My first birds were bought as a mixed flock and I fell quick for the Easter Eggers. So my next birds were another mix of mostly Easter Eggers, Olive Eggers, New Hampshires and Blue Plymouth Rocks. Within a few months I had to have Marans… oh those nice DARK eggs, the ones James Bond prefers. Then I hatched some Blue Laced Red Wyandottes for a fellow chicken lover and then I was hooked. Now I have a serious hatching and chicken addiction.
Blue Laced Red Wyandotte
My foundation BLRW were direct from Jerry Foley's Breeding pen. These birds were used in his 2012 breeding season. One of the BLRW rooster is a Show winner and is huge. I also have 2 other roosters from Jerry Foley and Blue and Black. I have 8 pullets this year. 6 are blue and 2 black. I am going to pair up the Black BLRW Rooster with all the pullets. In a few months I will pair the Black Pullets with a HUGE Splash cockerel I have growing out. These are very pretty birds and would look great running around in your yard.
Silver Laced Wyandotte
I have 4 SLW pullets that were hatched from Jerry Foley birds. I have an Unrelated SLW cockerel with them. Chicks and eggs are VERY limited at this point.
French Blue, Black and Splash Copper Marans
2013/2014 were hard with the loss of my Best Cockerels. I have found several replacements roos from my own lines and I am hoping to get back on track in the later half of 2014. I will pair a nicely colored Black Copper over my darkest layers. I have 6-7 Blue Copper hens/pullets and 2-3 Black Coppers. For now I will just have the one pen.
Cuckoo Marans
These are one of my project pens. The Cuckoo Marans are looking to be admitted as a color in the APA in Dec of 2014. My main breeder rooster is MASSIVE BIG and has AWESOME feathered legs. He has added so much to my flock. I would say that 98% of his chicks have feathered legs. Egg color is my next big project for these birds. I am working on some Blue and Black marans an they should add some nice egg color in 2015. VERY excited about next year and these beautiful, rare birds. They are great layers of jumbo eggs and VERY VERY docile.
Plymouth Rocks
Plymouth Rocks - Blue, Blue Barred, Barred, Silver Penciled, Partridge and Blue Partridge.
Barred Rocks
These are not something you will ever find at a hatchery. I started with the Blue Rocks and accidentally made some blue barred rocks… so I started breeding them. My first Blue Barred Rocks only had faint barring in their hackles and have improved with each generations. I have added my Good Shepard Barred Rock Rooster to the breeding pen with some 2nd generation Blue Barred Pullets. If you have never seen a Good Shepard Barred Rock they are HUGE. My husband calls him a turkey. 4 generation into the blue barreds and the barring is looking really nice on the pullets this year. I have 2 Nicely Barred Blue pullets and 2 GSBR direct from Frank Reese's pens.
Partridge/Blue Partridge
I have been working on this for 3 generations now and I am FINALLY seeing partridge pattern back in the chicks. I am hatching everything I can from my Blue partridge Cockerel but I will soon swap him out for a Horstman Partridge Cockerel with my Horstman Pullets.
Silver Penciled
I have some Silver Penciled Rocks from Dick Horstman and this will be my first year with them. I also am working on a project and will update when I have made some head way.
Blue Rocks
VERY RARE and hard to find. I started my first flock with some splash rocks of mediocre quality. I wanted some really nice big blue rocks. I worked with some Rock friends and acquired some SOLID Black and BLue Rock cockerels. I crossed those with my GSBR pullets and a couple of my nices Blue Barred Rock pullets. The result..... Nicely laced blue and black rocks. Next step will be to breed me a really nice replacement cockerel for 2015. I might also work on a lacing project, just for fun. Leg color will be an issue I will work on too.
