Earlier this spring, I added three new chicks to my flock, making a total of five chickens residing in my coop. The new pullets started laying in late summer and now (in the fall) I’m getting about five wonderful, delicious eggs a day! The new breeds that I added have made my flock a colorful collection of chickens, and I love watching them forage in the fallen maple leaves. Their beautiful feathers seem to blend in perfectly with the autumn landscape. I thought I’d share my best photos of my flock and a little info on each breed …
Buff Orpington
Classified as a heavy (7-8 pounds), dual-purpose bird, Buffs are winter hardy with a calm, docile temperament. They lay large, light-brown eggs. They’re a popular breed not only because of their friendly personalities, but also because they are also good brooders and mothers.
(Meets the ALBC’s Heritage Chicken definition.)
When I first decided to have backyard chickens, I actually “Googled” what the most family-friendly, winter-hardy chicken breed was … and a Buff Orpington was at the top of the list. “Henrietta” has certainly proven to be a wonderful addition to my little flock. She’s easy-going, calm and was extremely polite and welcoming when I introduced her to the younger birds! “Edison,” my other Buff, is a different story … She relentlessly pecks and chases the younger chickens in an attempt to maintain her position on the roost. She is calm and docile when I try to hold her. She just doesn’t play well with others.
Barred Plymouth Rock
Also a large breed (7-8 pounds), “Barred Rocks” are one of the most popular backyard chicken breeds. They have a great disposition, make good mothers, are tolerant of cold climates and lay large brown eggs.
(Meets the ALBC’s Heritage Chicken definition.)
“Cleopatra” is such a beautiful bird and it seems that when I have visitors to my coop, she is always picked as their favorite. She does have a very laid-back personality and behaves nicely with the rest of the flock.
Golden Laced Wyandotte
Wyandottes are large (7-8 pounds) birds that include several varieties (in addition to the Golden Laced): Silver Laced, White, Black, Buff, Partridge, Silver Penciled, Columbian, Blue. They’re winter hardy, easy-going (calm and docile) and lay large brown eggs.
(Meets the ALBC’s Heritage Chicken definition.)
“Athena” is a gorgeous bird, but she’s not at all like the description above. Her temperament is more like “Henny Penny”: She’s convinced that the “sky is falling.” She’s afraid of everything and everyone (including her own shadow). I find it odd though, that even with her scared-of-everything personality, she’s the one that leads the flock on their foraging adventures … much too far away from the coop.
Cinnamon Queen
A medium-sized bird (5-6 pounds), tolerant of the cold and an excellent layer of large brown eggs. Cinnamon Queens are a sex-linked cross breed created from a Silver Laced Wyandotte hen and a New Hampshire rooster.
This breed has not been given recognition by the American Poultry Association. Cinnamon Queens will start to lay eggs at a younger age than most standard breeds. They are also color sexable as chicks: Cockerels are white, and the pullets are more brownish red in color.
“Esther” is my smallest pullet, but she’s a spit-fire and full of energy … She’s always the first one to greet me, the first to grab a treat, and she can run the fastest and jump the highest! I had originally wanted a Rhode Island Red, but when I purchased my chicks a pullet (female) couldn’t be guaranteed. I didn’t want a rooster and the “chicken-seller” assured me a Cinnamon Queen was the next best thing. Plus, he gave me his word it was a “she” and not a “he.” We’re all glad Esther is part of the flock … She’s the life of the party!
Several online sites have listings of different breeds that include detailed descriptions, and if you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod you can download a cool app from Mother Earth News called Pickin’ Chicken. You enter why you want chickens (eggs, meat, dual) then choose the egg color/size and rate of egg laying you prefer. Then the app picks the best breeds based on your needs. Pickin’ Chicken also features an illustrated guide to 82 chicken breeds and more than 100 varieties, with 250-plus photos. You’ll also find a browsable alphabetical listing of chicken types, a glossary of terms, educational resources, tips on chicken care, and a link to upload your own chicken photos. All of that for $2.99 … That’s a lot cheaper than any book that includes that much info. Here’s a link to a video demo of the iPhone app: Pickin’ Chicken Breed Selector.
