Winter on the Farm

While the calendar shows that it's January 27th - the weather is like spring!  So far this winter, there have only been maybe 3 or 4 days that the temperature has been cold enough to freeze the water in the chicken barn. 

Right now all three pens are full.  One of the "pullets" in the large pen has turned out to be a cockerel instead.  So I now have two roosters - and I believe that makes 21 pullets.  Leroy - the EE rooster is a great crow-er and is quite actively doing his best to procreate with as many hens as possible.  Last week I took some eggs and put them in the incubator - and yes, Leroy is accomplishing his task.  So in another couple weeks, I'll have some home grown chicks.

I've got an ad on Craigslist to sell Leroy and Red (the other rooster).

The middle pen has 14 chicks in it.  These are the ones I hatched the first of December - plus the few I bought to keep them company.

Then my brooder pen has 10 Swedish Flower Hens and 3 Black Copper Marans.  It looks like two of the marans are cockerels - so they'll be sold.

I also have eggs in the incubator - some from my own flock - and some Araucana and Exchequer Leghorn eggs that I bought.  I see growth in almost all of mine, but none of the Araucana eggs seem to be growing.  All the Leghorn eggs show growth, however, when I candle them.   It'll be interesting to see what I end up with.