One of the most important things you can do when choosing which breeds you want for your flock is to choose breeds appropriate to your climate. With cold winter weather in the way for most of the US, let’s have a look at cold hardy chicken breeds. Our website makes it easy to choose from a list of cold hardy chicken breeds, but if you live in the bitter, bitter north, you may need the MOST cold hardy chicken breeds.

Here are the top five most cold hardy chicken breeds:

1. Ameraucana – Ameraucanas have small pea combs making them resistant to frostbite on the comb–however after their first year, they don’t tend to lay especially well in cold winter areas. (They are the only breed on the list laying blue eggs, though! (Easter Eggers, while not a breed per se, also make the list for the same reason–and they can lay blue or green). True Ameraucanas can be difficult to get, though. The vast majority of hatcheries advertise Ameraucanas or Araucanas–but sell you Easter Eggers.

   Blue Ameraucana

2. Buckeye – The Buckeye also has a pea comb, and deals with cold very well. In addition it’s a good winter layer and a good forager.

   Buckeye baby chicks

3. Chantecler - The Chantecler is a breed developed for long, cold Canadian winters. It lays well in cold weather, too!

   Chantecler

4. Dominique – Dominiques have flat rose combs, and lay well in the winter. However, they don’t tend to be especially heat hardy.

   Dominique pullet

5. Wyandottes – Wyandottes are very good year round layers, and deal well with heat, too.

   Silver Laced Wyandotte

What features make cold hardy chicken breeds? There are a few. For one, a chicken needs a small or flat comb. Large combs or combs with points (like the stereotypical single comb of a leghorn) can be prone to frostbite. Secondly, larger chickens do better in the cold than small bantams. And thirdly, feather legged breeds can be problematic–at times. While the feathered legs provide additional insulation, in wet winter areas, mud or slush can get embedded in the leg feathers and then freeze–again, a risk of frostbite. In cold dry areas, feathered legs don’t present the same problem, so breeds like the Brahma will do well.

In addition, the Welsummer, Rhode Island Red, Sussex, Orpington and Cochin can also do quite well in very cold areas, even if they don’t do as well as those top five.  See a full list of cold hardy chicken breeds on our website.

Remember, of course, that your chickens will need proper care and shelter whether they are cold hardy or not. You can learn more about how to prepare your flock for the winter.

The post Top 5 most cold hardy chicken breeds appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

Feather foot chickens: there’s just something about the magnificent feathered legs of breeds like cochins or silkies. Fancy feathered chickens in general—including those with crests, beards, tufts and/or muffs—can be fun to keep as pets, simply because they’re so showy and spectacular. Many people have never seen feather footed chickens before. Sometimes even the chickens themselves seem surprised.

What in THE WORLD do I have on my feets?

But before you consider keeping feather foot chickens, there are a few issues to consider. Just as you’d want to know about any special issues with a prospective pet dog or cat breed (Long hair that needs frequent grooming? Pushed-in snout? Heavy shedder? Hard to house train?), you want to be aware of the issues associated with feather foot chickens before you acquire any, so you can be prepared.

4 main concerns when keeping feather foot chickens:

1. Leg mites

Chickens with feathered legs are generally more vulnerable to scaly leg mites than chickens without the feather foot quality. The feathers emerge from beneath the leg scutes (scales), and make it easy for the mites to infest! While scaly leg mites are usually fairly easy to treat for at home, the feathered legs can make it more difficult, and significantly messier, to do so.

Check my legs, ma!

2.Picking

Fancy feathering in general can be a problem when it comes to picking. Picking basically means your bird can get picked on–actually, that’s literally what it means when it comes to chickens. If you keep 5 “regular” chickens—that is, having no fancy feathering—and one poor soul with a crest or feathered legs, for example, the other birds may try to pluck out her “weird” feathering. Picking is not usually caused by keeping birds with fancy feathering, but fancy feathering can exacerbate the problem sometimes. Particularly in the case of hens and even roosters who are also submissive, having the feather foot characteristic can lead to bloody legs and serious problems.

There are ways you can deal with picking issues… but picking can get to be a habit, so it’s best to avoid having it happen in the first place. Take common sense precautions like providing plenty of space and entertainment, lots of room on roosts and at feeders, and make sure you don’t just have one poor fancy-feathered bird as the odd hen out.

3. Muddy eggs

Those leg feathers look beautiful in breed pictures and illustrations. However, in the real world they don’t usually remain so perfectly coifed (or would that be plumed?). Unless you live in a dry or desert area, make sure you site your coop and run so that it doesn’t get muddy. It’s not just a matter of being unsightly on their feathers, and not just a matter of (ick) possibly having their legs covered with muddy droppings. If your hens have muddy, poopy leg feathers, they will carry that mud into the nests, and your eggs will be a mess, too. Do you want to wash them all? (Usually, the answer is no–and not just because it’s a lot of extra work, but because washing them can lead to problems!) If you want your hens to hatch the eggs, having them covered with dirty poopiness can make them vulnerable to bacterial infection.

I prefer to hatch clean eggs!

4.  Frostbite

You’d think the feathered legs would provide more warmth in a cold season, rather than be a cause for concern! Especially with bantam feathered leg breeds—since bantams can have more difficulty with cold—you’d think that leg feathers would help. And that’s partly true. They do offer some extra protective insulation. However the problem again is with wet weather. If your chickens have a wet or snowy run and get slush or mud embedded in their legs feathers, that can freeze hard and cause frostbite issues.

Protect my magnificent toes!

These issues are certainly not deal-breakers when it comes to feather foot chickens. It just requires a little extra vigilance to make sure leg mites don’t become a problem, and an effort to provide your flock with a dry area—one that’s large enough to avoid stressing the flock with overcrowding that could lead to picking.

What are your favorite feather foot chicken breeds?

The post Four Important Feather Foot Concerns appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

Are you a watcher of chicken trends? Okay, maybe not. There aren’t many people who do that… but I’m one of the few. (Sometimes it does feel as if I’m a paparazzo hovering around the red carpet, just waiting to see which birds will go into the premier—the premier being, in this case, the New Year 2015.)  I love to see what breeds and varieties chickenistas are drawn to, particularly since I’m in a position to make recommendations from personal experience. Do people enjoy the same breeds I do? Is there a breed I should take a look at–but haven’t? What are the top 10 hottest chicken trends of Spring 2015?

Hot chicken trend 2015: Olive Egger baby chicks

Determining which chicken breeds and varieties are trending certainly depends on how you measure it, though. By bare quantity sold, the chicken trends list will look different than it does when you’re look at which varieties sell out fastest. There are some rare breeds that are all reserved within just a day or two of our posting availability dates.  Since we have fewer of these rare breeds to begin with, if we go by quantity alone, it won’t really reflect which breeds are the most wanted. (To see the breeds listed below—and to see what is still available to reserve for the coming year, go to our home page in the menu above and click on “Day Old Chicks” on the left side of that page. And remember, you can still get “sold out” rare chicken breeds in a couple of ways!)

Cream Legbars are the 2nd trendiest chicken breed of Spring 2015

So, the list I composed takes both aspects into account. But surprisingly, the two lists were quite similar, regardless.

Top 10 Hottest Chicken Trends (Spring, 2015)

1. Olive Egger
2. Cream Legbar
3. Easter Egger
4. Black (and Blue) Copper Marans
5. Blue Ameraucana (and other true Ameraucana varieties)
6. Speckled Sussex
7. Lavender Orpington (other Orp colors like Buff and Blue figure highly)
8. Welsummer
9. Silkie (Particularlywhite, but including blue, black, splash etc.)
10. Faverolles

What surprises me about the top 10 hottest breeds this year is that I thought we’d see at least a few of the stereotypical backyard breeds… but no. How exciting is that? People are really embracing another type of bird as their backyard chicken. They want more than just an egg factory. They want a pet.

The blue splash silkie is a favorite, especially with children.

What this list tells me is that most backyard chicken people seem to be interested in birds with personality–and birds that lay unusual egg colors.  Breeds whose only quality is an excellent lay rate don’t figure in the top 10. And unsurprisingly to us, the favorite breeds MPC employees keep are at the top of the list, too. Speckled Sussex in particular… several of us keep or have kept Sussex and find them some of our friendliest birds.

My Speckled Sussex Flora was a great layer, a great forager, and a total sweetheart

They lay well, but have beauty and friendliness to recommend them, too, much like the Welsummer, which boasts a beautiful dark terra cotta egg, as well. The Orpington is a perennial favorite, and in addition to the common buff, people are looking for the more unusual colors.

Do you think the Polish Frizzle will ever make an appearance?

I have to wonder, what breeds will appear on the Spring 2016 list—will we see any new faces? Will old ones drop off?

