Birds
We have lots of birds on our small farm - everything from migratory birds to a wide variety of free range chickens and guineas. Migratory birds come and go all year round with visitors on extended stays such as hummingbirds, purple martins, barn swallows, mockingbirds, cardinals, meadow larks, redwing blackbirds, finches and short term visitors such as egrets, herons, cormorants, caracaras (Mexican eagles), vultures, hawks, ducks and more. Our place is a bird watchers paradise and many hours are spent relaxing on one of the porches watching all the feathered animals.
Kumbaya Farm Mint Chocolate Egg Collection
This photo is of eggs in a vintage 3 x 4 egg carton from our Black Copper Marans and Ameraucana hens. When we put the dark brown Marans eggs with the blue-green Ameraucana eggs together they look like a box of chocolate truffles. They have a unique taste because all our hens are able to free range on 14 acres eating insects, grasses and native vegetation. We sell our eggs locally for $3 per dozen and give them as gifts.
Heritage Chickens and colored eggs
Photo of eggs collected one day on Kumbaya Farm. We have very happy, free range chickens who produce lots of large colored eggs with yolks that are almost orange. There is a distinct difference in taste of free range chicken eggs compared to store bought eggs. Shells are also thicker and tougher to break. We use no pesticides or hormones so our eggs are as natural as you can get. We have learned lots of ways to cook eggs and Jay has become an expert at making a variety of very delicious vegetable fritatas (quiche without the crust).
Ameraucana
This breed of chicken originated in North America and comes in a variety colors. They are know for their large blue-green eggs and sometimes referred to as Easter Eggers. Hens are generally very friendly and docile layers while the roosters can be much more assertive. They have small pea combs. We love our Ameraucanas since they are very good layers and easy keepers. People are always surprised to see the variety of blue-green eggs that our happy hens produce. We have several recipies for Green Eggs and Ham that adults and children love. Retired hens and roosters have sufficient meat so end up as a delicious baked chicken dinner. We have a couple of cross bred hens (Ameraucana and Black Copper Marans) that are called Olive Eggers because the eggs they produce are olive green in color.
Black Copper Marans
Marans chickens were developed in France and only recently becoming very popular in the USA due to their deep chocolate brown colored eggs. This medium size chicken is usually solid black in hens and black with red in roosters. Their eyes are red and they have large straight combs. They are called copper because when the sun hits their feathers they seem to have a metallic glow. This breed adapts easily to free range and are excellent layers. The shell on their eggs and the dark color are said to be impenetrable by salmonella. Martha Stewart has commented that this is her favorite chicken breed so they are sometimes difficult to acquire with mutt or counterfeit varieties frequently offered for sale as pure Marans.
Buff Orpington & Cuckoo Marans
When we saw a photo of a Buff Orpington rooster we had to have one. We acquired a male and female. While the hen is a very dependable brown egg layer the rooster is a magnificient bird. He is large and non aggressive and all the hens love being in his company. We have named our rooster Cogburn after the role John Wayne played in the movie True Grit. We have 6 Cuckoo Marans hens that consistently lay large brown eggs. Their eggs are not as dark as the Black Copper Marans but they are excellent layers and easy keepers. Cuckoo Marans are sometimes confused with Barred Rock or Dominque chickens but they are a separate breed developed in France. Like the Buff Orpingtons, they have straight combs and are very attractive.
Red Sex Link
It is often difficult to tell what sex young chickens are. Hens are much more useful than roosters so for that reason sex link chickens were developed. This is a cross-bred chicken so that one can tell by looking whether the sex is male or female. The cross is usually between a Rhode Island Red or New Hampshire rooster and a Rhode Island White or Delaware hen. Male red sex link chickens tend to be gold while the hens are red. Our Red Sex Link hens regularly produce large brown eggs. They are very easy keepers and are the main breed used for large scale commercially produced brown eggs. We have a pair of Red Sex Link hens named Lucy and Ethel.
