Just recently I came to a realization of just how many chickens I've owned in the 4 1/2 years of raising them. For most of them, I have pictures, but some I do not. I've laughed, cried, gotten angry, and everything in between, but I just love raising chickens.
The history- we originally thought of getting chickens because of how good people would say the farm fresh eggs are. I was in! In just a few months, we built a coop and got those first fluffballs. I had no clue what to expect! Suddenly I found myself falling head-over-heels for these birds we wanted the eggs from. Just a couple weeks after getting them, I realized that now I was also raising them for the simple enjoyment. No one ever told me that I would get attached to a chicken more than I did a dog!
Their names, breeds, personalities, and causes of death (if applicable) are as listed in order listed.
The first batch
Unfortunately I only have pictures of 1 of the 10 chickens from this batch.
Foghorn Leghorn (BSL)- top rooster and wonderful flock protector, best rooster I've had yet; death in bear attack
Colonel Chicken (BSL)- TROUBLE, attacked everyone despite all efforts to make him stop; death by us as he started to attack a young relative constantly
Mr. Groove (BSL)- trouble as well, not as aggressive as Colonel Chicken but still very aggressive; death in a fight with Foghorn
Rodger (BSL)- the sweetest rooster I've ever had, loved human company; death in bear attack
Mrs. New York (Australorp)- top hen, sassy personality, laid huge eggs; death in bear attack
Regina (Australorp)- quiet and modest layer; death in bear attack
Buttercup (Australorp)- very sweet hen, low in pecking order; death in bear attack
Marilla (Unknown)- a very lovable hen, loved to be held, fell asleep in my arms often; death in bear attack
Chester (possibly BO)- antisocial and flighty hen, good layer; death in bear attack
Ginger (Partridge Plymouth Rock)- antisocial for a while, now very sweet, great layer, only chicken left from batch, top hen in current flock; not dead yet
(Ginger)
After the bear attack, Ginger was left lonely until we got 2 more adult hens. They were:
Hennrietta (RIR)- very sweet darling, active despite age, wonderful layer, good at bringing a smile to my face; death by old age at over 6 years old
Madeleine (RIR)- sassy, not fond of being held, had very thick feathers, loved to sunbathe; death of old age
The next spring we got the second batch of chicks. They are:
Matthew (BPR)- although a hen she led me to believe by her behavior and fast maturing she was a he, quiet member of the flock, rather small, almost died last year yet surprised us all by pulling though and now enjoying her chicken life again; not dead yet
Merriweather (BPR)- unique with her floppy comb, can be aggressive at times, loves to eat bugs; not dead yet
Nutmeg (EE)- goes broody often, EE with brown egg gene, very puffy cheeks, my little jumping girl; not dead yet
Chipmunk (EE)- antisocial, not fond of being held, green egg layer, quiet; not dead yet
Cinnamon (EE)- very sweet girl, blue egg layer, not good at posing for pictures; not dead yet
Sunshine (unknown)- sweet little chick, quiet, unfortunately was sick; death by sickness (no picture)
Rosie (RIR)- quiet girl, not fond of being held; death of ovarian cancer
Runt (BSL)- small as a chick but now very big, big attitude as well as heart, known for big eggs; not dead yet (no picture)
Red (Australorp)- quiet, aggressive towards new chicks; not dead yet
Lucy (Partridge Plymouth Rock)- big hen with a big heart, sweet; not dead yet (no picture)
Also with that batch we bought 3 ducks:
Daffy (Pekin)- noisy, trouble, mean to my hens
Daisy (Pekin)- noisy, also trouble, also mean to my hens
(Daffy on left and Daisy on right)
Frederick (unknown)- sweet boy, somewhat trouble, thought I was a "lady duck" so was amorous towards me
I had to sell the ducks because of how they didn't get along well with my chickens. They went to a nearby farm who kept only ducks, so I'm glad they're with their own kind.
We originally got chickens for the eggs, but as they grew I found that I was starting to grow attached to them! The first chickens were only 6 months old when a bear broke into the coop at night and killed 7 out of 8. It was devastating, but we didn't stop. Shortly after getting the second batch of chicks, I was diagnosed with the common disease of chicken math. To day, I still have it, but I don't suffer from it. I enjoy it as I hope my flock does.
