We've been busy chick rearing. The first flock of pullets are almost layers now at 13 weeks, outside in their temporary home. We did end up with two roosters. Both are Welsummer. I'm sure I can rehome one rooster. The other rooster is a dwarf. Not sure there will be a new home for him to go to.
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Mid April, the 30+ Cornish Cross rooster chicks showed up. One had splay leg that we caught early in the first week. We were able to hobble his legs together to bring the one "lazy" leg back underneath his body in alignment with the other. Took about a week of this, and readjusting for his growth to get the hip to grow stronger. So far, he is doing great. The CX are all out on pasture now. Hoping the better weather holds out. Not too hot, not to wet, and not too windy. They should be ready for us to start processing in about two more weeks.
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In the meantime, we picked up 30+ more day-old layer chicks the first week of May. They are doing well. About three weeks in, I discovered that one has scissor beak (cross beak). It is pretty pronounced but she seems quite capable of eating and drinking. She is a pushy little gal, if she is a gal. Fingers crossed. I really don't need another rooster that I can't get rid of. This group is mostly Delaware, some Lavender Jersey Giant, Americana (a slightly different version of Easter Egger), and a few Amberlink.
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The plan is to rehome about 15 of these newest chicks, and keep the rest for a secondary flock over the winter. That will give us two flocks, each with about 15 layers, We still sell farm direct eggs in the neighborhood, and with the price of eggs in the grocery stores, our customer base keeps growing. I sense that once people realize how much better fresh eggs taste, they keep coming back. The 13 hens we currently have, can't keep up with the weekly egg demand.
And this is the Scissor Beak with a friend.
