Not An Ordinary Egg - Black Copper Marans

At first glance you may not see the beauty of this egg.  But in my eyes, it is a dream come true.  I was fortunate to receive a Black Copper Marans rooster and hen from a friend on Christmas Eve.  A few weeks later, we got our first egg.  Typical of the breed, the eggs are a very dark brown.  Some people refer to them as “chocolate”.  We saved several eggs and put them in the incubator.  After a week, we candled the eggs and found out not a single egg in the first batch was fertile.  With young birds, this is not uncommon.  Soon a second group of eggs was placed in the incubator.  Our first chick was born on February 25.  To date five chicks have hatched and appear happy and healthy.  We hope to have a few more hatching out this weekend.  Raising our own chickens is an exciting step toward becoming a more self-sustainable farm.     

A Beautiful Mess

It may be bare and muddy, but is also a step in the right direction.  If you’ve visited our farm, you came in past a field that was previously lined with trees.  (If you haven’t visited the farm you should.)   This field was fenced last fall in order to allow more room for the sheep.  Our small flock enjoyed the room to run, but they also enjoyed eating the shrubbery.  Not happy to mix their greens, the sheep would work their way up one row of trees, eating everything they could reach.   Then they would proceed to the next row.  The only trees left standing are the ones sheep must not like to eat.  We had been considering converting some land into pasture.  Thanks to the sheep, the decision is now quite easy.  We have a little more work to smooth the ground and plant the grass.  Give us a few months and we should have the start of a beautiful pasture, rather than a beautiful mess.