Chickens

Meet our chickens:

At Heartland Farm we have a flock of about 80 laying hens. We use and sell their eggs, as well as use their compost in our organic gardens. Every year we get new chicks and say good-bye to our older hens. We get different breeds each year so that we can keep track of their age.

2026

Rhode Island Reds, Cuckoo Marans and Easter Eggers

2025

Golden Comet and Welsummer

Chicken facts:

  • What do you call a male chicken?

    A rooster!

  • What do you call a female chicken?

    A hen!

  • What is the biggest predator to our chickens?

    You might think it’s coyotes or hawks, but it’s actually raccoons!

  • How many eggs do chickens lay a year?

    Most of our chickens lay around 250-300 eggs per year. That means our chickens only take one or two days off a week from laying eggs!

  • Do chicken eggs have to be refrigerated?

    Only eggs that have been washed need to be refrigerated. Eggs have a natural coating that protects bacteria and viruses from entering the shell, but washing removes that protective barrier. In many European countries, farmers don’t wash eggs, so they don’t have to be refrigerated.

  • How do chicks hatch out of their shell?

    Baby chickens are hatched with an “egg tooth,” a tiny horn on top of the beak that helps them break through the eggshell.

  • Why do you have roosters with your laying flock?

    Roosters can help protect hens by watching out for predators and helping them find food to eat. The rooster makes a special sound when he finds yummy food and he calls the hens to eat. That’s called “tidbitting.”

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