The post Top 10 Hottest Chicken Trends of Spring 2015 appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

When you’re looking for pet chickens for your family, don’t forget the bantam varieties. There are lots of kid favorite bantams!

If high production egg laying is not your top priority, there is plenty to recommend these little cuties. While the eggs laid by bantams will typically smaller than the eggs of large fowl varieties, there’s something about the adorable little eggs that they do lay that appeals to kids (imagine tiny little devilled eggs).

Size comparison: bantam chicken on left, and large fowl chicken on right.

What’s very cool is that many kid favorite bantams look very little like regular old “boring” chickens–or they have beautiful plumages that really make them stand out! When raised with affection, chickens are as friendly as cats or dogs. And for those allergic to “regular” pets, chickens make a great alternative… and bantams in particular take up little space. There are a ton of benefits to keeping chickens, no matter their size (and if you can manage to adopt rescue hens, there are even more benefits).

Six Kid Favorite Bantams to Consider

1. Belgian Bantams

If you prefer a breed that looks a LITTLE more like a bird, Belgian bantams are lovely. First of all they’re friendly and easily handled, but they also have some “fancy” feathering, with beards (and some varieties with feathered legs).

Self-blue Belgian Quail D’Anvers

2. Frizzle Cochin Bantams

Cochins in general are great friendly birds for the family… but kids often like the frizzled varieties especially. The frizzling causes the feathers to curl up, so the birds look as if they’re in a constant wind storm. They come in many different color varieties–and in fact you can get frizzled feathers in a variety of breeds, although the cochin in probably the most common.

White frizzle cochin bantam

3a. Silkies

Silkies also have unusual feathers–their plumage lacks the barbicels that normally hold a feather together… so what you get is a bird that looks and feels as if it’s covered with fur. Silkies are among the friendliest little birds you can get. Their nickname–the “lap dog of the chicken world”–is certainly appropriate! Silkies come in lots of colors, too.

A snuggly splash silkie

3b. Showgirls

Showgirls are actually a rare plumage of silkie, developed to have a bare neck (so we’re counting them with the silkie). Some varieties even have a little puff of feathers at the neck, sort of a funky little bow tie… or boa. They have the same basic personality of the Silkie, but look even goofier. Who doesn’t love a goofy looking pet?

Showgirls are called ShowGIRLS, even when they’re males.

4. Seramas

Seramas are another rare variety coming in many colors. They particularly appeal to kids because they are the smallest chicken in the world. While most bantams are three-ish pounds, seramas are often a pound–or even less. They almost have the appearance of a little songbird.

Serama hen (normally these little birds have an upright posture, but she was not cooperating for the photos)

5. Wyandottes

Wyandottes have the appearance of a traditional chicken… just much smaller. What makes them stand out is really the plumage. Silver and Gold Laced Varieties have each feather outlined in black, and they lay like dragon scales, very cool! There are other bantam varieties with the same plumage, but the Wyandottes are usually easier to raise. Sebrights, for example, can be especially delicate as chicks.

Silver laced wyandotte bantam

6. Modern Game Bantams

Modern Game Bantams may be the supermodel of the chicken world. Tall and skinny with long legs, they are somehow both striking and bizarre: jolie laide, as the French say. But the cool thing is that they’re very friendly with humans.

Modern Game bantam

When choosing chickens your kids will love, don’t forget to teach them to wash their hands after handling the chickens.

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I’m ready to go on a fantasy world poultry tour. Why? I miss my chickens. I mean, technically, they’re still here. I’ve not stopped keeping chickens, of course. Nothing has happened to them. Nothing but snow. Deep snow.

Deep, deep snow.

How can I get back to the coop without touching this white stuff?

My girls enjoy a little of the white stuff, but when it gets deeper than they are tall, they tend to stay in their coop. Wouldn’t you? And when it gets to be in the single digits as it has in my area recently, I tend to stay in my coop–I mean, house. By the fire. Ideally with hot cocoa or bowls of steaming soup.

So, I stay in and they stay in, and we seldom cross paths. I gaze longingly at the coop door through my window, hoping for a glimpse or two as they pop their heads out to test the weather, but they’re as disgusted by it as I am. When the temperature rises to the 20s and 30s, it’s snow and grey skies. When it’s sunny and clear, the temperature has dropped  to intolerable.

Dear Spring: I’m quite ready.

Forsythia, I long for you!

In my winter dreams, I fantasize about taking a world poultry tour. I could tour poultry farms of the Italian countryside, and see breeds we don’t have in this country, like the Bionda Piemontese, Pepoi, Robusta Lionata, Padovana, and Siciliana (different than the Sicilian Buttercup we’re familiar with here).

My world poultry tour could include the farms of southern France to see the Bresse-Gauloise, the Poule d’Alsace, or even breeds that have become available here in the US, such as the Faverolles and Marans (two of my favorites).

Some black copper marans (and other rare breeds) free ranging

Finally, my fantasy world poultry tour would also include famous egg recipes of local cuisines: quiche and hollandaise in France, and frittatas and carbonara in Italy.

Are you ready to watch this show? Because I’m ready to flee the winter and fly off to the riviera in order to find the next great rare breed to import for My Pet Chicken.

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As you probably know, what chicken breed works best for your family will depend on what you’re looking for, as well as where you’re located. For instance, if you live in Minnesota and want a hen that lays brown eggs, you’re not going to like cold intolerant, white egg laying Leghorns very well! On the other hand, if you live in the desert southwest and want heat tolerant birds with spotted plumage, you’re not going to care much for, say, Black Cochins. That in mind, we recently asked our employees to officially share their personal favorite–and least favorite–chicken breeds or varieties.

The list is fascinating–we both agree and disagree with each other! You may notice some employees have the same favorite chicken breeds for (seemingly) schizophrenic reasons. That is, when a variety is among the favorite chicken breeds because they’re not overly friendly AND because they’re lovey-dovey, how do you make sense of that? I reconcile it two ways:

• First, individual birds have individual personalities.
• Second, maybe they just give you the affection you’re open to!

Interestingly, there were also a few varieties that made both lists. We attribute this to the fact that our employees telecommute and live across the country, with flocks in vastly different conditions. Varieties that made both list are in BLUE. 

So… first, we’ll share our MPC favorite chicken breeds.

Favorite Chicken breeds of MPC Employees

(in alphabetical order)

1. Cochin

Jordana: “I know eggs are great, but I adore the huge, fluffy, gentle giants! They sit on my feet when they are small to ride around the yard!”

Mottled cochin

2. Easter Egger

Sam: “They are such beautiful birds with calm and interesting personalities. Of course, the colored eggs are a bonus as well! One of my youngest will always fly to my shoulder when I ‘put them to bed’ in the evening and attempt to nestle into my hair. She’s so loving even my husband is a target for night time cuddling!”

Laree: “Great in the heat, lays all summer long, doesn’t need to be snuggled.”

Lauren: “I love their colored eggs and how hardy they are.”

Easter Egger and Lavender Orpington

3. Faverolles

Lissa: “The roosters are brilliant, calm and genteel, and the hens are sweet and peaceful. They make good mothers, too. They’ve been hardy with me, and lay like crazy even in oppressive heat and humidity. The only problem is that they seem to get picked on sometimes, so I rarely keep many aggressive breeds (like Wyandottes or RIR) in my flock.”

4. Orpington

Judi: “These hens were just designed for egg laying with those big fat fluffy butts, and the hens love people and treats, making it a favorite in the flock.”

Laree: “Hardy,friendly, and reliable layers.”

5. Plymouth Rock

Mary Ann: “They are friendly, even as chicks—can be top of the pecking order, but not aggressive to flock mates. One of my oldest two hens was a Barred Plymouth Rock and was still laying 3 times a week at 4-1/2 years old. (I had to rehome my flock when I moved, and found her a forever home with [another MPC employee] Laree).”

Barred plymouth rock bantam hen

6. Polish

Judi: “To me, they are extraordinarily beautiful, their coloring is so unique, and with their top hats, they are always easy to catch.”

Marigold, Judi’s Tolbunt Polish

7. Silkie

Lauren: “I love watching them run around together looking like they are wearing little pants with their feathery legs. They are really good with my daughter too.”

Karen: “I don’t really want to love a breed that takes forever to determine males from females, but I do. They have that comical, Muppet-like appearance, but they earned their place here because they’re such good broodies. My husband doesn’t care for indoor chick raising and my barn does not have electricity, so what is a hatching addict to do? Utilize the power of broodies to raise chicks for me, of course. I also enjoy how easy they are to contain behind a fence, since their wings are ill-adapted to flying.”

Silkies are an all-time favorite chicken breeds

8. Speckled Sussex

Joyce: “They are smart and keen on keeping track of everything that goes on around them. They always seem to place themselves in position that is to their best advantage, which is often in your lap.  Friendly, curious, smart, beautiful and so willing to be held. What more could I ask?”

