The holidays are behind us now and with their passing remains a new flock of chickens at Monte Azul. In early December, we purchased a flock of 20 egg laying hens. I believe that they are of the breed Rhode Island Red but I am not certain. Here in Costa Rica they are simply gallinas rojas or red chickens.
We bought 20 of them because through my chicken research I read that 20 is the maximum number that you can have in a flock without experiencing. It seems that there really is a pecking order in a flock of chickens and if there are more than 20 chickens, they cannot keep this order straight. You end up with a lot of stress and fights.
We are very excited about our chickens. They are fascinating creatures. At first they were timid and were getting accustomed to their new environment. Now they recognize people and are very friendly. They like to sit on your lap, get on your shoulder and even rest on the top of your head. You can hand feed them too. We are testing what they do and do not like to eat, in addition to the standard chicken feed. My philosophy is that if you have animals you have to have animal treats. Mustard greens are a favorite and the chickens go crazy for it whereas parsley is a no go. If you have seen the Monte Azul Facebook page you may know that Carlos has branded me the chicken wrangler and a friend today called me the Chicken Whisperer.
Since we purchased young hens, we will need to wait 5-6 months before they start laying eggs. This puts the egg count down at end April, at the earliest. I am confident that our hens will be overachievers and start laying eggs in record speed. I will let you know when we get that first egg.
