Adding 28 New Hens
Wednesday, February 17, 2021 - I wasn’t sure how to find the elusive Olive Egger (OE) laying hens. These chickens lay the most beautiful olive green/army green/green egg you’ll ever see and I have been drooling over them on Instagram Accounts like “RisenShineMotherCluckers” and more!
I mean how could you not be obsessed with all of these colors?!
These are the first chickens that I have purchased not from Jenks Hatchery and, to be honest, I was quite nervous. They were from another homesteader and chicken enthusiast located in north of my town. She was recommended in a Facebook group of women in agriculture and I was surprised to hear that she was shipping birds across the country - maybe she was bigger than I thought.
That reputation put my worries a little at ease and, when snowstorms stopped a shipment from heading south to Texas, I swapped dates picking up a dozen little OE chicks that are the same age as my other chicks from Jenks Hatchery. I am excited to watch all of these little chicks grow and develop and am eagerly awaiting the opportunity to see their first eggs!
I also keep telling myself that I will not be keeping this many chickens for my laying hen coop, the temptation is strong and the power of “chicken math” is a force that is hard to be reckoned with.
But then I find myself doing the math. What would I do with 40 eggs a day at the peak of summer? The logical explanation is to see them but, without a farmer’s market stand, that would be nearly impossible. We are also far off of the beaten trail so setting up an honor-system-style drop point wouldn’t work either.
Sigh.
This just leads to yet another thing that farmers, ranchers and homesteaders alike are constantly doing - reading all the regulation and red tape. Can I sell them with someone else? Can I make homemade pasta or mayonnaise and sell those? What do the cottage laws look like?
It seems that there is always a chance to continue growing and moving. In fact, just yesterday we were approached with an offer that would take our small little homestead to the next level. But then the Devil’s Advocate, perched on my shoulder, asks, “Is that the best thing to do?”
My entire household holds outside jobs so leaning into homesteading as a form of household income seems scary and an unrealistic dream. But isn’t that how all dreams start?