Barred Rocks
These are not something you will ever find at a hatchery. I started with the Blue Rocks and accidentally made some blue barred rocks… so I started breeding them. My first Blue Barred Rocks only had faint barring in their hackles and have improved with each generations. I have added my Good Shepard Barred Rock Rooster to the breeding pen with some 2nd generation Blue Barred Pullets. If you have never seen a Good Shepard Barred Rock they are HUGE. My husband calls him a turkey. 4 generation into the blue barreds and the barring is looking really nice on the pullets this year. I have 2 Nicely Barred Blue pullets and 2 GSBR direct from Frank Reese's pens.
Partridge/Blue Partridge
I have been working on this for 3 generations now and I am FINALLY seeing partridge pattern back in the chicks. I am hatching everything I can from my Blue partridge Cockerel but I will soon swap him out for a Horstman Partridge Cockerel with my Horstman Pullets.
Silver Penciled
I have some Silver Penciled Rocks from Dick Horstman and this will be my first year with them. I also am working on a project and will update when I have made some head way.
Blue Rocks
VERY RARE and hard to find. I started my first flock with some splash rocks of mediocre quality. I wanted some really nice big blue rocks. I worked with some Rock friends and acquired some SOLID Black and BLue Rock cockerels. I crossed those with my GSBR pullets and a couple of my nices Blue Barred Rock pullets. The result..... Nicely laced blue and black rocks. Next step will be to breed me a really nice replacement cockerel for 2015. I might also work on a lacing project, just for fun. Leg color will be an issue I will work on too.
Ameraucanas - Black and Lavender
These are breeder stock and not hatchery Ameraucanas. My Lavender flock came from hatching eggs from Shaffer. I have since added other lines in the Black Ameraucanas, but the Shaffer’s are my main breeding flock right now. I have Lavenders from a couple of other Lavender breeders to improve bloodlines. This flock will not be available till Spring 2013 and VERY limited. I am also added Black and Lavenders from Paul Smith in the Spring.
Ameraucanas - Wheaten and Blue Wheaten
My breeding flock is from Meredith lines. I have a Blue Wheaten Roo over 5 Wheaten hens/pullets. Wheatens are known to lay the bluest of eggs. I am also adding some Blue Wheatens from Paul Smith in the Spring.
Olive Eggers
Again, these are just for fun and not a breed but a cross. Olive eggs come from a cross with and blue egg layer, like EE or Ameraucana, and a dark egg layer, like Marans. Olive eggs come in all shades from light green to a nice deep dark army, olive green. Very pretty eggs in your basket. I have been using my green egg laying EE and one of my breeder Blue Copper Marans to create this cross. I have a few Olive Egger that are with a Marans roo and hoping to improve the dark color on their eggs. One day my flock will look like an EE with a beard and muffs, and the Marans feathered legs and all should have the coveted pea comb showing they carry the blue egg genes. This Spring I will be trying Olive Eggers x Olive Egger to keep the nice color I am getting from my pullets.
Super Blue Egg Layers
Homemade Easter Eggers
These were an idea I had when I first started with the EE. I acquired some White Leghorns as my personal layer flock. They lay HUGE eggs and 6-7 eggs a week. I thought “that would be great if my EE laid blue eggs that nice” and the cross was in the works. I cross my Leghorns with my Lavender Ameraucana Roos to help insure they will be blue eggs. First generation is about to start laying so we will see.
These were an idea I had when I first started with the EE. I acquired some White Leghorns as my personal layer flock. They lay HUGE eggs and 6-7 eggs a week. I thought “that would be great if my EE laid blue eggs that nice” and the cross was in the works. I cross my Leghorns with my Lavender Ameraucana Roos to help insure they will be blue eggs. First generation is about to start laying so we will see.
White Leghorns
I originally got these for layers, but they were so sweet and good layers I started breeding them. I only breed the WL part of the year. I use the pullets as layers and to make Super Blue Egg Layers. Unlike their reputation I don't find them to be unfriendly, even though my original birds were hatchery quality.
Coming in 2013
LF Chocolate Orpingtons, Crested Cream Legbars, Autosexing Olive Eggers, Blue Partridge Plymouth Rocks........ more I am sure.