I am very proud of my husband because this year when it was time to order chickens, he said, "No more of those hybrid Cornish cross ugly things that can only live eight or ten weeks and then die of a heart attack if you don't butcher them." At first I was a little disappointed, as those ugly things have a lot of nice meat on them, and we free range them, so they are mighty tasty and healthy, but I considered what he said, and then read an article in hobby farms about heritage chicken breeds. The article is from the March/April 2009 issue, I don't know if you can read it online, I couldn't get to the article myself. Anyway it listed several dual purpose chicken breeds and several good reasons why you should raise them. There are 26 breeds on the ALBC (American Livestock Breeds Conservancy) and to quote Carol Ekarius, Hobby Farms contributing editor and author of Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds, "Chickens that come out of the traditional dual- or multipurpose breeding schemes really deserve attention... they produce a respectable egg supply, and although they grow a little more slowely than some of the modern meat breeds, they put on a pretty respectable carcass for meat eaters..." I was sold. So I went on reading about the four critically endangered breeds that were developed in the United States. The breed that caught my eye were the Javas. The article went on to describe them as "excellent free-range foragers, hardy and docile in temperament. And Javas are a feast for the eyes!" I ordered my little Javas from Welp Hatchery and they arrived safe and sound around March 11th. Right on schedule to the hatchery's shipping dates. They are a week old today and doing great. I am really loving them, and also loving the smaller scale of a little flock. So I thanked my husband for insisting on no more cornish cross birds! Check out my other products page for some cute little chicken pin cushions I made in honor of my new flock!
Here they are in their little brooder space in our chicken coop
Here are the cute little Java chicks they are yellow with black splotches, just starting to get some grown up feathers