27 February, 2009

Fancy chickens?

I should be cooking dinner. Fish pie. But I'm going to write some random thoughts about chickens instead. I can see how people become chicken fanciers - though I do wish they could choose another word for it. Fancying chickens just sounds a little odd, if not indeed warped. We now have seven chickens, three types. And there really is no justification for getting more as that would involve another house and more eggs than I or my chicken-sharer Sue would know what to do with. But I would really like a Buff Orpington because they look so nice. Oh, and a Legbar because they lay blue eggs. Wow. Never see that colour in the shops. Which I suppose means they don't lay enough to make it commercial but there is something lovely about a blue egg. And having spent a winter wondering what the point of the Marans was as they were eating huge quantities of food and annoying my other chickens, I now see that they lay beautiful dark brown shiny eggs. Shiny in a way that the Black Rock and Light Sussex eggs are not. I know the inside of the egg is basically the same but these eggs look so lovely. So I am in fact an egg fancier, which is possibly even weirder than a chicken fancier.

5 comments:

Joanna said...

I know what you mean about the eggs ... actually, you can get blue eggs in Waitrose, Cotswold legbars, rather pricey (but probably cheaper than keeping fancy hens) ... very beautiful. I've never seen a Maran egg in a shop. Hard to find a buff Orpington, they're so fashionable these days ... they don't lay much, but they are the most docile hens I've ever kept, and heart-stoppingly beautiful in the garden

Looking forward to reading what you decide on ..

Andrea said...

We have a pair of Buff Orps and they ARE wonderful birds. Very calm and friendly. THey'll come right up to you and eat out of your hand.

I want another Ameraucauna...we've been waiting for green eggs and just figured out that our 'she' is actually a 'he'. No green eggs here!

mountainear said...

I collect the eggs and I have 'pink' ones, deep brown ones and the pretty blue Legbar ones - the combination is exquisite. And we don't eat the shells.

The Legbars - so far - are prolific layers. Pretty little birds too. Might be able to find you some eggs to hatch or young pullets later in the year. (Easy to s*x on hatching as the females are partridge coloured and the cockerels quite pale.) Do ask.

Eliane said...

Thanks for the comments everyone, but I think more chickens are going to have to wait. We just don't have room and I think I'm just fantasising. Is this normal? BTW mountainear - pink, brown and blue sounds glorious.

Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacas said...

Oh Mountainear , coul dyou find a few eggs for me to hatch ? I havae a coupl eof legbars , but would love more and Eliane can come round as a foster parent !