Spring Promises

Spring brings with it many promises.  At our farm, the promise is of eggs.  On a cold morning last November, over 200 day-old chicks came to be a part of our farm menagerie.  It all began with an early morning phone call from the post office announcing their arrival, then a quick drive into town to pick them up and bring them home.  

Day-old chicks, fresh from the post office

Our chicks are comprised of three different heritage breeds: Ancona, Americana, and Black Australorp.  We chose these breeds because of their foraging abilities, their hardiness on pasture, and for the color of the eggs which they lay.  Anconas lay white eggs, Black Australorps, brown, and Americanas break the monotony by laying eggs of various shades from blue-green to cream-colored.  You can see in the photo below, that even at hatch each breed has a different look. 

Only a few days old, chicks love to bask in the sunshine

With each passing week, our chicks (now called, "pullets") grow closer to the day when they will lay their first egg.  So, as February plods on with its snowy days, there is a glimmer of sunshine in our barn as we look forward to the fulfillment of our spring promise of eggs.