2022 Chicks
April 5, 2022 Chicks:
These chickens are often referred to as my birthday birds, as I got them on my birthday, April 5, 2022. I got thirteen straight-run chicks that day, which consisted of four Orpingtons, four Olive Eggers, three Whiting True Blues, and two French Black Copper Marans.
(I have them listed in alphabetical order by their names, not breeds.)
Beatrix; A Slight Mix-Up:
Beatrix is a Whiting True Blue HEN. She is one of three WTB chicks I got and was supposed the rooster of the trio. As a chick, she was referred to as Marvalo's twin, as she was very similar in markings to Marvalo III, another WTB chick. Beatrix grew up much faster than the other two WTB chicks, which led me to think she was a cockerel. Plus, when she was around six weeks old, her little pea comb reddened. As maturity came, it became obvious that "Bobby," was indeed a "Beatrix." Unfortunately, when I was finally convinced that she was a she, it was after I had rehomed the cockerels of my birthday birds, so she became the reason why I didn't have a rooster. Sometime later, it was discovered that Beatrix had a Hairline Crossbeak, so her not being a rooster turned out to be a good thing after all.
Beatrix as a chick. She was very similar to Marvalo III as a chick, but as she aged, she stopped looking like her little "twin."
Beatrix is quite the beautiful hen, despite her having a well-hidden crossbeak.
Betty; Named After White:
Betty is a Lemon Cuckoo hen. She was named by my brother who named her after the actress, Betty White. Betty was one of two Lemon Cuckoo Orpingtons and was the pullet of the two. At a young age, she learned a simple trick, which is to guess what hand the treat is in, and she lives by it. Whenever she thinks I'm hiding treats from her, she'll start scratching at me or my hands expecting me to give her some. Once, when she was brought to a public event, she showed off her trick to several children and even impressed the firefighters.
Betty as a chick. She dealt with health issues as she grew and treatment didn't help her much. Thankfully, she eventually outgrew the problem and now lives as a healthy hen.
Betty loves treats and is always looking for them. She is one of my friendliest hens.
Blair; She's Not A Marans:
Blair is an Olive Egger hen. She bears the resemblance to my French Black Copper Marans and even lays a dark-colored egg (not the olive-colored eggs she's supposed to lay). Her hackles are a bit lighter in color than the BCM, and it laces in the front. When I got Blair, she was small and appeared unhealthy, but something about her made me want to keep her. She was my thirteenth chick, despite me being supposed to only get twelve, and I wondered if she would survive to maturity. Surprisingly, she did and grew up to be a very healthy hen. She is one of my weird hens in both appearance and stance, and she offers a quiet personality.
Blair appeared sickly as a chick, but her health improved with age.
An Olive Egger who doesn't lay olive eggs takes more after the Black Copper Marans in her lineage than the Whiting True Blue.
Cody; A Cowardly Cockerel:
Cody is an Olive Egger cockerel. He was one of the first chicks I had picked and apparently was sex-linked. It didn't take me too long before I realized he was a cockerel, so I started shooing him away to avoid 'spoiling' him. He developed a skittish personality (which he would have had either way, as my other 'supposed' cockerels weren't skittish as him, despite being shooed away as well). I eventually rehomed him at a chicken swap and ended up regretting it. I was rehoming all my cockerels because I thought 'Bobby' (Beatrix) was a rooster. Had I known that Beatrix was an early maturing pullet, I would have kept him due to his small size.
Cody, an Olive Egger cockerel, was apparently sex-linked.
Cody was very skittish, which made it hard to catch him after a photo shoot.
Eli; The Gentleman:
Eli is a Lemon Cuckoo Orpington rooster. He was a very big cockerel and was a handsome fella. I picked him with Betty due to his color. He was lighter in color than Betty and I hoped that would mean his barring was more obvious. Unfortunately, the lighter color meant he was a cockerel as the Lemon Cuckoo is sex-linked. Eli grew to be a sweet-tempered cockerel who cared a lot for his flock. When my hens Beth II and Shiloh II began bullying his flock of 19, he was the one to stand up to them and defend his flock mates from the 'raptor-hens.' I later had to rehome Eli despite how much I wanted I Lemon Cuckoo rooster to match my Betty. He was going to be a huge rooster, and between a small hen (Marvalo II) in the flock and the grain amount he'd eat, I knew it was best to rehome him.
Out of Eli and Betty, Eli, pictured as a chick here, was my favorite.
Eli was very protective of his flock and would protect them from Shiloh (the blue hen in the back).
