Lesson Learned... 'Nough Said

February 23, 2011

Lessons learned.

This week I learned a hard but important lesson. I learned that if I wanted to order a rare chicken breed I better get an earlier start than waiting until the end of February. 

In August last year I came across The Chicken Whisperer on the Tractor Supply’s website. I started listening to his show because it was only luck that someone gave me three bantam chicks. I had no idea how to care for them or what to look for in case I thought something was wrong. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/backyardpoultry      

(I will try very hard to list correct photo credits for these pictures in captions.)

I still listen to the show regularly as even though I feel pretty confident now that I’ve had my chickens for almost a year the show offers more than just chicken info. Twice a month they have Christine Heinrichs, historian for the Society for Preservation of Poultry Antiquities. From her I have learned of so many breeds that I have never heard of. She did a segment once on French breeds and I learned of the Black Copper Maran. I was fascinated by the thought of a chicken that could lay dark brown nearly chocolate colored eggs. How beautiful they are!  http://albc-usa.org/    



Should be obvious but Maran eggs from FeatherSite.com



They are a very rare breed here in the US and the blood lines continue to be thinned because the lack of fresh bloodlines coming from France. The USDA does not ban fertilized eggs from entering the US but they do make it difficult which has contributed greatly to their scarcity.




Ameraucana eggs from http://www.mypetchicken.com/

  My goal is to have a true rainbow carton of eggs to sell. Can you imagine waking up to beautiful colors for breakfast? Such a small thing but I promise you when you see them there really is an Ohhh Ahhh factor!

The other problem I’m finding is the Speckled Sussex Paul wanted me to get. He has shown virtually no interest in the chickens until he picked up a hatchery brochure and discovered English breeds. It only makes sense since he is after all, English. So he asked me to order them for him. He said he would want to spend time with them as long as I was still going to be the one to care for them. I was able to easily get the rooster but if I wanted to get the Maran & Sussex hens I would have to wait until May. That simply will not due! As it is, I will have to wait until fall until I start getting eggs from the new chickens that I did get.

 This is going to force me to get creative and research much more on breeding. Since I was able to only get a Black Copper Maran rooster I decided to order two Welsummer hens to try and breed with. I don’t know as of yet if it will work in carrying the dark brown color gene. The Welsummer also has a dark brown egg shell color, just not as dark as the Maran. http://www.zooeasy.com/en/



Welsummer eggs from FeatherSite.com



I decided to order 2 white egg laying hens (Ancona) and 2 Ameraucana hens in addition to the Speckled Sussex & Maran Roosters & Welsummer hens. It’s my first ever “chicken order”.  http://www.meyerhatchery.com/       



Last Friday I went to Southern States & Lowe’s to start buying seeds and starter trays for the garden. It felt so wonderful to get my hands in dirt again! In another life I worked on weekends at a nursery close by my home, The Greenhouse in Glen Allen, VA. I did it to learn about plants and so that the money I earned there I could justify spending on plants. Very rarely did I ever bring home an actual paycheck.



One of the things I loved most about the place was going there in the winter months when everything was brown and dull. Just walking around in the greenhouses smelling the soil and living plants was very therapeutic. I could get over the worst day in just a few minutes walking around in there.



One of my favorite rites of spring was the Maymont Flower and Garden Show. That would be the final sign that winter really was over and I could finally start to plant again. I never had a big vegetable garden, just a small raised bed with lettuces, tomatoes etc… but I would buy plants for the outside of the house and inside. I planted wisteria on both ends of my front porch that slowly but surely climbed up the lattice fence, over the railing and made it across the roof. How lovely it was to see it come to life once again each spring.  http://www.maymont.org/Page.aspx?pid=419       



There are bulb flower greens peeping up out of the dirt around the house and I look forward to seeing them all bloom. I bought a bag of shady grass seed for the front of the house where the huge Maple tree shades the front. I have dusted off my planters and washed them out ready for new flowers. If I do all of this do you suppose I will force spring to come sooner?