Me: “I LOVE Speckled Sussex! They’re gorgeous, personable, curious, and they’re smart enough to hang out and let you forage for them–tossing them the occasional grub–while you garden. They great foragers on their own, too, and they do well avoiding predators. Somehow the Sussex have always been the lap pets in my flock, too. Plus, they lay tons and tons of eggs.”

Joyce and one of her Sussex hens

Now we’ll share some of the varieties that didn’t work very well in our flocks.

Least Favorite Chicken Breeds of MPC Employees:

1. Andalusian 

Sam: “My one hen REFUSES to sleep in our spacious and comfy coop at night, instead flying high into the trees where I have no hope of retrieving her. Regardless of weather she insists on being independent. Honestly, I think she may just want to be the first to eat breakfast, wily little thing!”

2. Brahmas

Lauren: “Mine just aren’t very personable plus they are constantly jumping the fence. I quit chasing them down and they now know how to jump back over the fence to get back into the yard. ”

Me: “Despite their reputation for being friendly, good layers and foragers, in my particular situation, they just don’t seem to be any of those things. They do well in the heat, but seem to get irritable with the other girls. Also, some of them–just the Brahmas–really hate my husband. What’s up with that?”

3. Faverolles

Laree: “Delicate, weak constitutions, icky personalities, and even if you can get them to adulthood, they croak as soon as it is 100 degrees. ”

4. Leghorns

Shannon: “[T]hey can be flighty. We have children in our family and neighborhood who enjoy the ability to pick up and interact with out chickens, and leghorns don’t seem to enjoy being a child’s pet.”

(That said, while Traci didn’t participate in our survey, we do know that she feels Leghorns get a bum rap!)

5. Polish

Mary Ann: “Nothing against them in particular, except that their puffy top knots were always getting pulled out by their flock mates leaving huge bald spots—even my usual go-to, Hot Pick Spray, couldn’t prevent holes in their head feathers.”

6. Wyandotte 

Joyce: “Even though they were handled a great deal and friendly toward me, they were too dominant toward other chickens.”

 Do you have most and least favorites? Do you think people who disagree with you are crazy, or are they just having a different experience? Please share your favorites below–and let us know what varieties you’re hoping to get next!

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There are lots of Celebrity Lookalike Chickens out there.  Everyone with Sultans, for instance, seems to have one named Lady Gaga–we think Silkies would be great Lady Gagas, too.  Mae West is a common name for  the uncommon Silkie Showgirls. And Phyllis Diller seems to be a name that gets used a lot with various unusual breeds, too.

It’s fairly clear to me that it’s mostly the breeds with unusual plumage who get the “Celebrity Lookalike Chickens” treatment—especially when those breeds are crested. Those crazy crests just read nicely as crazy hair-dos or costumes. (Feathered legs don’t translate as well… not until there are more celebrities known for parachute or harem pants, I suppose.) But bearded breeds have potential as Celebrity Lookalike Chickens, too.

We have one that we think you’ll particularly enjoy. We think they’re soul siblings, separated at hatch! Tell us what you think: do they look alike or not?

Separated at Hatch: Conan O’Brien and Tolbunt Polish chicken.

We think it’s a great match! They have the same color feathers, er, hair—although clearly the Tolbunt Polish has white in there, while Conan O’Brien has none to be seen. And they both even have beards. How cool is that? We think the beaks may even match.

Please let us know if you think Tolbunt Polish birds are good Celebrity Lookalike Chickens for Conan O’Brien–or if you have a better suggestion. Do you have a good “separated at hatch” chicken/celebrity combo you’d like to share? If you have photos, you can share them with us on our Facebook page (alas–the comments section below doesn’t allow photos to be posted). In particular, we think there has to be a good Donald Trump chicken breed out there. Do you think there’s a breed with the same hair-do as Donald Trump?

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If you’ve kept chickens for any period of time, you’ve probably seen some unusual eggs. When hens first start laying their eggs may be quite small or even quite large double yolkers! They may be shell-less. Egg color can be stunning, too. In addition to white and brown, egg color may be green, chocolate, blue, olive, pink, cream, and colors in between, depending on what varieties you keep (and this is certainly strange to people used to white grocery store eggs!). Hens from time to time will lay tiny, yolkless “fairy eggs.” Then there are the eggs that have a funny shape or texture.

Unusual eggs are not usually a cause for concern, particularly if it’s just a temporary situation. Being stressed out can cause your hens to lay eggs that are smaller or larger, or to have ripples or waves in the shell. Textural differences in parts of the shell can cause color to be heavier or lighter in places, usually in mottled speckles, spots or stripes. And some differences aren’t caused by stress at all. Some breeds’ eggs naturally have a satiny sheen, while other breeds produce eggs with a dull, matte finish. Really, the variety is wonderful!

But one of my hens—and I’m not sure who, since this is not her usual egg color–has given me the strangest I’ve ever seen before… at least in person.

Her egg has swirls.

The swirly egg is in the center, surrounded by blue, green, chocolate, medium brown , and cream eggs. And the swirl is such a dark blue!

Now, contrary to popular belief, the color of the shell doesn’t indicate an egg’s healthfulness. My grandma used to tell me that brown shelled eggs were healthier… and she was right, in a way. At the time, commercial eggs were almost always white, while eggs produced by a real farm where the layers had outdoor access were more likely to be brown. And hens raised with access to pasture lay much, MUCH more nutritious eggs. But now white/brown egg color is hardly an indicator, since conventionally produced eggs are often brown, too.

But I do have to wonder what she’d have made of my swirly blue egg.

Now we can theorize as to why egg color differs for different birds. We know what substances create blue eggs, green eggs, brown eggs and so forth. Some breeds, like the Welsummer, even regularly lay speckled eggs. But no one lays swirls.

No one but a hen in my flock, who gave me this swirly egg color after a particularly strong storm. By the color of the swirl, it must be one of my Easter Eggers or Favaucanas… now I just have to figure out which one. And I have to figure out how I can convince her to do it again! Do you think a bribe will work?

The post Strangest Egg Color I’ve Ever Gotten appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

Chickens are not always the most cooperative subjects to take pictures of, as we’ve discussed before. Sometimes, you get chicken bloopers.

We wanted some great chicken pictures for our website of our newest breeds and assortments of hatching eggs… and we did get them, eventually. As with any photo shoot, there were some unique (and hilarious) shots—our chicken bloopers—that we wanted to share with you!

The goal of the photo shoot was to get pictures like this:

Majestic!

Or this:

Adorable!

However, we also ended up with lots of hilarious chicken bloopers. For instance, some hens became camera shy and made a run for it!

Serpentine, serpentine!

Head for the hills, girls!

Zoiks!

Others decided the bushes we far more interesting.

Hold on, there may be some bugs all up in here!

What do you mean this isn’t my best side?

Thankfully we had helpers to re-direct the chickens back to the camera. However, sometimes those helpers inadvertently photobombed the shot!

Pay no attention to the boy behind the bushes!

Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful!

I feel someone is trying to upstage me.

Just stopping for a snack!

These little cuties wouldn’t stay where they were supposed to! They kept running over for a snuggle.

We don’t care if it’s perfect weather! We want some love. (And snacks, okay?)

Some chickens wanted to fix their feathers for the “perfect shot.”

Shake it off!

We had one that fell down on the job:

I can’t even.

He was tired from playing Follow the Leader:

I just can’t escape!

Others were more than willing to come in for their close up—a little too close!

Hey, whatcha doing lying on the ground?

How does my hair look?

Of course nobody likes to be photo bombed:

I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. …. what is SHE doing here?!

All in all, it was a great two days of good weather—and good laughs from all our chicken bloopers.

And I’m spent. Do we get a wrap party?

I hope everyone enjoys the new pictures of our chickens!

The post Chicken Bloopers appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

I’m a Lavender Orpington, and my name is Hermione… although usually mom just calls me “Good girl!” There are lots of things my mom especially loves about me, so she wanted me to tell you about myself to illustrate the 5 best points of the Orpington chicken breed.

See how pretty we lavender Orpingtons are?

But I’m not just a pretty face. I’ve got a great personality, too! Since the first day I came home, I’ve been very curious. There was always exploring to be done outside of my brooder, so I was the first of my family to fly out and visit with my people. When I was 6 weeks old, Mom actually thought I might be a rooster,  because my comb developed so much more quickly than the other chicks I came with! However, getting a larger, red comb early can also be the sign of a hen who will be a good layer when she matures. Now I shower her with plenty of eggs for being so patient with me.

I was skinny then, but she can’t pick me up anymore, now that I’m a big fat hen.

I love to forage!

Anything down here? Good foraging ability is one of the best points of the orpington!

