Bug Patrol

 We like these little bantam chickens for bug patrol. They forage for bugs all summer long and seem to make a significant dent in the tick population. This area is over run with Limes' Disease so any reduction in the ticks in our area is welcome. This rooster is a Belgian Bearded D'Anver. The hens are tiny and very friendly. We have various egg layers but we keep those in a run because they dig such big holes to dust in and so we can find their eggs easily. These little guys don't do so much damage to the yard and we let them hatch out a few chicks each year. They are great mothers and it is fun watching them herd their brood around. We have tried several different breeds of egg layers but have not been that impressed with any of them yet. We need chickens that have a small comb so it doesn't freeze in our cold winters.They also need to be fairly heavy  and well feathered for the same reason. We are going to put some solar powered lights in the hen house to see if it gets the hens laying again. We are at the 45th parallel so winters are dark, under 9 hours of light a day near the solstice, more than Alaska and Canada but not enough to keep hens laying!  This year we are going to try either Jersey Giants or Light Brahmas which we are hoping will be a true dual purpose bird. Maybe they will work out.