Winter is usually the quietest time on the homestead, but this year it seems extra loud.
Might be just me, or it could be all the roosters I have scattered around the farmyard in various breeding pens, coops, and even some makeshift cages in the greenhouse.
Might be just me, or it could be all the roosters I have scattered around the farmyard in various breeding pens, coops, and even some makeshift cages in the greenhouse.
Yep. It's the roosters making all the noise. It seems being cloistered away with a few choice hens does wonders for their masculinity, and they have no problem letting the world know they are each finally ruling their very own roost...and procreating like crazy.
Sorry. I'll leave the chicken-breeding details to your imagination from now on. But I will say that it does happen to be the main event around here, and Oliver, my devastatingly handsome Olive Egger rooster, happens to be the top dog...or top cock, I guess.
Oh boy. Sorry again. It's a technical term, I promise.
Moving on...so Oliver belongs to a breed of chicken called Olive Egger, categorized by the ability to lay an egg with a olive green shell. And for those of you who are not so familiar with chicken-keeping, only the hens do this, not the roosters.
Your welcome. And just because Valentine's Day is rounding the bend, here's another helpful little tidbit: I love you.
Your welcome again. Apparently love is in the air...and in the coops.
Ahem. Soooo, Oliver is the product of a cross breeding between Chester Copperpot, my French Black Copper Marans Rooster, and Edie, one of my Easter Egger Hens. The Marans breed lays a dark brown egg, and the Easter Eggers eggs are blue-green. Crossing the breeds creates a bird that should produce an olive-colored egg, hence the name Olive Egger.
Makes sense, right? Well let me complicate it a bit more, because there's more than one way to skin a cat.
Wait, what?!! Where did that come from?!! Just for the record, I would never, ever skin a cat. Good grief! I should've gotten more sleep last night...but with all the roosters crowing at all hours of the night, sleeping happens to be a bit difficult right now.
Anyways...you can also get an Olive Egger by crossing any other dark brown egg-layer with any other blue or green egg-layer. Which is how I got Lib, Mag, and Ceycil, my Olive Egger hens. This trio (named for my locally infamous three "old maid" great-great aunts) are a combination of dark brown egg-laying Welsummers and blue egg-laying Cream Legbars.
Sorry. I'll leave the chicken-breeding details to your imagination from now on. But I will say that it does happen to be the main event around here, and Oliver, my devastatingly handsome Olive Egger rooster, happens to be the top dog...or top cock, I guess.
Oh boy. Sorry again. It's a technical term, I promise.
Moving on...so Oliver belongs to a breed of chicken called Olive Egger, categorized by the ability to lay an egg with a olive green shell. And for those of you who are not so familiar with chicken-keeping, only the hens do this, not the roosters.
Your welcome. And just because Valentine's Day is rounding the bend, here's another helpful little tidbit: I love you.
Your welcome again. Apparently love is in the air...and in the coops.
Ahem. Soooo, Oliver is the product of a cross breeding between Chester Copperpot, my French Black Copper Marans Rooster, and Edie, one of my Easter Egger Hens. The Marans breed lays a dark brown egg, and the Easter Eggers eggs are blue-green. Crossing the breeds creates a bird that should produce an olive-colored egg, hence the name Olive Egger.
Makes sense, right? Well let me complicate it a bit more, because there's more than one way to skin a cat.
Wait, what?!! Where did that come from?!! Just for the record, I would never, ever skin a cat. Good grief! I should've gotten more sleep last night...but with all the roosters crowing at all hours of the night, sleeping happens to be a bit difficult right now.
Anyways...you can also get an Olive Egger by crossing any other dark brown egg-layer with any other blue or green egg-layer. Which is how I got Lib, Mag, and Ceycil, my Olive Egger hens. This trio (named for my locally infamous three "old maid" great-great aunts) are a combination of dark brown egg-laying Welsummers and blue egg-laying Cream Legbars.
Ok, enough with all the genetics. What I really wanted to tell you is that Oliver, Lib, Mag, and Ceycil are now one big happy family, peacefully pecking around in their new pen inside the nice-and-cozy greenhouse while the weather roller-coasters up and down on the other side of the glass windows. Oliver is strutting around like he's king of the coop (and rightfully so), the ladies are laying like crazy, and I'm furiously sticking those eggs in the incubator like the crazy, sleep-deprived woman that I am.
And, those pretty olive eggs are now hatching. Yippee! What's emerging is exactly what I expected: Cute little chicks. Cute little chicks who should eventually lay even deeper-hued olive eggs that will look so pretty in my egg cartons along with all the other tasty farm-fresh eggs I'll bring to the farmer's market this summer!
Oh, it's so nice to think about summer when we're smack dab in the middle of winter. Certainly helps me get through the cold days...and nights, too. Especially since I'm awake a lot more lately.
I bet the neighbors love me...and my roosters. Yes, love is in the air--and boy is it noisy!
Ahem.
Oh, it's so nice to think about summer when we're smack dab in the middle of winter. Certainly helps me get through the cold days...and nights, too. Especially since I'm awake a lot more lately.
I bet the neighbors love me...and my roosters. Yes, love is in the air--and boy is it noisy!
Ahem.
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