My favorite treats are mealworms, which I have trained mom to give me every time I come when she calls. I also learned which pocket she keeps them in, so now I just help myself to the stash when I can. My mom calls me “smart.” It’s still foraging, though. I just know the best places to look, that’s all!

Sometimes, after all these treats, I need to settle down on mom’s lap and relax in the late day sun while my brother and sister’s forage for crickets under leaves. I just really enjoy being with my people. Not all hens enjoy that as much as I do. I even didn’t mind the little human girl who carried me around so many months with my legs dangling when I was a skinny pullet. Family friendly is one of the best points of the Orpington, too!

Orpingtons are also excellent mothers–good at raising baby chicks—so I look forward to my first attempt at brooding. Brooding is something Orpingtons like me are especially good at.

One of the best points of the orpington is that we come in an amazing array of colors! Naturally lavender is the prettiest (I might be biased, since I’m lavender myself.) I’m one of the rarest of Orpington colors. Buff is the most common, though–and still pretty, even if not lavender pretty.

Buffy the Mealworm Slayer

The Blue Orpington chicken—different from “self-blue” or lavender—can be difficult to get. The reason is that  not all Blue Orpington eggs hatch blue. Only about half do. The other half are a split evenly between Black and Splash Orpington chicks. There are also other rare colors of the Orpington kind: White, Laced, Jubilee, Chocolate, Cuckoo and more! It’s got me hoping for more Orpington sisters soon.

Jubilee Orpington

Did you know I’m from England? Orpingtons originated there around 1886. That makes me British, but somewhere I lost the accent and I just cackle like the rest of my flock mates. But this is good heritage, my mom says, since I can hold up very well through cold winters. I get nice thick plumage, as well as plump and heavy to help keep me warm, but I sure do get large at 7-8 lbs when I’m all grown! Mom says it “costs an arm and leg” to feed me. I told her to add a bag of mealworms to that calculation as well!  She believes I’m worth every penny with all my personality and charm.

I’m not the best layer in my flock but I’m still very good–that’s one of the best points of the Orpington,too. Orpingtons can lay 175-200 large light brown eggs a year.  That sure is going to be a lot of omlets. It’s my pleasure to feed my family so well.

Here are the 5 best points of the Orpington chicken

1. Great personality: curious, easy going, friendly
2. Many colors and plumages to choose from
3. Cold hardy
4. Produces well (175-200 eggs/annum)
5. Good broodies/good mothers

What Orpington colors are your favorite?

The post The 5 Best Points of the Orpington appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

Crisp autumn air surrounded me as I went to feed the chickens this morning. Dried leaves crunched under my feet and the hens scratched for the last of the bugs trying to keep warm under the fall carpet. This season makes me start to dream. The birds look so pretty in their fine “dresses” as they scratch amid the bright colors of autumn, and since I love variety, I start to visualize what other breeds would look like out there scratching, too. Of course, this leads me to browsing chicken pictures online… Hi. My name is Jordana, and I think I have a chicken addiction.

“Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful!”

I don’t know about you guys, but I can dream pretty big. And here is my problem; I tend to like what is just out of reach, really unique and unheard of, or even brand-new. Some of that urge has been filled with my newest additions. A friend and I hatched out some of the new and cool Cuckoo Bluebar, a variety developed for My Pet Chicken. I’ll tell you more about them later. A bunch of us are really excited about this variety (but I digress). Right now, I’m discussing my chicken addiction.

“Who said I look funny?!”

Personally, I really love funky varieties—and often ones that are not in the top laying category! That means I have to work to convince my spouse that there is some other good reason to feed my chicken addiction. Somehow, saying “they look pretty” isn’t exactly working, haha!

For instance, I adore cochins. All kinds of cochins. They are soft and fluffy and have “bloomers,” as I call those cute leg feathers that are so fluffy. When a cochin tips over to grab a grub it looks like a little man with fancy pants. And brahmas. Oh, how I love the dresses they wear! Don’t even get me started on crested birds! Cream Legbars and Polish or top of my list for fun, and the Cream Legbar is a good layer to boot! One of the reasons I adore these Cuckoo Bluebars is that many of them are crested, and they make the cutest “surprised” sound when you startle them!

Pretty Cuckoo Bluebar

And so we come to the rarest of the rare, the truly hard to get. I am so tempted by hatching eggs it’s not even funny. That’s really where my chicken addiction makes me weak in the knees. The Blue Isbar and Bielefelder eggs that we carry are right up my alley, and I have been eyeing a breed from Russia that is almost impossible to get in the United States, said to be the origin of the crested and top-hat breeds: the Pavlovskaja chicken. Oh, they take my breath away! And then of course there are custom breed assortments of all kinds that combine fun with hardiness, and not knowing which breeds I would get would be like getting a Christmas gift!

I have four good excuses, four ways I feed my chicken addiction. I’ll share them with you, in case you need to convince your own significant other (or just yourself) that you need more chickens.

4 ways to validate your chicken addiction

1. If you sell eggs locally, your eggs may sell better if you have some unique or rare egg colors!
2. Unusual breeds can provide exciting subjects for use in local agriculture programs and petting farms. You’d be doing a good deed, right?
3. Some breeds provide unique showing possibilities. If you don’t show your chickens, you might be able to provide some to local 4-Hers.
4. And the best validation of all: you are keeping a rare breed alive… without YOU it might cease to exist!

There are so many neat breeds out there! Someone please, please talk me out of more chickens! (Or at least give me another good excuse, haha!) How do you validate your chicken addiction?

The post 4 ways to validate your chicken addiction appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

Recently I have been made aware that there is a fascinating “new” breed of chicken floating around the internet.  No one knows what it is called, where it comes from, or where to get one. It would seem it was first spotted on Pinterest, which is a great place for locating the new and unusual, never-before-seen must-haves. So, I did what any good chickenista would do and picked up my magnifying glass, plopped on my detective’s hat, and located pictures of this elusive blue-combed, blue-wattled bird. First I went to the reputed source: Pinterest. Sure enough, there was the blue combed chicken… a white chicken with the bluest comb and wattles ever seen! I began trying to locate the source of that picture and could not seem to track it down to any one site with information, so I decided to poll our team here at My Pet Chicken to see if they knew where this photo of a blue combed chicken could have come from.

You may have seen this altered photo of a blue combed chicken circulating on social media. (Fair use.)

We have a lot of team members that love rare and unusual breeds of chickens. You can’t call us hoarders because our flocks are limited to what we can properly care for, but we definitely have an affinity for going “Oh, look! New chicken!” But there is no chicken breed with bright blue combs and wattles. There was some joking about this being a “snipe hunt” or  “wild goose chase” even! My Pet Chicken’s own Lissa is a pro at reverse searching and located the original source of the altered photo of the blue combed chicken, which shows the chicken with its natural red comb and wattles. The photo you have been seeing of a blue combed chicken is photoshopped.

We understand the confusion, though! There are a few chicken breeds with different skin colors, such as the Ayam Ceymani with its shockingly black skin, or the Silkie chicken, also with black skin, and a deep purple “mulberry” to black comb and turquoise earlobes.

Silkie with turquoise earlobes

There is no breed that looks like the  blue combed chicken in the viral photo, though. The vast majority chickens have plain old red combs and wattles.

Below is a photo of a normal Blue Cochin from my flock. It took me less than 5 minutes to give him the new blue combed chicken “look” in a photo editing program. Today it’s fairly easy to create digital alterations of images, whether it is to play a joke, to practice a digital art skill, or just to have fun.

Parallel universe, evil twin chickens must have blue combs, right?

While a blue combed chicken such as the one in this post does not exist, we’d love to know what your thoughts are on the color! Would you have a bird like this in your flock if it could be found? What unusual birds do you have in your backyard “collection”?

The post Blue Combed Chicken Mystery appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

Are you chicken crazy? We are. First we’ll share some clues that will tell you whether you–or someone you know–is chicken crazy, too. And then we’ll tell you the BEST way to be chicken crazy today.

You may be chicken crazy if you post photos of our first egg on Facebook as if it’s a new grandchild, or gather up pretty fallen feathers without knowing what to really do with them. Like us, you may agonize over which egg to eat when cooking–because they’re all so pretty! You take—or in my case write—quizzes to determine how much of a crazy chicken lady or man you really are. You may add chickens to your flock because: Chicken Math! Your cars may have chicken bumper stickers. You have–or are planning to acquire–rare chicken breeds that few have ever heard of, and some of which don’t really even look like chickens. Your holidays have chickens in them, too: gingerbread chicken coops, chicken ornaments, egg nog. And your houses are filled with chicken themed gifts, tin signs and art that you try to keep sophisticated rather than hokey—with mixed success.

That brings us to…

Today’s Best Way to be Chicken Crazy

My favorite way to be chicken crazy–today–is Dreamscope. To be clear, this is a free app, and we are not getting compensated by Dreamscope. I just think it’s COOL.

