Chickens

A Rainbow of Options and Food Security Too.

Chicken or the Egg?

All About Chickens & Eggs

I discovered many benefits along the way when raising chickens. The idea of completing a circle of kitchen and garden scraps to eggs was instantly appealing. The dogs and I loved walking over to the barn and gathering up the eggs to bring into the house. During the years when I had to resort to buying store-bought eggs we were really disappointed at the difference in quality for both eating and baking. The yolks from our chickens were richer in both colour and taste. And the various sizes were great too. When the first eggs appear they are quite small and increase in size as the hen ages. So we always had different sizes on hand for baking or eating.

The movement of chickens wandering around the yard was also in some ways comforting. The dogs took very little time to realize they were part of our family. And Dutch, our red Dobie quickly became their guardian, he learned to look up for Ravens, Eagles, and Hawks during the day. At night they were all tucked up safe in their coup.

When we bought our home, there was already a chicken coup on the property and even though it was not the best chicken house, we were able to bring chickens home. We learned many things through trial and error, which now in hindsight I wish I had known before. Which is why we have helpful hints on our website. If you have any questions or suggestions about what we should add or correct please let us know.

Our first chickens were great layers, Rhode Island Red, ISA Brown, and White Leghorns. The eggs in our fridge were white and brown but I quickly learned about other egg layers that while not as prolific, were so interesting. I loved the Marans, Ameraucana, and Easter Eggers and they were the next ones to add to our coup. We quickly had a variety of coloured eggs, which when we gave to friends they all loved not only the colours but that we had raised them ourselves.

Today, chickens are becoming more important as families look for food security and children love learning about them. It teaches them the relationship between taking care of others and the benefits of the food that is given in return.

Chicken Gallery

Top Egg Layers

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ISA Brown

These birds were bred to produce eggs and lots of them. These are by far, the very best for first time chicken owners. They have very few problems while being relatively maintenance free.

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