So, what am I doing with five eggs a day from my colorful little flock? I’m trying to experiment with new recipes that have eggs as a main ingredient (or at least call for a lot of eggs). I also enjoy sharing my surplus with friends, family and co-workers. Here’s a recipe that calls for a day’s worth of eggs from my backyard coop. You could certainly find a healthier version of pumpkin bread that has less oil and sugar, but I guarantee you won’t find one tastier than this!
1 1/4 cups oil
5 eggs
2 cups pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 pkg. cook-and-serve vanilla pudding (small boxes)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
Blend oil, eggs and pumpkin. Combine other ingredients and add to pumpkin mixture. Sprinkle and lightly pat on the crumb topping (see recipe below). Bake in 2 greased/floured loaf pans at 325° for 1 hour. Lightly dust with powder sugar after bread has cooled.
Crumb Topping: 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, pinch of salt. With a pastry blender, cut 3 Tbsp butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
To view what else is happening at our southwest Missouri property, visit the garden-roof coop.
24 Comments
Cinnamon Queens hybrid is not created from Wyandottes. Otherwise lovely article.
Also wondering what size of loaf pan you baked it in….That would be helpful! 🙂
Favorite hangout for my girls is under the birdfeeder…they love to scratch through the seeds the birds scatter to the ground.
Thanks for the recipe good one for when all my chickens are laying an over abundance of eggs. The Orpington chickens are very easy going as I raise the lavender colored ones and this spring bought some buffs to cross breed to see what color I get. Then ended up swopping a lady hatching eggs some of my Coronation Sussex eggs for her lemon colored Orpingtons.Next springs breeding season will be interesting.
What size loaf pan did you bake it in?
Could this recipe be used to make cupcakes instead of bread? And then with frosting instead of the crumb top? Thinking of an easter dessert . . .
Can this bread be made with out the pudding mix? What could be the substitute?
yogurt or applesauce, but the liquid needs adjusting
Nice article. I came here to investigate the clipped headline I found in my email, though: “Chicken breeds and… melts in your mouth…” LOL!
Ha! I can understand your curiosity!
I made this pumpkin bread yesterday and it is AMAZING! I accidentally grabbed a box of cook and serve and one of the instant but I think it came out fine because I can’t stop eating it! Everyone loves it! My kids LOVE the pumpkin bread at Starbucks but they say this one is better 🙂
That’s awesome! Thanks for the comment!
Is there a specific reason you use cook and serve pudding instead of instant? Just curious. Thanks!
I’ve actually used both. The cook and serve makes a moister bread; the instant a lighter bread…
for the 2 cups pumpkin, is that canned pumpkin or did you puree your own? and the 1 t soda; baking soda right??
I used canned pumpkin. Yes, it’s baking soda 🙂
I made this bread for Boss’s Day and I definitely scored some points at work! It almost didn’t make it to the loaf pan – once I tasted the batter, I was ready to eat the whole bowl raw!!! Best pumpkin bread I EVER had! Thanks for sharing.
It’s definitely my family’s favorite too! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
What do you mean by “soda” in the pumpkin bread recipe?? Baking soda or actual soda???
I wish you had the pumpkin bread recipe without the pudding mix.
Me too! I’m avoiding all pre-packaged boxed mixes. Too much sugar and GMO ingredients. I’m going to try it & replace the volume of the pudding mix with ground nuts!
I clicked on the link because I wanted to see your pumpkin bread recipe–it looks delicious!–but I really enjoyed reading about the different breeds you have and their personalities. I’m sure it’s quite satisfying to make things with freshly harvested eggs. 🙂
Great information about your chickens; sure makes me wish I’d added some youngsters to my flock this year! As soon as my older girls start laying 5 eggs a day again, your pumpkin bread is on my list! Yum!
Wow, you have a great selection of birds there Becks. Lovely to have such a variety of colours ans personalities. Are you getting a rooster? Think of all the lovely chicks you could raise (hopefully not all cockerels!)
That pumpkin bread is next on my baking list. Thanks for the recipe!x