Dreamscope is an app my cousin introduced me to. It will transform your own photos–since I’m chicken crazy, my mind went naturally to chicken and egg photos–into art. My thinking is that I’ll have my transformed photos printed onto canvas and hang it on the wall.

That addresses three issues that only other chicken crazy people will understand.

3 ways Dreamscope will help your chicken style

1. You can choose your chicken style, chicken crazy person! Not only can your chicken art avoid The Hokey, but it can even be quite modern. Or, if you prefer, rustic. Choose your favorite filter. For example, check out my beautiful egg photo, transformed into an oil painting:

Still life with Breakfast

As chicken crazy people know, when it comes to eggs, your egg basket can be practically unique–particularly if you keep rare breeds! Blue, green with purple speckles, terra cotta brown, chocolate, olive. It’s a still life masterpiece you wish you could have painted. Well, now you sort of can. You can showcase your own egg colors.
2. Using Dreamscope also addresses the fact that you can find 60 kazillion–I will fact check that figure later–pictures with Leghorns or Rhode Island Reds pictured on them, but next to zero with rare breeds. If you want to showcase your favorite rare breed chickens, where are you going to find Frizzle Tolbunt Polish art? Or Cream Legbars? Super Blues? Favaucanas? Or Easter Eggers that look like yours?

You can even go for an abstract feel:

I guess silkies always look a little abstract, but this helps send them over the edge into art.

Here is the rare and hard-to-get (chocolate colored eggs and a winning personality put them at the top of everyone’s list) Black Copper Marans, as a watercolor sketch:

Modern looking watercolor Black Copper Marans

Or check out this photo of the new, trendy Super Blue, which has been Kandinsky-ized:

Super Blue hen–doesn’t this have a mid century modern feel?

Transforming your photos will make it look more like you’ve had a designer in, and less like you’ve had a chicken explosion in your kitchen.  Also, when people ask about your art, you can explain about the trendy chicken breeds you keep, which will make your home and chicken crazy self seem much more fashionable and modern, too, right?

3. You can transform your family photos into art, too. Do you love that photo where your little girl is cradling her favorite silkie? You might love it even more, as a painting.

Child with silkie

In this photo, I love the way the chicken wire came out… and I also love the way the little chick in the foreground looks so ready to eat from her hand.

Gorgeous

4. Dreamscope can make so-so photos look great! You may be familiar with the fact that that your chickens will not want to hold still to be photographed! You get a lot of blurry photos of chickens. We have shared chicken photography tips before, but you will still have the occasional great-shot-if-only-it-wasn’t-so-blurry.

Chickens won’t stand in front of the flowers unless the light is wrong; they’ll want to be in front of your trashcan, or just give you a weird expression. Most people are surprised at how many funny expressions chickens can have!

This is a “blooper” photo that Alex took–Van Gogh’ed!

It’s enough to drive a chicken crazy person, well… crazy. The upshot of all the movement and not-posing is that many of your photos are going to be blurry, or have distracting backgrounds, etc. etc. But art them up, and suddenly it all falls into place.

A brief and blurry scuffle between rare breed cockerels turns Klimt-ey.

Check out Dreamscope! Comment below and tell us which are your favorite filters for chickens. Or, if you make some beautiful art you’re willing to share with us, please post it to our page on Facebook so we can see it!

The post Today’s Best Way to be Chicken Crazy appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

If you’ve never kept backyard chickens before, you may wonder what the best way is to choose the best chicken breed for you. As we often explain, there is no One Best Breed for everyone. Some people may want only the best layers, while others prefer only the friendliest… or those that are the most cold hardy… or those that lay amazing colors like blue, olive or chocolate, and so on. So how do you choose?

There are so many breeds to choose from… which is the best chicken breed for you?

The truth is there are a few ways to go about choosing the best chicken breed.

3 ways to choose the best chicken breed for you

1. Dream over a hatchery website, book, or catalog. When you like window shopping, this method is probably for you. Especially if you like the ultra rare or unusual, you’ll want to look at everything available from your hatchery of choice, whether day old baby chicks, or fertile hatching eggs. If you like to dream over garden catalogs in the spring, you may also enjoy dreaming over photos and descriptions of chicken breeds. Take a look at our alphabetical chicken breed list… or you can see some additional designer breeds and varieties among our hatching eggs and chickens for sale. Those are organized by egg color, hardiness, rarity and that sort of thing.  Our book, My Pet Chicken Handbook, offers a large chart outlining all the different qualities of the breeds you may be considering–and many hatcheries offer print catalogs to page through and dream about. No matter if you’re online or in print, browse away and create your dream flock!

Yes, this is a chicken–a rare “Showgirl”! And Showgirls can be roosters, like this one is.

2. Use the Chicken Chooser breed selection tool. Are you a straight-in-and-back-out-with-what-you-need kind of shopper? You may prefer simply entering your requirements or preferences–broody? great egg layer? hardy?–and then seeing a list of the breeds that meet your needs. If so, you’ll probably prefer using our chicken chooser breed selection tool to choose the best chicken breed for you. There’s very little shopping involved; you’ll just have to choose between the breeds that the selection tool gives you. Since they all meet the needs you’ve shared, you can choose the one whose looks you like the most.

This Silver Laced Wyandotte is so beautiful! They’re also great layers, cold hardy, and docile.

3. Visit a friend and see what the breeds are like in person. I have a beer brewing buddy who, on visits to our farm, has been watching my flock avidly. “What breed is that one?” he’ll ask. “How do they lay? What are the roosters like?” To be fair, he’s had chickens before (maybe even before I was born). But it’s been a few years, and until recently, there weren’t that many breeds easily available. Farm and feed stores would typically carry Barred Rocks, Leghorns, and Rhode Island Reds or Sex Links… but little if anything else. So what are these unfamiliar breeds really like? If you have a chicken keeping friend, you probably could not please him or her more than by asking about the chickens they keep! Chicken lovers love to talk about their chickens, after all. (I know I do!)

Black Copper Marans rooster Gerard and hen Juliette

My friend has settled on Black Copper Marans as the breed he’s going to keep this time around–the best chicken breed for him. I think he was charmed by the magnificence of our big, gentle rooster Gerard.

The post 3 ways to Choose Your Best Chicken Breed appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

My Pet Chicken recently started carrying Chick Packs, which are assortments of some of the rarest chicken breeds shipped for FREE! I jumped, leaped, and twirled a happy dance at the opportunity to receive one of these rare and designer breed chick packs.  I’m a customer service representative at My Pet Chicken—my name is Forest, hi!—and you know that anyone working here has GOT TO BE a little chicken crazy!

A Splash Ameraucana exploring the watermelon garden.

With so many rare and designer breeds available, it was tough for me to choose which chick pack I should order. First I narrowed it down.

My top 3 favorite Chick Packs

1. Jackpot Quick Chicks – This chick pack was almost irresistible with the chance of some frizzle and sizzle genes in the mix!
2. Ameriflower Assortment– Ameriflowers are a perfect designer breed, as far as I’m concerned. They’re friendly, good mothers and foragers, and they’re heat and cold hardy! Their blue-green eggs are beautiful too.
3. Intense Egg Color Assortment – If you’re a sucker for a beautiful egg basket, this is a Chick Pack should be among your top choices!

Intense Egg Color Assortment

Once it was narrowed down, I spent a lot of time thinking about it, and I finally decided on a 10 Pack of The Intense Egg Color Assortment.

What I was most excited about is the beautiful egg basket these chicks will provide for me. The colors of the eggs laid by hens in the Intense Egg Color Assortment Chick Pack can include chocolate brown, blues, greens, and tinted… just about any egg color hens lay!

What exact birds you get in your chick pack will vary–it’s a breeder’s choice assortment, after all–but my pack included a Splash Ameraucana, a Lavender Ameraucana, an Ameri-Flower (hooray!), a Green Magnolia, a Carolina Blue Sex Link, a Super Blue Egg Layer, an Olive Egger, and a Super Chocolate Egg Layer.

I’m not sure any other chick pack could have pleased me more. Even though I didn’t get the Jackpot Quick Chicks Assortment, I sure felt as if I hit the jackpot with this beautiful selection of baby chicks!

All 10 chicks arrived happy and healthy!

I can expect many beautiful shades of blue and green eggs from my birds come spring time. Most of these varieties are new to me, so I’m very excited to watch them grow and learn their personalities. They are all simply adorable.

Most of our Chick Packs are sold as straight run, meaning you will receive a combination of males and females in the pack. I did receive two male Green Magnolia chicks that I was not able to keep since my town does not allow roosters. Those roosters are now happily living at a nearby farm with a broody mother hen. When they grow up and mature, they could pass along genes for laying colored eggs to their offspring.

