New Chickens!

Tonight Anthony and I went to visit a friend of mine who said he had some chickens for me. 4 Barred Rock layers that needed a new home. I was very happy to take them as I needed some adult chickens to get me through to the fall when my core breed of chicks (arriving next month) should start laying. 

After talking to some breeders and friends, I've now decided to go with the Astrolorp breed of chicken. It's a duel purpose breed, excellent layers and good weights for butchering, calm and winter hardy. A very popular breed for small farms, so why not try it? 

Well, was I ever shocked when we arrived at his farm and he told me he had a surprise for me. 7 extra Astrolorp hens! This is great as it gets my flock up and running way ahead of schedule. Oh my goodness I'm now coming home with 11 hens not just 4 so... some modifications will be needed. I was/am both excited and determined. Never underestimate a woman with a mission!

He had placed them in crates before we arrived so it was an easy load. Wow, those crates were heavy! All the way home, Anthony and I talked about the movie Chicken Run. We are happy we make sure our chickens can always feel the grass beneath their feet. Our chickens are completely free range, frankly everyday they go on expeditions!

We pulled up to the barn and Anthony went to tell the others we got 11 new chickens. It was time to quickly set up some new roosts and additional nesting boxes. When it was time to put them in the coop I made it a three person job. One person to man the crate door, another to man the coop door and me to grab the chickens and place them in the coop.

Now, I must remind you up until now I've been raising the "ornamental" chickens aka Pheonix breed. I bought them last year when there were no others available as we were so late in the season. The Pheonix breed is quite pretty but are small and light.

We put the Barred Rocks in first. OK, these are big birds. The muscles on these things are huge! The four of them were a little antsy and one of them tried an escape attempt but was quickly cornered. Next were the Astrolorps. Now these girls were amazingly docile. They were very relaxed and it was easy to take a hold of them. Lifting them was another story. Goodness gracious I had to brace myself to get each of them out! Some of these girls are nearly 3 times the size of the Pheonix rooster.

I left the light on for them to get comfortable. I will keep them in the coop for a few days until they realise this is their new farm. Due to their mammoth size I will be needing to adjust the roosts tomorrow. This is great!

By the way we stored the crates until I can wash them up and take them back on Tuesday, they are pretty light!