Legbars and Bielefelders

Not a Legbar or Bielefelder, just a Golden-Laced Wyandotte checking out the new girls while laying an egg for me...

3 Cream Legbars with fancy hairdos

The Husband convinced me to buy 5 more laying hens last night rather than be tempted by all the new chicks coming to nearby hardware stores and Tractor Supply...not to mention how easy it is to purchase them online and have them shipped to the Post Office.

The problem with buying the chicks locally is that they only ever have the same breeds available, and we always end up with a rooster in the mix even though they are supposed to be "sexed".

1 of the 2 German Bielefelders

The problem with buying them online, where they have all the interesting chicken breeds available, is that you have to buy a minimum of 15 if you buy now, with a $15 shipping charge. Or you can buy a minimum of 3 after April 1, but then the shipping is $35. The more interesting breeds are $3 - 8 each, and sometimes over $20.

So $20 each for hens that are already laying is a pretty good deal. We chose 3 Cream Legbars that lay blue/green eggs, and 2 German Bielefelders that lay brown ones.

We picked them up last night from a nice guy in Mt. Vision, which is only about 20 minutes from here.

Now we just have to somehow convince the ladies that this is their home, and more importantly, that Rte 28 which is only about 50 ft from the coop, is to be avoided. Also, the big black chicken-killing dog named Cyrus must be avoided at all costs! So far they are hiding out in the coop even though they have access to the outside. And that's a good thing as Martha Stewart would say!