You may be wondering how I knew so early on that these two chicks were males!

Easy. Green Magnolia chicks are “sex-links” or “autosexing,” meaning the males and females hatch out with visual differences. In the case of  Green Magnolias, you can determine their sex by the yellow dots on the top of their heads. So, it’s possible that I’ll have more roosters that I’ll be able to identify as my peeps get older.  My co-workers are not always lucky with straight run chicks, but I’ve got my fingers crossed.

Male Green Magnolia chicks with yellow dots on their head show they’re males.

Not all the packs are straight run, though. If you’re looking for a Chick Pack that consists of only females, The Sex-Link Pullet Assortment is just the pack for you!

My new chicks are a week old now and have spent some time exploring a small garden bed. They have quickly found the MPC Chicken Salad Seed Mix I planted and are enjoying it! Their wing feathers are starting to grow in, too, and they’re busy exploring everything they can. I look forward to watching these amazing breeds grow and enjoying their beautiful fresh eggs.

Let us know… what are your favorite Chick Packs? Or tell us your “Most Wanted” rare or designer breeds. We love to chat chicken with you!

My Chick Pack chicks are enjoying some fresh Chicken Salad, grwn specially for my birds.

The post My 3 Favorite Chick Packs appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

Whether you are new to My Pet Chicken, new to chickens, a chicken breeder, or an old pro, you’re probably very interested to learn about the flocks of other people as soon as you hear someone say they have chickens. Flock of chickens, you say? Tell me more!

Sometimes people ask me what I have because they want to compare flocks, and other times they ask me because they want an idea of what breeds I have and why I chose them. All chicken people eventually have this conversation with someone, and most of the MPC crew has this conversation daily!

For those who know us or want to get to know us, you can tell a lot about each of us by the flocks we keep. Here is your chance to meet MPC employees and their flocks that can tell you a lot about them!

I’ll start us off on this journey through the lives of the MPC family, and their feathered friends:

Shannon’s Flock of Chickens

I’m Shannon from North Carolina and I currently have a flock of 17 chickens. We keep ducks as well. Our chickens don’t free range as we seem to have a serious coyote problem.

My birds range in age (1 year to 9 years old) as I add a few every year. Occasionally we keep a rescue, hatch our own birds or buy directly from MPC. However, we do trade birds sometimes and rehome birds that just never seem to fit into the flock dynamics. We need to keep the peace.

Currently we have one rooster, a splash Olive Egger named Pongo, and a mix of bantams and standard breeds. Cochins are our absolute favorites. I fall for birds with fuzzy feet every time. The rest are a mix of silkies, cochins (standard and bantam), Olive Eggers,  Cuckoo Bluebar, Lavender Orpington, Welsummer and Black Copper Marans. We of course don’t stop with chickens. We keep ducks, a bunny, cats and our bird loving dog, Porsche.

Porsche protects her chicks

Julie’s Flock of Chickens

Robin’s Flock of Chickens

I’m Robin, I currently have 17 chickens — half of them roos!  They are from our “Fun and Funky” group, and hatched out a few months ago.  My absolute favorite is Apple Blossom, a visually challenged Ameriflower, and her side kick, Dawn Mist.  They live in their own coop (our Clubhouse) on my back deck.  We enjoy watching them bond together, and their interactions with the other animals on our mini-farm.

Jordana’s Flock of Chickens

Jordana’s Pure White Easter Egger Hen

I’m Jordana and a total chickenista! I love the range of color, traits and personality that chickens come in, not just the lovely eggs. Our eastern NC flock has more chickens than I dare count, but its somewhere in the 40-50 ballpark and consists of cochins, brahmas, blue laced red wyandottes, buff polish, easter eggers, Swedish flower hens, silver cuckoo marans, salmon faverolles, lavender orpingtons and an australorp.

Over the years I have owned nearly all of the common breeds and a few of the rare. My favorites are heavy breeds that don’t mind staying where I put them (and out of the garden!) who are friendly and personable. The cochins are an absolute favorite with their cute little “bloomers” and are always the center of discussion. Our oldest hen is a white easter egger by the name of Captain Munch who is 4 years old. She is the best momma there is and will even adopt chicks that are 4 weeks old, goslings and ducklings too!

Cassandra’s Flock of Chickens

I’m Cass and I live in North Texas where I have several flocks of chickens, numbering anywhere close to 60. I have 8 coops (and counting), 1 garage brooder and 3 indoor chick brooders, as well as 3 incubators.

My husband and I are collectors and NPIP certified breeders of Icelandic chickens, Svart Hona, BBS Isbars, Blue Ameraucana, Ayam Cemani, Orust, Olandsk Dwarf, Black Copper and Blue Marans, Jubilee Orpingtons and your run of the mill Easter & Olive Eggers. I have 1 ‘Golden Comet’ and 1 Barred Rock left from my original flock, they are my old cranky ladies. I only free range my flock of Icelandic chickens (strains from all four imported lines and straight from David Grote). We are currently running a few projects including Fibro Easter Eggers and our own form of Swedish Blue Hens. We like to play around with genes a lot so if any one has any questions and Alex isn’t available, I can definitely try to help to the best of my knowledge!

Judi’s Flock of Chickens

I’m Judi and I got my first chickens when I got my first horse about 34 years ago but it wasn’t until I retired in 2010 that I really got into chickens BIG TIME!

At the current time, I have the following breeds:  Tolbunt Polish (my personal favorites!), Salmon Faverolles, Gold Laced Polish, Buff Laced Polish, Silver Laced Polish, Appenzeller Spitzhauben, Blue and Black Copper Marans, Partridge Cochins, Buff Brahmas, Blue Splash Marans, and Seramas, the world’s smallest chicken.  I have about seven or eight odd roosters in with 20-25 assorted hens.  I call that group my General Population, and they are my egg layers.  I have been NPIP certified and AI clean for 4+ years also.

I also have a pair of Black Shouldered Blue Indigo Peacocks, a Bourbon Red male turkey named Turkey Boy, and a mixed turkey hen that he’s anxious to meet up close and personal.  I also have a flock of guinea hens, 2 Peking Ducks, plus 2 other ducks, about 13 assorted geese, and 2 Egyptian Geese.  I don’t want to forget my 2 Thoroughbred geldings and my 3 pot bellied pigs, Ella, Peppa, and Miss Pickles.

I like regular large fowl breeds—the bigger the better.   I incubate in my laundry room, and I have 5 brooders that the chicks move through as they grown, until they are big enough to go outside in the peacock pen, and then they are moved to the breeding pens or General Population.  There is nothing so calming as spending time out at the barn and working with all my babies. Lots of them have names, and my best ever favorite rooster name was “Cluck Norris.”

Deb’s Flock of Chickens

I’m Deb and I live in Mississippi.  I have seven hens (Easter Eggers, Black Copper Marans, and a Cochin) and five Seramas.  We initially selected chickens for the egg colors and got the Seramas for their tiny size.  We don’t get a lot of eggs but, the ones we do get are gorgeous.

Also… Serama babies. You have to love them.

LOOOOOOK how tiny!!!!!

Lauren’s Flock of Chickens

I’m Lauren and I’m a chick-aholic. We currently have 31 in our flock; we’ve got 30 hens and are down to one rooster who was the only one hatched out in our coop. His name is Uno.

Our breeds include: Silkies, Polish, Easter Eggers, Speckled Sussex, Cochins, Seramas, Orpingtons, Brahmas, Jersey Giants, Marans, Wyandottes, Barnevelder, Leghorn and Australorps. We originally started with three Easter Eggers for my little girl. They were docile and we loved the idea of getting colored eggs. I would have to say that my favorite is my Buff Silkie though name Beaker. She loves to follow me around and come in the house to get treats.

Lauren’s Silkie

Les’s Flock of Chickens

I’m Les and I’m an addict, chicken addict that is. We currently have 27 chickens of which 6 are roosters. That’s too many roos! Does anyone want a couple?

I’ve raised chickens most of my life. I grew up on a farm in Oregon. My wife is from the Dominican Republic where everyone has chickens. Our flock fluctuates from 20 to 30 chickens and is made up of Easter Eggers, Wyandottes, Orpingtons, Marans, Rocks, Silkies, Cochins, a few d’Uccles and various crosses. Most came from MPC except those which were hatched here, no telling what sort of mix they’ll end up being. We have them mainly so that we can have healthy eggs, and of course we love them as pets.

