It's time for you to meet my flock! I post a lot of pictures of them on my Instagram, so some of you may already be familiar with them. I have three "groups" of chickens that all live together; the older ladies, the chicks, and the newcomers. I had chickens prior to these, but we had a few disasters. My brother's dog killed one of my chickens (she'd been raised with them, so we didn't expect this). Our dogs killed two of our chickens after they'd been getting along for months without a problem. We had a respiratory illness hit our flock that killed two of them. Two of our recent chicks didn't survive because of genetic defects. Those were all harsh lessons we had to learn about the reality of having chickens, of having the right protection, medicines, and general ability to react. There are no avian vets nearby us, so we've learned everything from the online homesteading community and from my mother-in-law, who has had chickens for about 2 years longer than us. Now we have our current flock, who is healthy and doing better than any we've had before.
Meet the older crew/dominant ladies:
Morrigan, the queen bee. We got her as a teenager so we aren't exactly sure of her age, but she was born in the spring of 2015. Morrigan is an Australorp, and she lays about 5-6 large, light-brown eggs a week. Morrigan is aloof and doesn't like to be touched, but is perfectly friendly. She likes to announce loudly to us each time she lays an egg.
Blondie, the Buff Orpington. We received Blondie as a teenager, so we only know she was born around summer of 2015. Blondie was very mean when we first got her, but the day she started laying eggs, she started acknowledging us as roosters and is friendly as can be now. She likes to be held, and will talk to us the whole time we talk to her. She lays about 4-5 medium, light-brown eggs a week.
Zion, the Speckled Sussex, named after the beautiful snow-capped red rocks of Zion National Park. We know Zion was born around winter of 2015, and we received her as a teenager. She was very mean when we first got her, and now she is the most social, friendly chicken we have. Zion enjoys being talked to and loves scratches. She lays about 5 small, khaki-colored eggs per week.
Meet my chicks. This was our first time ever raising babies, all born March, 2016:
Aztec, my first rooster, named so because he looks like a mighty tribal warrior. Aztec came from a batch of chicks that should have all been mixed breeds, but we suspecting he's actually an Americauna. We weren't expecting roosters. He has been standoffish and aloof since we got him at about a week old, and he reminds me of a teenage boy. He was clearly a roo from the time he was about two months old. He's getting more handsome by the week, and the girls have finally started to notice him. Since he has been allowed to...umm...hook up with a few of them, he's calmed down a lot. Today was his first day crowing.
This is King Midas' Silver (it's a joke from the movie Dodgeball). Silver was a very large, very feisty female...until he started growing tail feathers and a large comb. Surprise...two out of five chicks were roos! Silver started crowing yesterday and thinks he's a big tough guy. He's currently vying for dominance with Aztec, and if it continues, he's going to my sister's house. Silver is aloof, but is becoming protective of his ladies.
Moonshine, one of my two female chicks. Moonshine is much smaller than the others, so we're hoping everything is all right. She is very friendly and likes to make sure everyone is included. Unfortunately, both Aztec and Silver have a crush on her, so she's getting more attention that she'd like. Hopefully she'll begin laying eggs by fall.
Hexen, my second female chick. Hexen is a lady of extremes. She loves to follow us around the yard and chat, constantly chirping at us with her musical voice. She likes to be held and falls asleep in my arms within seconds. She also likes to peck, and has pecked both my dog and I in the eye. We're hoping she is being afflicted by the pre-egg-laying attitude, and that she'll stop pecking when she's more mature. She is gorgeous and has the prettiest voice.
The newcomers, who we received about a month ago because we had some surprise roosters:
Phoenix, the Bantam Menace. Phoenix was born approximately in February of 2016. She is very shy and is having difficulty fitting in with the chicks and older ladies, but the other two (below) hang out with her. Phoenix loves dust bathing more than anything else.
Hennifer, the Orpington. Hennifer came with Phoenix and Belle, and she was born approximately March, 2016. Hennifer is the nicest chicken I have ever met. She walks right up to us and looks up with a chicken-smile, waiting to be held. She'll snuggle in and fall asleep in our arms within seconds. Hennifer is our resident sweetheart.
Southern Bell, our proper little lady. She's becoming fuzzier by the day, her whiskers growing so she looks like she's wearing fancy furs. Bell was born in April, 2016, and she likes to hang out with her sisters who came at the same time as her. She doesn't like to be held, but she does like to hang out with everyone, and she goes crazy for meal worms.
