So far this growing season, we are raisng four Easter Eggers, four Anconas, and four Blue Stars. We are still waiting on some Barred Rock and Black Asutrolorps from the hatchery. We’re also waiting on a few Khaki Campbell and Cayuga ducks.
As the name implies, Easter Eggers carry a gene that causes them to produce colorful eggs that have a blueish, green or red hue. While it’s difficult to nail down their exact ancestry, these birds are descended from chickens that originally hail from the Falklands and Chile. But what most experts agree on is that they are a hybrid stock with a lot of variety in terms of plumage pattern and color. They are good producers, laying up to 280 eggs per year.
The Ancona chicken is descended from birds primarily in Italy although it is currently more popular now in the United States and the UK. They yield white-colored eggs and have a single or rose-type comb on their heads. They consistently have white markings on a predominately black plumage. Their eyes are orange-red colored. These birds are good layers, producing as many as 220 per year and pullets start laying at five to six months.
The Blue Stars have a beautiful blueish to grey plumage with slate colored legs and dark eyes. They lay cream-colored eggs that are often speckled — about 280 per year. Folks also like Blue Stars because they tend to be friendly with humans.
As you can see from the video, the chicks are coming along just fine. At this point they are about a month old. We started them as two-day old chicks in a large stock tank equipped with a few heat lamps, water and chick starter feed. The chick starter feed is a medicated crumble that’s high in protein. After two weeks, we took them out of the tank and let them roam about in the nursery. The nursery is set up so we can enter through a door that separates them from the adult hens so they are not picked on. Get along little chickies and get ready to lay!
