seed catalogs

I got my seed orders in! It was only $220. Oh well. I will get at least that in return of food. The companies I order from most are:

Territorial Seed--90% of my seeds come from this source, as the varieties are chosen to perform well in the Cascadia climate.

Nichol's Garden Nursery--Interesting varieties of vegetables along with beer/wine making supplies, cheese making, etc.

Johnny's Select Seeds

Stokes

Veseys

Peaceful Valley Farm Supply--(mostly for supplies other than seeds)

Keeping chickens

There is a wealth of information now about keeping chicken, but I thought I would give a quick run-down on what to do for chickens. This post is especially for my mom, who I raised three pullets for. You will need:

1. Chicken food and water. This is a no brainer. You can get layer blends at any feed store, and there are organic options. I believe that Naomi's Organic Farm supply sells a locally made and organic blend.
2. Grit. Chickens don't have teeth and they will absorb a lot more of the food that you feed them if they have grit to help break it down. You can buy grit at a feed store and you just sprinkle it in their food.
3. Oyster shell for laying hens. Chickens will need supplemental calcium in their diet to form all those shells.
4. A little house, preferrably propped up off the ground so that rodents and predators will stay out. There are many examples on the internet or in chicken care books.
5. In the house, you will need 1 nest box for every 3 hens. Although, I did have a red sex link that used to yell at the other chickens if they were in the next box laying and she wanted to lay. Funny creatures! That particular flock reminded me of women waiting in long lines for the bathroom...frustrated and impatient.

Those are the basics, and I am happy to share more information if I know the answers.

Oops. we got a rooster!

We didn't really intend to, but they can't always tell at the hatchery. Oh well, it will be interesting raising a rooster. Maybe we will get some chicks!

This particular breed is the Delaware. I decided to switch my flock when we were living in the city, as my other hens were making too much noise for my neighbors. The Delaware is relatively quiet and docile and lays a good amount of eggs.

So far, they have been very docile. Almost too docile. Last summer we got one and had no idea how mean chickens can be when they don't know each other. She almost died because she was picked on so badly. We ended selling our other two hens because we couldn't get them to work it out.
The Delaware is listed "critical" on the American Livestock Conservancy. http://www.albc-usa.org/cpl/delaware.html
We've purchased the majority of our chickens through the following site, who will actually ship with a minimum order of three chicks. There's something novel about receiving baby chicks in the mail.
http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/Delaware-B43.aspxhttp://