The Big Girls
June Bug (lead hen):
She's a 2+ year old (hatchery stock) black australorp. She's a great lead hen and a wonderful chicken in general. She's not a lap chicken, but is very mellow. She's quite vocal and knows her name (she'll come running from the other side of the property when I call for her...lol). Her best buddy is my barred rock Dixie. They've been tight since they were chicks. And when Dixie had a really hard molt this past fall and wouldn't leave the coop, June Bug would stay inside with her, even when I was tossing scratch down outside. We all know how much chickens LOVE treats, so that shows the level of their friendship.
Dixie Chick:
Dixie is a 2+ year old (hatchery stock) barred rock. Like most BRs, she's friendly and inquisitive...full of personality. Her BFF is June Bug.
Daisy Mae:
She's a 2+ year old (hatchery stock) gold laced wyandotte. She's 2nd in command, and kind of a meany to lower birds sometimes. She's the only hen I have that I've seen "disciplined" by my even tempered lead hen. She's smart (often in an evil way...lol). I think wyandottes are so pretty, but because she has bully tendancies, I doubt I'll get any more in the future.
Mary Ann:
A 2+ year old buff orpington, she's the only true "lap chicken" of my four original girls. She'll peck at your legs/pants legs to be picked up/cuddled, and has actually run other chickens off my lap so she could hop up for some grooming/petting. Although she's at the bottom of the pecking order among my older girls, she doesn't put up with anything from our rooster.
Earl:
He's a 3+ year old d'uccle that we picked up from a friend of DH's (who had about a bazillion roosters) in 2010. He was a mess when we got him, with lice and scaly leg mites. So he spent his quarantine time being treated with Adams, Ivomec., and leg/foot treatments. He's been a great rooster with the girls. He encourages nesting, calls them for treats, and doesn't mate unless invited. And since he's so small, mating doesn't impact their feathers much at all. He's not much of a protector though. He's probably the first to head for cover when hawks or other intimidating forces are present...lol. That's okay though, I still consider him a keeper.
The Little Girls
Joy: An 11 month old d'uccle and leader of my banty group. She's a cutie, and man can that girl fly! It's hilarious to watch her stare down pullets who are 3x her size. She came from Tractor Supply, so is hatchery stock.
Tinkerbell: An 11 month old blue hatchery silkie, she is FULL of personality. She's very demanding of treats, and is assertive as all get out about getting her share among my big girls....very assertive. Plus she's just hilarious to watch and talk with. She's so quirky and talkative. She'd make a good house chicken (although she's not one). She's been broody twice already, and was like the Tazmanian Devil (from Bugs Bunny) both times. Both she and Honey Bun have been excellent layers, generally laying 5-6 eggs a week. That surprised me.
Honey Bun: She an 11 month old red hatchery silkie that I think is as cute as a button (although I know others may find her homely). She's an odd bird - maybe all silkies are odd?? She's quite talkative. She's also very assertive when it comes to food/treats. Again, these are my first silkies, so maybe they're all that way??? Honey has been broody once so far.
The New Girls
The new girls arrived as day olds in August 11, and are now 20 weeks old. Molly, Xena, and Autumn are my new EE girls. I'm looking forward to green eggs soon. Pearl is a splash andalusian (I thought she was a hamburg originally) and Jenny a partridge rock. They're all hatchery stock. I have to say that this is the friendliest group of chicks I've ever had. Molly (the EE in the first pic) is the leader of this little band. Below in order are: Molly, Xena, Pearl, Autumn/Jenny, the youngins' in the landscaping, and Jenny.
June Bug (lead hen):
She's a 2+ year old (hatchery stock) black australorp. She's a great lead hen and a wonderful chicken in general. She's not a lap chicken, but is very mellow. She's quite vocal and knows her name (she'll come running from the other side of the property when I call for her...lol). Her best buddy is my barred rock Dixie. They've been tight since they were chicks. And when Dixie had a really hard molt this past fall and wouldn't leave the coop, June Bug would stay inside with her, even when I was tossing scratch down outside. We all know how much chickens LOVE treats, so that shows the level of their friendship.
Dixie Chick:
Dixie is a 2+ year old (hatchery stock) barred rock. Like most BRs, she's friendly and inquisitive...full of personality. Her BFF is June Bug.
Daisy Mae:
She's a 2+ year old (hatchery stock) gold laced wyandotte. She's 2nd in command, and kind of a meany to lower birds sometimes. She's the only hen I have that I've seen "disciplined" by my even tempered lead hen. She's smart (often in an evil way...lol). I think wyandottes are so pretty, but because she has bully tendancies, I doubt I'll get any more in the future.
Mary Ann:
A 2+ year old buff orpington, she's the only true "lap chicken" of my four original girls. She'll peck at your legs/pants legs to be picked up/cuddled, and has actually run other chickens off my lap so she could hop up for some grooming/petting. Although she's at the bottom of the pecking order among my older girls, she doesn't put up with anything from our rooster.
Earl:
He's a 3+ year old d'uccle that we picked up from a friend of DH's (who had about a bazillion roosters) in 2010. He was a mess when we got him, with lice and scaly leg mites. So he spent his quarantine time being treated with Adams, Ivomec., and leg/foot treatments. He's been a great rooster with the girls. He encourages nesting, calls them for treats, and doesn't mate unless invited. And since he's so small, mating doesn't impact their feathers much at all. He's not much of a protector though. He's probably the first to head for cover when hawks or other intimidating forces are present...lol. That's okay though, I still consider him a keeper.
The Little Girls
Joy: An 11 month old d'uccle and leader of my banty group. She's a cutie, and man can that girl fly! It's hilarious to watch her stare down pullets who are 3x her size. She came from Tractor Supply, so is hatchery stock.
Tinkerbell: An 11 month old blue hatchery silkie, she is FULL of personality. She's very demanding of treats, and is assertive as all get out about getting her share among my big girls....very assertive. Plus she's just hilarious to watch and talk with. She's so quirky and talkative. She'd make a good house chicken (although she's not one). She's been broody twice already, and was like the Tazmanian Devil (from Bugs Bunny) both times. Both she and Honey Bun have been excellent layers, generally laying 5-6 eggs a week. That surprised me.
Honey Bun: She an 11 month old red hatchery silkie that I think is as cute as a button (although I know others may find her homely). She's an odd bird - maybe all silkies are odd?? She's quite talkative. She's also very assertive when it comes to food/treats. Again, these are my first silkies, so maybe they're all that way??? Honey has been broody once so far.
The New Girls
The new girls arrived as day olds in August 11, and are now 20 weeks old. Molly, Xena, and Autumn are my new EE girls. I'm looking forward to green eggs soon. Pearl is a splash andalusian (I thought she was a hamburg originally) and Jenny a partridge rock. They're all hatchery stock. I have to say that this is the friendliest group of chicks I've ever had. Molly (the EE in the first pic) is the leader of this little band. Below in order are: Molly, Xena, Pearl, Autumn/Jenny, the youngins' in the landscaping, and Jenny.
