If you live out in the country now is the time to visit the feed store to see the baby chickens ready for sale.





We had chickens when I was a kid, for eggs and meat. They could be purchased through the mail and came cheeping in a box with holes in the sides. They need to be kept warm, so they were kept in a bigger box with a big lamp hanging over it, putting out heat.

There are many different breeds of chicken, with beautiful colors, differing temperaments, varying tolerance for heat and cold, and their egg shells are different colors.

This is a Wyandotte:



Wyandotte chickens come in a variety of striking colors: silver laced, golden laced, white, buff, and silver penciled. Wyandottes are popular in backyard flocks, not only because of their beautiful feathers, but because of their mild and friendly personalities. Occasionally, Wyandottes can become aggessive, but overall these chickens make great flock members. Wyandottes are quite hardy, especially in cold climates and lay light to medium brown eggs. Wyandottes also have a bantam (miniature) counterpart.


Some chickens lay naturally blue eggs:



Bantum chickens, as in the expression 'banty rooster' are smaller chickens, but there are only a few true bantum breeds, the rest are miniature versions of the other breeds.



Sebright chickens are "true bantams" which means they are one fourth the size of standard chickens and have no large counterpart. Sebrights are named after Sir John Sebright, who developed this bird after nearly 30 years of selective breeding in the early 1800's in England. Sir John Sebright wanted to create an ornamental chicken with very specific size and plumage. There are two varieties of Sebrights: golden and silver.

Both Golden Sebrights and Silver Sebrights lay tiny white eggs and are somewhat skittish and nervous in temperament. When Sebrights reach adulthood they are generally hardy, but the chicks tend to have a higher than average mortality rate.

Sebright roosters are "hen feathered" which means that they lack the usual large sickle feathers characteristic of most roosters. Due to their small size and large wings, many Sebrights can fly fairly high, and thus should be kept in a pen with a roof or top netting.

Silver Sebright Hen:



Golden Sebright Rooster:



Doesn't he look just full of himself!