Cochin
We have a variety of Cochin Chicken hens - Smooth Bantam (White and Black), Frizzle Bantam, Buff, Lavender and Partridge. Cochin chickens originated in China and because of their many colors and sizes started a 'chicken craze' during the 1800s. They are excellent brooders (like to sit on eggs) and very friendly birds easy to handle. They tend to be quiet and calm without ever making any noise. The smaller Bantam variety Cochins have feathers on their legs and feet. Their eggs are light brown. This little girl is one of our favorites and is named Nugget.
Sultan
This breed of chicken originated in Turkey and is primarily ornamental. Turkish royalty used to keep them in the gardens around Ottoman palaces because their appearance made them look like Sultans. They can be quite majestic looking little fowl. They are bantam in size and feature heavily feathered legs and feet as well as feathered head. They have a V-shaped comb which is covered by all the feathers on their head. Hens lay small white eggs about once or twice a week. This breed tends to be very docile and easy to handle. We have seen them be very curious and friendly towards us when we are working in the barns. When they run they are sure to make you smile.
Silkie
We have 3 black Silkie chickens - Pecker (the rooster), Michelle and Obama. They are bantam size chickens with very fluffy feathers similar to down feathers. This breed is definitely something to look at because besides their unique feathers they have black skin, meat and bones. They also have a walnut type comb and 5 toes on each foot. The hens produce small light brown almost cream colored eggs and love to sit in the nest box most of the day. Because the hens are very friendly, quiet and easy to handle many Silkies are kept as pets. We would not think about eating any of our Silkies but they have been featured on the TV shows Top Chef and Chopped as black chicken meat for chefs to prepare for their cooking challenges.
Cross breed chickens
In the area where we live there is quite a bit of interest in chickens and preserving many of the heritage breeds so genetic diversity and uniqueness is not lost. We know several people who participate in chicken shows and also a couple people who are chicken judges or breeders who specialize in rare or heritage breeds. Each Spring the city of Austin hosts a Funky Chicken Coop tour where visitors can tour up to 50 different sites where chickens are raised.
We do not separate our chickens by breed so there is cross breed mating. Interesting combinations result and often the result is beautiful chickens and eggs that are a different color than what we already have. An example of our cross breed chickens are in this photo. The chicken in the foreground is a cross between our Buff Orpington rooster and a Black Copper Marans hen. Her markings are almost partridge like in appearance. The chicken in the background is a cross between the Buff Orpington rooster and a Cuckoo Marans hen. He is extremely large, rather gentle and a unique combination of black and white stripes with silver and solid white feathers. Both birds are very attractive.
We do not separate our chickens by breed so there is cross breed mating. Interesting combinations result and often the result is beautiful chickens and eggs that are a different color than what we already have. An example of our cross breed chickens are in this photo. The chicken in the foreground is a cross between our Buff Orpington rooster and a Black Copper Marans hen. Her markings are almost partridge like in appearance. The chicken in the background is a cross between the Buff Orpington rooster and a Cuckoo Marans hen. He is extremely large, rather gentle and a unique combination of black and white stripes with silver and solid white feathers. Both birds are very attractive.
Guinea
Guineas are not actually chickens but guinea fowl and are native to Africa. They are relatively large birds with no feathers on their upper neck or heads similar to vultures. As they grow they acquire a 'helmet' on top of their head. They free range wide and far and tend to stay close to the ground in a flock formation. Their favorite food is insects and they are very good at catching grasshoppers, flies, ants and other bugs. They are excellent sentry birds and frequently sound an alarm when they spot an intruder. Their reputation is well known for killing small rodents and snakes. Eggs are layed in a communal nest in the late spring and throughout the summer months. Shells are brown, pointed on one end and hard to break. Baby guineas are called keets and very active within a day or so of birth. Guineas are excellent runners and frequently chase each other around to assert their dominance or pecking order. We keep a small flock of a dozen or more guineas as sentries and small predator control. They are not the most intelligent in the animal kingdom but they are interesting to watch as they travel all over our farm on their daily forays.