Marvalo III; Smallest of the Flock:
Marvalo III is a Whiting True Blue hen. She was named directly after Marvalo I for as a chick, she looked so much like Marvalo I that I couldn't think of naming her anything different. Marvalo III continued to look like Marvalo I even to maturity except for less copper in her hackles and she wasn't crossbeaked. Marvalo III is also much smaller than Marvalo I. In fact, she is the smallest standard-sized hen I have ever had. She is so small, that when my flock had Pinless Peepers, she wasn't able to wear them without them coming out. She has become very skittish amongst her flock mates due to being smaller than them all. She is friendly towards me and will come perch on my lap or even jump to my arm for safety.
Marvalo III looked so much like my first EE, Marvalo I, that I just had to name her after her.
Marvalo is the smallest in my flock and is at the bottom of the pecking order as a result.
Midnight; Midnight Majesty:
Midnight is a Black Split-Lavender Orpington hen. Like she is royalty, she has the full name, Midnight Majesty, though she's only ever called "Midnight." I had been wanting a Black Orpington for a while, so when I heard this seller who had these chicks had some, I was very excited. I picked Midnight as the only Black Orpington chick and hoped and prayed that she was a pullet (these chicks were all straight-run). I often referred to Midnight as "my baby," but as she grew, I worried that she was a cockerel due to her large size and her wattles reddening early, so I didn't spend as much time with her as I would have liked. Thankfully, she was a pullet and I was overjoyed. Midnight has become the most beautiful hen in my flock with her glorious fluff and shimmering black feathers. Her favorite thing is to perch on something that is low to the ground, even if it's my ankle when I'm sitting in the chicken yard.
Midnight was one of my favorite chicks.
Midnight Majesty; she definitely is one of my most impressive hens.
Phoebe; Lost Amongst Predators:
Phoebe was a French Black Copper Marans hen. When she was only three months old, I had nearly lost her forever. While I wasn't home, Phoebe had escaped and got chased off by my neighbor's cat, Brute. She hid somewhere on my neighbor's property for the night while everyone searched for her until sometime past dark. Foxes and cats were both active that night which led me to believe at least one of them had gotten her. Shockingly, the next day around noontime, Phoebe came walking out across the neighbor's yard unharmed! After that, the run was secured so she wouldn't escape and she never again spent another night outside. Sadly, she passed away a year and a half later, but I'm so thankful I got to have that extra time with her.
Despite going on a risky adventure at three months old, Phoebe was never the adventurous type before or after.
Phoebe often was a part of my photoshoots away from home, just as she was in this picture above.
My post after Phoebe was found:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-duckwings-flock-thread.1505879/post-25979234
BYC link of Phoebe's fatal illness:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hen-not-acting-well-poop-picture.1612128/
Sarah; The Only One Like Her:
Sarah was a Whiting True Blue hen. She was one of my all-time favorite hens due to her gentleness and the love she had for me. She'd often jump up on my lap and sit there while I petted her. Sometimes, she'd even fall asleep there. Sarah was always gentle, and I sometimes wanted to change her name to one that meant 'dove.' She did like to scratch me with her beak a lot, but that was her way of asking for treats. She also had the tendency to be 'jealous' of other chickens who were getting more attention than her. She was always sweet though, and for her gentleness and friendliness, I've never had a hen like her, and I don't think I ever will. I unexpectedly lost her on May 22, 2024, and I was absolutely devastated. She was my very special girl and forever will be.
Even as a chick, Sarah loved to cuddle up on me and was already being as sweet as she could be.
Sarah hated photoshoots, as one can see in this picture, but she was a very beautiful and unique hen.
BYC link to her memorial thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rip-sarah.1625247/
Smokey; One Big Orpington:
Smokey was a Lavender Orpington rooster. He was the extra chick I had gotten when I had gotten this batch and was the one my Mom had wanted. He was one of two Lavender Orpingtons that the lady that I got these chicks off from had, and to me, he looked like the better out of the two. He was always living in Eli's shadow, despite being a big guy, and I eventually rehomed him.
Smokey was very photogenic as a chick, and I captured some great pictures of him.
Smokey, originally named Sapphire, was always named after his color.
Turbulence; The One With the Beard:
Turbulence is an Olive Egger hen. When I got her as a chick, she was the cutest chick in the hatch with her extremely fluffy cheeks and feathered shanks. Being so cute, I assumed she was a cockerel at first, but much to my delight, she was a pullet. As she grew, she grew one of the most impressive beards I had ever seen on a chicken. Instead of the usual fluff, her beard was feathers like her hackles! They were long and impressive, and with such a beard, she drew in the attraction of my family. Unfortunately, much to my horror, my hen Valerie was not impressed. She had plucked Turbulance's amazing beard and have not allowed it to grow back since.
