Our story
Hey y’all! Just a little post to tell y’all about us and the hatchery. I’m Brittany the owner and operator of Lakeside Orpingtons. My love for all things poultry began a few short years ago and has since grown into passion, or some may say an obsession. My love began with 6 ISA Brown chicks and 2 ducks from a visit to Tractor Supply during Chick Days. These ladies stole my heart and led me down a path of being deemed the “Crazy Chicken Lady”.
Six chickens slowly began evolving into adding a rooster or two, then to diving into the Turkey world that led me into then hatching my own eggs. I purchased a small incubator from Amazon, placed a couple Turkey eggs in it and waited. A few long weeks of waiting and anticipation, a Turkey hatched! Oh man was I excited! I knew nothing about caring for a newly hatched Turkey poult but thanks to Google and DIY books from Tractor Supply I managed to hatch, grow and care for this new little fella. He stole my heart from day one with his huge brown eyes and inquisitive nature! This fellas name is TJ, and we have since became the bestest of friends!
After successfully hatching a Turkey I became confident in my poultry tending skills, so I then decided it was time to began chicken breeding and hatching. A small incubator quickly turned into upgrading to a larger one. Starting with one breed has since turned into an obsession of learning and buying various other breeds. I have managed to successfully hatch 2 more Turkeys since TJ, and a variety of barnyard mix chicks. I enjoy the barnyard mix but I decided it was time to find a breed that is versatile, so with the help of my Mom and endless research I decided to focus on all things Oprington.
Orpingtons are cold-hardy, docile and great egg producers. They make for great additions to small backyard flocks or large farms. If you are looking for delicious fresh eggs, a family pet, or a show bird this breed is a perfect pick! Orpingtons come in a variety of beautiful colors, which has made it extremely difficult for me to pick which colors I would like to focus on with this hatchery.(Not to mention the hatchery is ran by two women. And we know how indecisive women are). After endless research and scrolling through a plethora of online hatcheries... We finally decided! The winning colors will be; Lavender, Blue(BBS), Chocolate and Buff. Although Orpingtons will be our main focus, never fear! We will still offer large breed and bantam barnyard mix birds, Royal Palm Turkeys and hatching eggs!
I couldn’t do all this alone, so I found someone just as crazy about chickens as me. I didn’t have to look very far seeing as she is the woman that gave me life! I mean who wouldn’t want to have their Mom as a business partner as well?! She has recently retired(ish) from a long career of Nursing and had agreed to take on the world of poultry with me. She will be handling the Lavender portion of the the flock. We are in the beginning stages of building a passion (and my retirement plan) so we still have a ways to go, but we are eager and ready! I am currently working on getting us NPIP certified (In VA for me and NC for her) along with becoming AI clean certified. So bare with us and stay tuned to see what’s hatching at Lakeside Orpingtons! 🥚🐣🐥🐓🦃
