We’ve been thinking of adding another breed to our chickens here at Merrybower, and flicking through a borrowed poultry magazine I stumbled across the name Marsh Daisy. It sounded pleasing, so I read the article, and discovered this breed was on the endangered list. Originally from Lancashire – not a million miles from Derbyshire – it had similar qualities to the Derbyshire Redcap. Namely, a rose comb, flighty and a good forager. They were, according to the article, easier to tame than a Redcap, which made it sound a bit easier.

I mentioned it to Rob over a cuppa one morning, and he’d been looking to possibly replace the bantam Brown Leghorns with something, so between us we decided to have a bash at helping an old breed out. So where to find some Marsh Daisy eggs?! Using the ubiquitous internet I tracked down the Marsh Daisy Breeders Group and spoke to Sharon who runs it. A trip to Wales a couple of months later and Sharon had fifteen precious eggs ready for us, which was fantastic, and after admiring their setup I hastened back with my eggy cargo, and six pints of fresh milk from their new cow! Delicious!

One for Me, One for You, One for Me…

It was like choosing sides for a playground footy match – Rob and I chose the best twelve Marsh Daisy eggs, six each, and then we split the last three between us (my egg equivalent in the footy picking terms). There were also a couple of odd white eggs that one of Sharon’s Marsh Daisies had popped out, so again we placed one of those in each of our piles. Today Rob placed his under a broody bantam, whereas here we’ve gone the incubator route, as it’s a good excuse to fill the incubator with more Light Sussex eggs. Fingers crossed!