Bye-bye Barnie .... Hellooooooo Chickies

gotta love the northern rivers community ... sharing the sustainable, earthy dream is easy to do here.  so it was no wonder that i was contacted by a breeder wanting to expand their flock into barnevelders, asking me if i had a rooster to sell.  gee ..... just so happened that i had Barnie-boy .... a lovely, year old rooster, that trust me .... was working the girls well.

and while i love Barnevelders (the colours on the roosters are fabulous) .... i just have them as good layers, not a real addition to the breeding flock.  so off he went, with a pullet that i had to a new home .... to breed up a storm.

bye-bye Barnie -- you've been fun to watch grow and you have a beautiful temperament ... time to go and be a man!

beautiful boy!  even in the wet and rain his colours are stunning.

but me?  well, i need more layers .... it's the thing .... each year chickens need to be cycled out and new birds brought in if you are going to keep up with the demands of your clients.  so with the profit i made from selling Barnie +1, i have opened up a whole new world of chickdom.

got me a bakers dozen of australorp chicks i did .... with a couple of errant plymouth rocks thrown in.  so with those, plus the four that had just hatched .... i'm sitting at 17 chicks to grow out and increase our flock.

the cuteness of chicks is never overrated

why australorps and not the plymouth rocks i'm committed to?  well ... i wanted to add some good layers to my regular flock .... and still being committed to heritage breeds it was a joy to get these kids.  and, true to form, they are good layers and the boys?  well ... you know what happens to boys that aren't breeders .... they serve us well on the dinner plate.

so i'm still working on my plymouth rocks as well .... have introduced some new hens from a great line out at tenterfield.  but it is slow going.  however, i am happy to say that i have a broodie barnevelder hen that is happily sitting on 7 plymouth rock eggs for me ....

good mum, about 12 days left to hatch.