By mid summer we will have six flocks of chickens at various ages from chicks to 18 months old on the farm. So how do we tell how old each chicken is? Add to the complication that many hens of the same age decide that their hen house is not a nice as the one next door and move into that. They can and do move digs.
We have tried spiral leg bands, each with a different color. These work fine except that occasionally they can cause the leg to swell and we have to remove the band.
Plan B is to find six breeds that we can tell apart. Each of these breeds has to lay lots of eggs. Like living the free outdoor life and do well in our climate. This has not been easy to come up with this list and there are some compromises.
Our next flock will probably be Black Austrolorp which is one of my favorite breeds. It was the first one we bought over ten years ago when we first started on this egg adventure… Nigel