Jason’s Flock of Chickens

Hey there!  I’m Jason up here in Massachusetts.  I’ve had chickens about 5 years now, and have a small flock of (currently!) 7 chickens.  I say currently because chicken math is a real thing, people!  Every week my finger hovers over that “over hatch” list, just itching to order! I have all different breeds (and yes, all but one are from My Pet Chicken!) and I mostly set out to get a few fresh eggs and see some variety running around my back yard.  I have a White Crested Black Polish, Buff Brahma Bantam, Golden Laced Wyandotte (who just showed up in the yard one day and refused to leave), Easter Egger, Speckled Sussex, Welsummer, and a teeny tiny little Bantam Easter Egger that rules the roost!  Really, she’s almost the size of a quail.  She and the Wyandotte, the biggest and the smallest, are besties and always range off together.

Jason’s picture ready Polish

Forest’s Flock of Chickens

Hi there, I’m Forest and live in Connecticut. I currently have over 25 chickens. The breeds I have are Buff Orpington, Chocolate Orpington, Svart Hona, Ameraucana, Golden Buff, Favaucana, Polish, Australorp, Cream Legbar, Ameriflower, and Blue Sex Links.

I like a well-rounded flock so I chose my breeds based on personality, egg laying ability, color, and rate. I love a colorful flock and a colorful egg basket. My favorite chickens are my Splash Ameraucana—she is a total cuddle bug and often comes to work with me and my Svart Hona, there is something just magical about her and the breed. I like to give all my chickens names and I usually let the different children in my life pick out chicken names.

Forest’s Sweet Svart Hona, Pippi

Christina’s Flock of Chickens

Christina’s Gorgeous Flock

I’m Christina from Western Pennsylvania. I’ve been hovering around 35 in my mixed flock- all from My Pet Chicken. I used to add breeds in pairs, but realized quickly that doubling chicken math is not a sustainable practice.

I’m currently keeping a Black Australorp, Double-Laced Barnevelder, Buff and Light Brahma, Buckeye, Delaware, Silver Gray Dorking, Exchequer Leghorn, Light Brown Leghorn, Black Copper Marans, Blue Copper Marana, Blue Splash Marans, Golden Cuckoo Marans, Silver Cuckoo Marans, Blue Orpington, Buff Orpington, and Lavender Orpington, Rhode Island Red, Barred Plymouth Rock, Partridge Plymouth Rock, White Plymouth Rock, Welsummer, Blue Laced Red Wyandotte, Golden Laced Wyandotte, Silver Laced Wyandotte, Easter Egger, Blue Easter Egger, Olive Egger, and Super Blue Egg Layer… but who’s keeping track?

I’m looking forward to adding some Chocolate Orpingtons and Ameriflowers in the near future! My Buff Chantecler rooster was a surprise, but is the most charming fellow I’ve met. He spends his days dancing and showing off for his girls, all while keeping a watchful eye for their safety.

Amy’s Flock of Chickens

Greetings from Connecticut! I’m Amy and I tell customers that you never know where your love of chickens might take you! I started off with 12 heritage breeds in 2013 and now my husband and I own a farm that specializes in selling pullets for backyard flocks and non-GMO, pasture-raised eggs. We currently have over 300 birds and I love caring for them, reintroducing heritage breeds, and helping people establish their own backyard flocks.

There are so many different personalities and characteristics to choose from. Some of my favorites are Orpingtons, for their affectionate personalities and beauty, and Leghorns because they are both intrepid and tremendous layers. I also have a real soft spot for my boys (about 12 at the moment). Roosters can get such a bad rap, but they too can be very sweet when they are handled from a young age.

I have experience with just about every breed in my flock and just adore the variety… especially in egg color. When I collect eggs every day for my customers it is like a bouquet. Raising chickens is tremendously rewarding experience and I cannot recommend enough giving it a try! Peace, love and chickens!

Amy and her Gorgeous Orpington

Tim’s Flock of Chickens

Hi – I’m Tim and I own chickens… 13 of them, all different breeds.  If it were up to me, I’d get “boring” breeds who just lay a whole bunch of eggs, but alas, I am married!  And she can’t stop her creative self, so we have Splash and White Silkies, Silver Laced and White Crested Blue Polish, Lavender and Buff Orpington, Mottled Cochin Bantam, Buff Brahma Bantam, Partridge Cochin, Blue Cochin, Speckled Sussex, Barred Plymouth Rock, and Australorp.

Traci’s Flock of Chickens

Traci’s flock sticking together.

I’m Traci, currently have around 30 chickens! We have a veritable Noah’s Ark of breeds, including all of the newest from My Pet Chicken, like Cuckoo Bluebars, Super Blue Eggers, Olive Eggers, Blue Favaucanas, Blue Easter Eggers, and plenty of other rare and unusual breeds.

We test out new breeds before they hit the market for personality, egg laying, hardiness and beauty. We like every breed, but if we had to pick just one, it would be the good old Easter Egger! They’re friendly, super hardy in all temperatures, they come in a variety of colors and patterns, and they lay like rock stars! Ours have even laid eggs at up to seven years old.

Here’s a partial list of the varieties we have in our chicken flock:

• Super Blue Eggers
• Assorted Olive Eggers
• White Cochins
• White Jersey Giant
• Welsummer Bantam
• Easter Egger Bantams
• Barred Plymouth Rocks
• Blue Favaucanas
• Salmon Favaucanas
• Black Copper Marans
• Blue Copper Marans
• Easter Eggers
• Egyptian Fayoumi
• Buff Orpington
• Cuckoo Bluebars
• Black Sumatra
• Several mutts

Karen’s Flock of Chickens

I’m Karen and I refuse to count my chickens because when my husband asks, “How many chickens do you have out there!?!?” I can truthfully answer, “I’m not sure, dear.”

When I first started keeping chickens I wanted a variety of egg colors and a variety of birds, but my flock has evolved over the years.

Right now, I have mostly Frizzled Easter Eggers, Crested Cream Legbars, Seramas and one devious Silkie girl. When my tricky little Silkie went broody (over and over) I bought her some Polish, Orpington, Brahma, Fayoumi, Leghorn, Spitzhauben, Red Star and Marans chicks from MPC to get some variety from the predominantly green eggs I’ve been getting.

Lissa’s Flock of Chickens

Lissa here! I used to have a much larger flock, and it hovered for years between 20 and 30. It has dwindled right now to about 10.  I have Salmon Favaucanas, Black Copper Marans, an Easter Egger, several silkie crosses, and a Welsummer.

When I had 30 birds, it was hard to find enough room in my fridge to store the eggs. Really, 30 chickens was WAY too many eggs for two people… but I am a victim of Chicken Math, too.

One of these things is not like the others, hahaha. My molting Favaucana, Henrietta, is trying to hide amongst some pumpkins from the garden.

I’m not really sure what I’m waiting for in terms of adding some new birds to the flock. I think it’s just that I want to order sexed chicks rather than hatch my own as I have been, because I’m tired of having to rehome extra roosters. But I can’t make up my mind. I’m torn between the Speckled Sussex that I loved so much–but they have boring brown eggs–and Favaucanas that are significantly more expensive (but have lovely sage green eggs) and some more Wellies. Also some random Easter Eggers. And…

My husband loves the chickens, too, but I do think he’s relieved that we’re not so overrun with eggs as we were. Plus, our water situation made it complicated to have a larger flock (we don’t have potable water in our house). Since I work from home, it always fell on my husband to drive the extra eggs into town and hand them off to co-workers!

Mary Ann’s flock of chickens

Mary Ann’s feathered friends

Hi. I’m Mary Ann and currently have a small flock, but wish I could keep more!  I’ve previously kept a flock of about 20-25 adult chickens, which seemed to be a great number for me, but after moving to a new state and a home with a much smaller yard I can’t keep more than about 6.

My current flock of 6 hens was chosen, with personality, beauty, and egg color in mind, so that my 6 hens lay 5 differently colored eggs.  The 6 hens currently providing me with beautiful eggs are a Lavender Orpington, Barred Plymouth Rock, Black Copper Marans, Blue Copper Marans, a Cream Legbar and an Easter Egger.

As you can see, you’ve met not only the wonderful members of My Pet Chicken, but their feathery friends who bring joy to us and our jobs. We hope you found this enlightening in your search for your new flock, or as an eye opener for the birds you are yet to give a try! MPC offers many of these wonderful breeds as Hatching Eggs, Chick Packs™, or chicks —and remember 2017 chicks are ready to be reserved now!

Do you have plans for your new flock or to extend your flock now you’ve seen so many breeds in our flocks?

The post MPC Folks and Their Flocks of Chickens appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

One of my goals with this year’s spring chick order was to add some color to my egg basket. Up until now, I’ve only had brown and cream egg layers. So the first bird on my wish list to help me accomplish this was My Pet Chicken’s exclusive Favaucana, with sage green eggs.

These look a little blue in the photos, but IRL, they’re a sagey, minty green

Why Favaucanas? Because besides the plentiful sage green eggs that I was anticipating, the Favaucana chicken was everything I look for in a breed: they’re hardy, friendly, and docile. Also gorgeous!

