This is Cuckoo. We met on Swap Shop.
Late last summer, after the yearly pilgrimage to the Logan County Fair, we decided to get some chickens, the main reason being plentiful fresh eggs. At the fair we took down the number of one of the 4-H exhibitors, and eventually brought home six pullets from him. As it turned out, two of our young hens grew up to be proud, arrogant, argumentative roosters, and the other four just didn't grow up. They are tiny Bantam hens, one with a deformed foot that has her hopping around the yard. She is always straggling behind like the sad, little kid picked last for the kickball team. And these Bantams rarely lay eggs, and when they do, they are tiny.
So when you have two roosters, you tend to get up earlier in the morning, and you have plenty of time for a nice big breakfast. You know, the kind of breakfast with eggs. Full-size, farm fresh eggs. We definitely needed more chickens.
Maret, knowing the ways of the rural as well as anyone, put a notice on the local country music stations' Swap Shop at KNNG, 104.7 King F.M. Swap Shop is a small town institution. It's a morning ritual. It's a daily show where people call in, chat with the d.j.'s, and tell you what they have to sell, what they want, what they would like to trade for. They ask for help finding their lost dog who answers to Otis, and is harmless. You get to hear their truck running in the background. You try to imagine the face that goes with that lovely country drawl. It's one of those places where the fabric of the small town is laid bare and connections are made. And it works.
To my amazement, the next day we get a call from a wonderful woman who lives a few towns over. I talk to Dora on the phone for a good hour with the entire discussion being about chickens. She would be happy to sell us some on the one condition that we have to take two Hy-Lines. Dora has collected all types of chickens. She has Ameraucanas, Marans, Buff Orpingtons, Brahmas, and all the other beautiful breeds. Hy-Lines are a proprietary breed, genetically designed for the commercial egg laying factories, and as such they are scrawny, plain white nondescript hens that lay high numbers of eggs with little feed. Dora ended up with roughly eight dozen of them, and she wanted to thin her flock. We can't just pick all the fun, pretty ones. Fair enough. We bought six of Dora's hens, with two being Hy-Liness, as per our agreement.
So that is how we met Cuckoo. She is a Cuckoo Maran, and she lays a mean egg.
Check out Swap Shop. And if you know anyone with a tetherball pole with a hook that is cemented in a tire have them call 370-4&&&.
Chickens, Ranch Life 
Reader Comments (3)
OK so how are the eggs from the Highlines? Are they little and scrawny or can you rehab them to make a 'mean egg'? Please pardon my urban ignorance , or would that be rural ignorance?
Love the blog.
The eggs from the Hy-Lines are everything an egg should be. (I just realized that I have been spelling their breed wrong, so now i have to go back and edit everything. Yuck) Check the comments section under the photo of the eggs and you'll find Ella's list of who laid what. You will see that the BIG white eggs belong to the Hy-Lines. Traditionally, chickens were bred for meatiness and egg laying abilities with some breeds being bred for ornamental traits. Hy-lines have been genetically engineered specifically for the modern egg-laying industry. They are designed to not be meaty, as that is simply wasted feed for an egg producer. They are not designed to be pretty because I don't think anyone in the giant commercial egg producing business cares about that. But they are genetically designed to lay a large amount of big eggs with as little input cost as possible. For whatever reason, I find the idea of a couple of these cyborg chickens living the good life on my farm rather comforting.
Thanks for the question and the support.
Ned
Egg-cellent story.