Fall Chicks

On Saturday we dashed over to The Urban Chicken for the September flock swap hoping to get an early pick of Mr. Campbell’s pullets. All our our ladies so far have come from his farm, and this weekend at a price $8/bird for the two-month-olds, we came away with five new chickens. He told us we would never see that price again, but he’d hatched out too many. Penny, our French Black Copper Marans, has been such a good layer and healthy looking girl, that we picked up two more Marans. We also bough a Lavender Orpington and an Ameraucana. I went back to pick up this goofy looking bird that I thought resembled the Lorax. She (and I’m hoping it is indeed a she) is a Pavalovskaya or Pavlovskaja. I had never heard of this ancient Russian breed, and it turns out it is rare here in the U.S. This one has five toes, a v-shaped comb, high cavernous nostrils, muff, crest and beard. It’s got tons of personality as well. Being the loudest of the new flock, I’m crossing my fingers that she’s not actually a roo. Russian Pavlovskaya can retail for over $100, so maybe it is it a roo, it won’t be too hard to rehome. 

This evening I gave them a little free range time in the outdoor run, and forgot to pin them back up before dusk. Joe went out to put them away, and three of them had roosted up in the trees. Our first flock never did this, but they never did have the chance. This new flock is a spirited bunch and already seem to be forming alliances and establishing their pecking order.