Our first summer, after our first flock had become adults, we learned from a friend that a friend of hers had posted “free chickens for friends or food”. So, we went and picked up four black Austrolorps-big black hens. They were “maybe 3-5 years old” when we got them and they were done laying eggs. We called them our “Golden Girls” since they came here to retire together. Some of our first flock of hens were mean to the “Golden Girls”, pulling out head feathers, and such, so we made them a separate coop. They are very sweet and have seemed happy in their home for almost four years, all except Sophia who passed away in her sleep this winter.
One of our roosters from our first flock, Cinnamon, was the perfect fit for the Golden Girl hens. They didn’t mind his crankiness too much. After Cinnamon had moved in with the Golden Girls, we had one other hen who kept trying to get out of the big coop and get into Cinnamon’s flock. Her name is Sesame. They had a nice flock of six until Sophia’s passing. Now they are a sweet flock of five, well all except Cinnamon; he isn’t very sweet.
We got another batch of chickens in the spring of 2021. We got another rooster in that flock of nine. Luckily a friend of ours needed a rooster, so they got Cayenne. Last summer we ordered a batch of “fancy” chickens, which were more unusual birds, some more pleasing to the eye than laying eggs. We got yet another rooster in that batch, Juniper.
Over the last four years we have lost two to some illness, and two to hawks, so our total now is 30 chickens. We are hoping to sell some of our roosters since four is too many for them all to get along, and too many for the amount of hens we have.
Last fall, October 2023, we got another batch of chickens. They were supposed to be breeds that are good for egg laying. We never had fall chicks before. They should be laying eggs any day now. We had a drought where we got no eggs in the fall and winter, which is normal when the hens molt. However, this drought was longer than normal. We are finally collecting about seven eggs a day and are expecting more soon.
Dragonfly Farm 