / fall back to her resting spot under the nest boxes. ~~~Look at Miss Mercy. It is difficult for her to walk, yet she is so plucky and so able. I just did not have the heart to get rid of her. Shame on me ! ~~~Then, the hens all began laying. And so did Miss Mercy ! She was so careful about her eggs. She laid an egg a day. Apparently it is ONLY her feet that are defective. I just could not do what a real farm woman should do....something about Miss Mercy touches my heart. ~~~Look at her feet. They look like they hurt. She has trouble walking. Yet..she does not seem to hurt or be in distress. ~~~I moved her into a pen with just one rooster. That is it, Miss Mercy and a rooster who is very taken with her. She has chosen a nest, a very small space between an old cage and a wall. I do not know how she wobble / falls, wobble / falls into it without hurting herself or dislodging the eggs...but she does. That touches me too. When I saw the nest I realized she is so careful and considerate about the nest and the eggs she lays. O.K. I will keep her. She is a survivor. She is a keeper. ~~~" Mercy :The act of relieving suffering, or the disposition to relieve it." " pity, or good will ."Funk and Wagnalls dictionary ~~~In this case, the mercy is in not doing what all good farm management advice states by culling undesirable or unproductive livestock. My heart says Miss Mercy is at peace with herself and happy to be alive. She will do just fine.......and look, here are 2 of her eggs ! ( below ) ~~~I had quite a problem this year with foot problems in my chicks and wing problems in my ducklings. I was going to quote a lot of information about nutrition from various poultry books and publications but I will sum up what I believe to be the real problem. Please let me re-state...I have raised chicks and ducklings for years.I purchased them from reputable breeders and suppliers I have used for years. I do not believe they sold me defective poultry. My chicks and ducklings are important to me and they did NOT lack proper bedding, warmth ,water, and provision of food.....however , I have a question or 2 about the quality of feed. ~~~I think the shortage of affordable grains, combined with fuel and production prices affected the quality of the food I bought. It cannot be a coincidence that I had trouble obtaining feed, feed was very expensive, the ducklings and chicks from 2 completely different sources showed physical problems that upon research show the classic text book symptoms of nutritional deficiencies that should NOT have occurred if the usual feed requirements were fulfilled. ~~~When I saw the problems manifested I began adding nutritional supplements to the food / water, and after a few weeks the problems began to disappear. Sometimes it is too late to reverse physical problems of dietary deficiencies, and Miss Mercy will always be handicapped, and always have a place here.

Spot on Frizzles

Agnes is so ugly she's cute !

Annabelle is Agnes' sister, don't they look alike ?

Annabelle and Agnes lay eggs. They lay the small white eggs.
~Annabelle and Agnes are bantam chickens. They are the result of a breeding program I started with my chickens several years ago. Their father is a handsome pretty boy. He is a bantam black cochin, with frizzle feathers.

The little bantam eggs are compared with medium eggs laid by my young flock of standard ( normal size ) Cuckoo Marans.

" Frizzle is a mutant in the chicken in which the feathers grow so they curve outward instead of laying smoothly along the bird's body." Glenda Heyward
 
Annabelle's mother is a bantam Mottled Cochin. She has regular feathers, but otherwise , she and her daughter Annabelle look alike. Agnes' mother is a Naked Neck bantam frizzle. She is uglier than Agnes, and a bit bigger. Agnes and Annabelle weigh under a pound, with Agnes feeling several ounces lighter.

For a few years I was our local 4H poultry leader, and I also superintended the poultry barn at the county fair. Our family was active in showing our poultry in several fairs and shows. It was a lot of fun, and hard work. I do not show my chickens anymore and decided to breed the chickens for characteristics that appealed to me instead of breeding to show standards of purebreds.
 
I am breeding my standard laying flock for very dark, chocolate brown eggs. I also want to really like the look of my chickens, so have chosen the breeds to produce the egg and feather color of my preference.
 
As for the bantams, I am going for very, very tiny, with very curly feathers...and a tuxedo or all over pattern of white feathers on black. I have 2 little chickens with a tuxedo pattern.

I love to talk chickens and will post more about them later .

" A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg." Samuel Butler