I didn’t need to wait long for my Favaucana girls to produce eggs, either. My black Favaucana Maisy laid her first beautiful sage green egg at 26 weeks old. She has proven to be a very productive layer of medium sized green eggs. She lays 5, usually 6 eggs per week!

Maisy laying one of her beautiful green eggs.

Favaucanas are one of My Pet Chicken’s designer breeds and they are wonderful. You won’t find these at another hatchery—not yet! But heck when Lissa first wrote about her Favaucanas for MPC in 2012, we didn’t have them either. But she sent eggs to MPC’s owner, Traci… and Traci fell in love, too. Now we hatch them so you (and I) can have them, as well. They’re among the varieties Traci delivered to Martha Stewart this year, too!

Fair warning: chickens are addicting. You may find yourself using Chicken Math to get some Favaucanas. You may even become a chickaholic.

Besides the beautiful green eggs that Maisy lays, I find her to be a very curious and chatty bird. She is always one of the first to greet me and inform me of all the goings-on in the flock. She is a unique looking bird, too, with 5 toes and lightly feathered legs. I can usually find her hanging out with her best pal, Daisy, a black Ameraucana.

Maisy does well being confined in the run with her other flockmates, but also enjoys her free range time in the afternoon. One of her favorite hobbies is breaking into my garden and snacking on the kale plants and foraging for bugs.

Favaucanas are a mix between Salmon Faverolles and Ameraucanas. The sweet personalities of both these breeds shine through in the Favaucana. So far, Maisy, who has a pea comb, has proven to be winter hardy here in the Northeast handling the cold temperatures well while continuing to still lay. She gets that from the Faverolles side; Ameraucanas are cold hardy, but not especially known for winter laying.

The first dozen Favaucana eggs laid.

Favacaunas would be a great addition to the flock. They’ve been dependable layers of medium green eggs—the eggs will get larger as the hen enters her second year. Plus, they’re sweet, curious, and docile.

What colors and breeds do you want to add for 2017?

The post The First Favaucana Dozen appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

At my house, we recently had the privilege of hatching some of My Pet Chicken’s Cuckoo Bluebars, and what an experience it was! We have never ordered fertile eggs before, always hatching eggs from our existing flock, so even the shipping side was a new experience for us. You can also get cuckoo bluebar started pullets (which are older birds), but we love chicks and we love to hatch, so we started with the cuckoo bluebar eggs.

When fertile eggs are shipped, the post office is instructed to hold them for pickup, but somehow, mine slipped through and were out for delivery with the regular carrier. Our fabulous Post Master tracked down the carrier, and hand delivered them right to my door! Love when we find somebody that goes above and beyond the expectation to get the job done!

Bluebars will lay blue eggs… but they hatch out of white or cream colored eggs.

Look how snugly and neatly these are packaged!

We received 20 eggs and candled immediately, looking for damage or stress cracks. We did find one egg that looked questionable. We don’t have a fancy candler; we just use a toilet paper tube and a strong flashlight, so sometimes it is not very clear. Despite the suspected crack, we put all of them in the incubator, to see what would happen. (An egg with a hairline crack should be watched closely, though. While they can sometimes hatch with no problems,  if any bacteria has gotten inside the egg through the crack, then there is a danger of the egg exploding and contaminating all your other eggs–ugh! Luckily, that didn’t happen to us.)

Candling our cuckoo bluebar eggs

We candled our cuckoo bluebar eggs again on day 11 of incubation, and pulled two eggs out of the incubator and discarded them.  One was the suspicious egg from the beginning; it did have a hairline crack, after all.  The second egg had just not developed.

Normal hatch time is 21 days, so imagine our surprise when the babies started pipping on day 19! Eventually all 18 remaining eggs hatched their little cuckoo bluebars, with only one of them “on time” at day 21. All 18 chicks were strong and healthy, so we moved them into their prepared brooder. The babies proved to be extremely hardy, fast growing and very inquisitive!

Here they are dozing/sunning themselves in the warmth

Our first brooder is a kid-sized wading pool, with roof flashing as a barrier.  It generally works, for several weeks, but the cuckoo bluebars were super precocious, and flying out the first week!  By the end of week three, we moved them out from under the light, and into a big brooder cage.  They were even spending sunny days outside on the grass!

Cuckoo bluebars: beautiful blue birds who will lay blue-green eggs

When the Cuckoo Bluebars got to be 6 weeks of age, we moved them to an outside brooder, with roosting space up high, and access to the ground.  They’re so curious and try to follow us around when we’re outside.  They always want to see what we are doing, but also seem to be very predator wary.

Also… gorgeous, right?

I think the Cuckoo Bluebars will be a wonderful addition to my flock.

My Pet Chicken has 100 different breeds and varieties of chicken, many in assortments of rare breeds, and available no where else! What breeds are on your wishlist… cuckoo bluebars? Jubilee Orpingtons? Cream Legbars?  something else?

The post Cuckoo for Cuckoos – Cuckoo Bluebars, that is! appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.

By now you’ve probably seen the viral videos of that giant brahma rooster strolling out of his tiny little coop.  Millions of people have viewed the video of the “largest chicken in the world!” We know that because so many of you immediately came to us to ask about the breed,and to ask, “How big do Giant Brahmas get?” Some didn’t ask–some simply stated, “I want a giant Brahma chicken! Help me out!”

It’s amazing how a breed can go from relative obscurity to overnight global popularity!  Welcome to the age of the internet! And we’re happy to help!

But is it true?  Do “giant” chicken breeds exist?  Or is there some kind of camera trick going on here?  And even if the birds in those videos are larger than average, are they really the “biggest in the world”?  One source estimates there are as many as 19 BILLION chickens on planet earth, so how could you even know which one is the biggest?  Did they measure every chicken on earth?

Well, of course not.  But that said…

There ARE giant breeds. And the giant Brahma isn’t even the largest!

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Surprisingly, the giant brahma star of those popular videos is NOT the largest known chicken breed.  The largest recognized chicken breed is actually the Jersey Giant, which commonly grows to be a few pounds larger.

Brahma roosters generally get as large as 12+ lbs, and hens will be about 9.5 lbs. or more when fully mature and well fed. The breed is relative slow-growing, and can take up to 3 years to reach full size, so it will take some time for a rooster to get really GIANT!

So how about those giant roosters in the videos, are they bigger? It’s tought to tell from a vid alone, but those guys look like they may weigh as much as 20 lbs! Most Brahmas purchased in the United States will be closer to the “normal” Brahma size (which may still dwarf the other breeds in your flock). But a larger size and weight is possible if you choose to breed and rear for those traits. 

So, should you consider Brahmas for your flock? Absolutely! Here are seven great reasons to add a giant Brahma to your backyard flock!

7 Reasons your Flock Needs “Giant” Brahma

1. Brahmas are big!  Not normally as big as the roosters in those videos, but they will grow to be very large compared to most standard-sized breeds, and could become quite a conversation piece in your flock.
2. Brahmas are friendly!  Brahmas are known to be generally friendly, docile, “huggable,” and quiet and tame. They’re kind of the Great Danes of the chicken world!  Plus, they tolerate confinement well, so you don’t have to worry about flighty Brahmas.

   My Buff Brahma Bantam loves to get on my shoulder!

3. Brahmas are beautiful!  From their cool black hackle “necklace,” to their graciously feathered feet, Brahmas look fun and fancy, and they come in more than just white.  The Buff, White, and Black varieties are recognized by the American Poultry Society.  You can see the colors My Pet Chicken offers here.
4. Brahmas make breakfast!  They are can be expected to lay 3 medium-sized brown eggs per week, or about 150 eggs per year. You can’t get THAT from a Great Dane!
5. Brahmas make good mamas!  With a tendency toward broodiness, Brahmas have the reputation to be good setters, which will come in handy when you try to breed your own giant Brahmas!
6. Brahmas are hardy!  Cold?  No problem.  Heat?  Yes, they can handle heat as well!  Just bear in mind with any breed, if it gets really hot for a long period of time, you may need to intervene a little to make them more comfortable.  Here are some tips from our Chicken Help section to know how to do that: What should I do if my chickens get too hot?
7. Brahmas can be tiny, too!  While standard Brahmas are among the largest chickens, Brahma bantams are a wonderful, tiny option to consider for those who love the Brahma but aren’t ready for the size.  You can see our Buff Brahma Bantams here: My Pet Chicken: Buff Brahma Bantams.

Have I stepped on anyone?

Want to learn more about Brahmas and other great chicken breeds?  Check them out in our My Pet Chicken: Breeds List

Ready to order a Brahma for your flock?  You can see our current availability of the Brahma here: My Pet Chicken: Brahma Breeds

The post 7 Reasons your Flock Needs a Giant Brahma appeared first on My Pet Chicken Blog.