Hilltop Homestead

Today was bittersweet. Processing day always is.
We’ve raised these guys for the past 12 weeks. Taking them to be processed was harder than we expected.
Raising our own meat has been a goal of ours for a while. And this is a necessary part of accomplishing that goal.
But it should never be easy to take a life, even if that life serves the purpose of nourishing our family.
The sweet part was knowing that these birds only had one bad day in their lives. ❤️

"I say, I say..."
This handsome fellow is my White Leghorn rooster. Yes, he is the same breed as Foghorn Leghorn. No, he doesn't stutter. 🤣
This boy matured very quickly, developing a large, bright red comb and wattles at only 5 weeks. This is a good thing, because when I breed him with my females, the hope is that the babies should develop more quickly and start laying sooner. Emphasis on the word "hope". 🤣

This girl is my favorite! She is a cross between a Black Copper Maran and a Crested Cream Legbar, creating what is called an Olive Egger.
I love how she looks; but more importantly, she lays the most gorgeous, dark green eggs I have ever seen! She is actually broody right now, and I put some of her eggs under her in hopes that we get some interesting chicks that lay green or blue eggs. They should be hatching in less than a week! 🤞