The history- we originally thought of getting chickens because of how good people would say the farm fresh eggs are. I was in! In just a few months, we built a coop and got those first fluffballs. I had no clue what to expect! Suddenly I found myself falling head-over-heels for these birds we wanted the eggs from. Just a couple weeks after getting them, I realized that now I was also raising them for the simple enjoyment. No one ever told me that I would get attached to a chicken more than I did a dog!
Their names, breeds, personalities, and causes of death (if applicable) are as listed in order listed.
The first batch
Unfortunately I only have pictures of 1 of the 10 chickens from this batch.
Foghorn Leghorn (BSL)- top rooster and wonderful flock protector, best rooster I've had yet; death in bear attack
Colonel Chicken (BSL)- TROUBLE, attacked everyone despite all efforts to make him stop; death by us as he started to attack a young relative constantly
Mr. Groove (BSL)- trouble as well, not as aggressive as Colonel Chicken but still very aggressive; death in a fight with Foghorn
Rodger (BSL)- the sweetest rooster I've ever had, loved human company; death in bear attack
Mrs. New York (Australorp)- top hen, sassy personality, laid huge eggs; death in bear attack
Regina (Australorp)- quiet and modest layer; death in bear attack
Buttercup (Australorp)- very sweet hen, low in pecking order; death in bear attack
Marilla (Unknown)- a very lovable hen, loved to be held, fell asleep in my arms often; death in bear attack
Chester (possibly BO)- antisocial and flighty hen, good layer; death in bear attack
Ginger (Partridge Plymouth Rock)- antisocial for a while, now very sweet, great layer, only chicken left from batch, top hen in current flock; not dead yet
(Ginger)
After the bear attack, Ginger was left lonely until we got 2 more adult hens. They were:
Hennrietta (RIR)- very sweet darling, active despite age, wonderful layer, good at bringing a smile to my face; death by old age at over 6 years old
Madeleine (RIR)- sassy, not fond of being held, had very thick feathers, loved to sunbathe; death of old age
The next spring we got the second batch of chicks. They are:
Matthew (BPR)- although a hen she led me to believe by her behavior and fast maturing she was a he, quiet member of the flock, rather small, almost died last year yet surprised us all by pulling though and now enjoying her chicken life again; not dead yet
Merriweather (BPR)- unique with her floppy comb, can be aggressive at times, loves to eat bugs; not dead yet
Nutmeg (EE)- goes broody often, EE with brown egg gene, very puffy cheeks, my little jumping girl; not dead yet
Chipmunk (EE)- antisocial, not fond of being held, green egg layer, quiet; not dead yet
Cinnamon (EE)- very sweet girl, blue egg layer, not good at posing for pictures; not dead yet
Sunshine (unknown)- sweet little chick, quiet, unfortunately was sick; death by sickness (no picture)
Rosie (RIR)- quiet girl, not fond of being held; death of ovarian cancer
Runt (BSL)- small as a chick but now very big, big attitude as well as heart, known for big eggs; not dead yet (no picture)
Red (Australorp)- quiet, aggressive towards new chicks; not dead yet
Lucy (Partridge Plymouth Rock)- big hen with a big heart, sweet; not dead yet (no picture)
Also with that batch we bought 3 ducks:
Daffy (Pekin)- noisy, trouble, mean to my hens
Daisy (Pekin)- noisy, also trouble, also mean to my hens
(Daffy on left and Daisy on right)
Frederick (unknown)- sweet boy, somewhat trouble, thought I was a "lady duck" so was amorous towards me
I had to sell the ducks because of how they didn't get along well with my chickens. They went to a nearby farm who kept only ducks, so I'm glad they're with their own kind.
We originally got chickens for the eggs, but as they grew I found that I was starting to grow attached to them! The first chickens were only 6 months old when a bear broke into the coop at night and killed 7 out of 8. It was devastating, but we didn't stop. Shortly after getting the second batch of chicks, I was diagnosed with the common disease of chicken math. To day, I still have it, but I don't suffer from it. I enjoy it as I hope my flock does.
