Our hens were raised by us as day-old-mail order chicks back in April 2002.  We try to keep them as natural as possible in a city backyard.  While they do have grain supplements and oyster shells always available, they mostly eat our kitchen scraps, excess greens and garden insects.  Most of their day is spent scratching in the soil for worms and grubs since our compost pile is located right in their pen and this keeps them busy poking through the compost for scraps and insects.

Although confined in a large, roomy run for the most part, they are often allowed out in the garden in a moveable "chicken tractor" to protect some of our crops but in the summertime when the variety of plants are bigger and hardier, they are allowed free run of our yard.  The only supplement they receive for egg production is oystershell which aids in a good, firm egg shell.  We do not feed them any growth hormones or anything unnatural, nor have they received any antibiotics, shots, or starter supplements.  They were raised without medicated chick mash or hormones. 

They love to eat raisins and remnants from our flats of wheatgrass, broccoli leaves, oatmeal and rice.

Four of the hens are Bantam Rhode Island Reds - Betsy Trotwood, Lizzie, Peggoty and Scarlett.  Clementine is a Bantam Black Cochin.  All of them lay brown eggs.  Their weights and sizes vary and so does their eggs.  Each hen has an egg shape and brown shade color uniquely her own.   Sometimes, this enables us to mark who is laying even though we didn't see which hen was in which nesting box.

We try to provide our hens with the best care and we are blessed that it has been a successful and a much rewarding endeavor.

Clementine

Betsy Trotwood

Lizzie

Peggoty

Scarlett

Unknown*

 Total:

Jan

1

13

11

12

7

14

58

Feb

15

10

(broody)

(broody)

Mar

(broody)

(broody)