Happy Birthday. . .

to me! I'm 29 today (cannot believe 30 is so near at hand), and look at the present my wonderful mother gave me:

I know, right, best present ever for the poultry obsessed ;) They arrived early yesterday morning from Greenfire Farms in Florida. Four Rhodebars and three Bredas (supposed to receive four, but I'm sure they'll correct that). I love perusing all of the pictures of ultra-rare breeds on Greenfire's website and daydreaming. The Rhodebars and, most especially, the Bredas have been on my list for a while, and now they're finally here.

A little info about our new chicks:

Rhodebars: From Greenfire's website, "Rhodebars are the uniquely wonderful offspring of a shotgun marriage between the Yanks and the Brits." In the 1940s, British geneticists created an autosexing breed capable of laying large quantities of eggs by crossing Golden Brussbars (a rare British breed developed by R.C. Punnett and Michael Peace) and Rhode Island Reds (the most common and well-known of American chicken breeds). Autosexing means the chicks can be sexed at hatch based on their coloring (females are chipmunk colored, while males are lighter-colored with a white spot sometimes on top of their heads). I love autosexing breeds (we already have Pilgrim geese, which are well-known for being one of the few waterfowl breeds to possess that quality), and I think these are going to be a great addition.

Bredas: From Greenfire's website: ". . . breda are so wild and extreme in their appearance that they look like they were designed for the movie Avatar." I think these are my new favorite breed, one reason being that Bredas were at one time common in the US. Then the Civil War came along and they began to decline in numbers until they were probably extinct here. However, the breed was kept alive in Europe. Bredas are known for their striking appearance, unique gait, and for not possessing a comb. I'm really looking forward to seeing how they turn out.

So far, all seven are doing fantastic, even after traveling a couple hundred miles. And I have to say, although they're described as being large and powerful, the Bredas (and the Rhodebars, too) are the friendliest chicks I've ever owned and we're all really enjoying them.