Raising Chickens: Have You Given It A Try?

Raising Chickens ... Yes, we decided to give it a try.

Do any of you "raise chickens"? The first thing I found was that we had to get acquainted with the "chicken vocabulary". Some examples:

1. Pullet ... we kept hearing that this is what we needed. So, what is a pullet? This is a female chicken that is less than 1 year old.

2. Hen ... A female chicken, but she is more than a year old and she is ready to lay the eggs.

3. Chic ... Now this is those cute little fuzzy birds that have just been hatched. We decided we did not want to fool around with these, even if they are so very, very cute!

4. Cockerel ... Now I had never heard of this one. This is a male chicken that is less than a year old. (We did not want this one either).

5. Capon ... I have heard of this one but never really knew what it meant. This is a chicken used for meat. (Nope, did not want this).

6. Chicken coop ... Well, I think we all know this ... a cozy apartment for the chickens to live in - sometimes called a Hen House.

7. Rooster ... almost forgot this one. This is the male chicken that is less than a year old. I understand that you can get these free as it only take one rooster for a little flock of hens.

8. Free Range or Pinned up ... We all know about this because of the controversy going on and all the T.V. ads ... We are going to have a "free range" apartment.

Now that we have our "chicken talk" established my husband decided on the living quarters for our flock and now off to shop and find the right "pullets".

Porter's Poultry Place

Garden Valley, Ca.

530-335-9121

We found our place and now to meet the owner, Darci, and her daughter, Katie. This was a delight. Darci and Katie are both charming, warm, outgoing, and love to share about their chickens. We were well educated by Darci on all the aspects of Raising Chickens!

Darci started her business about 4 years ago with a flock of 6 chickens. Now she is in full swing, offering a variety of breeds. She now sells chickens, eating eggs, fertile hatching eggs, laying hens and gives away free roosters.... she is also involved in 4H projects and raises Exhibition Poultry, which are quality show birds.

The most exciting part of choosing Porter's Poultry Place was being able to choose from so many different breeds. We decided on a variety of 5 different breeds for our little flock of laying chickens ... so it looks like we are now in the Chicken Business , or at least eggs for breakfast!

Katie is holding one of the exhibition chickens that did not qualify because the crown was not perfect. So, we got to take this one home with us. Woo Hoo we have a Beauty Queen in the Hen House!