Turbulence was the cutest chick in her batch, and she knew it.
Up until her beard was plucked, Turbulence was the favorite by appearance by most of my family.
Valerie; Starter of Troubles:
Valerie is an Olive Egger hen. Of the three Olive Eggers that I got, she is the only one who actually laid an olive egg, thus that being the reason why I still have her. She has been nothing but trouble, which she started at an early age. When she was four months old, she laid her first egg, which was good, but shortly after, she went broody and I didn't have a rooster nor was looking to hatch. Soon after, she picked up the habit of feather plucking, particularly, beard plucking. Then at some point, she started mounting other hens, and she chose my crossbeak, Amber, as her 'favorite.' Getting a rooster about a year later stopped her on that last part, and Pinless Peepers has slowed her down a little on the feather plucking, but she still likes to be broody, even if she still lays her eggs while she's brooding just to stay out of broody jail.
Valerie was never cute, but her Splash markings are what caused me to get her.
Valerie often wore Pinless Peepers in an attempt to stop her and her naughty ways.
BYC link to a weird nail she had as a pullet:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/weird-nail-growth.1523304/
BYC link to her 'mounting' issue:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hen-mounting-other-hens.1569018/
BYC article that I wrote using her as the example on Pinless Peepers:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-to-apply-pinless-peepers.78669/
Victoria II; Never Reaching 'Show-Bird' Level:
Victoria II was a French Black Copper Marans hen. She was named after my hen, Victoria I, for she looked a lot like her. I had hoped she would reach my term called 'Show-Bird' as Victoria I failed to reach it due to a bee sting, but unfortunately, Victoria II never reached it either. Like Valerie, she became a beard-plucker, so in her first year during my Fall photoshoot, she was wearing Pinless Peepers. Then over the winter as the plucking became worse, she was soon plucked as well. She eventually molted, but her feathers never grew back the same. Victoria sadly passed away on November 15, 2023, and her feather issue remained undiagnosed.
Victoria II was named after Victoria I, and I had high hopes that she'd accomplish what Victoria I never was able to.
Though Victoria missed all other photoshoot opportunities, she did manage to get a good Christmas photoshoot.
There was a second batch of chicks in this year, but they are not included here. Someday I might finish this page, but as time passes, it becomes unlikely. This page was saved as a draft for quite some time and I figured it's about time to make it visible. ~March 25, 2025
These chickens are often referred to as my birthday birds, as I got them on my birthday, April 5, 2022. I got thirteen straight-run chicks that day, which consisted of four Orpingtons, four Olive Eggers, three Whiting True Blues, and two French Black Copper Marans.
(I have them listed in alphabetical order by their names, not breeds.)
Beatrix; A Slight Mix-Up:
Beatrix is a Whiting True Blue HEN. She is one of three WTB chicks I got and was supposed the rooster of the trio. As a chick, she was referred to as Marvalo's twin, as she was very similar in markings to Marvalo III, another WTB chick. Beatrix grew up much faster than the other two WTB chicks, which led me to think she was a cockerel. Plus, when she was around six weeks old, her little pea comb reddened. As maturity came, it became obvious that "Bobby," was indeed a "Beatrix." Unfortunately, when I was finally convinced that she was a she, it was after I had rehomed the cockerels of my birthday birds, so she became the reason why I didn't have a rooster. Sometime later, it was discovered that Beatrix had a Hairline Crossbeak, so her not being a rooster turned out to be a good thing after all.
Beatrix as a chick. She was very similar to Marvalo III as a chick, but as she aged, she stopped looking like her little "twin."
Beatrix is quite the beautiful hen, despite her having a well-hidden crossbeak.
Betty; Named After White:
Betty is a Lemon Cuckoo hen. She was named by my brother who named her after the actress, Betty White. Betty was one of two Lemon Cuckoo Orpingtons and was the pullet of the two. At a young age, she learned a simple trick, which is to guess what hand the treat is in, and she lives by it. Whenever she thinks I'm hiding treats from her, she'll start scratching at me or my hands expecting me to give her some. Once, when she was brought to a public event, she showed off her trick to several children and even impressed the firefighters.
Betty as a chick. She dealt with health issues as she grew and treatment didn't help her much. Thankfully, she eventually outgrew the problem and now lives as a healthy hen.
Betty loves treats and is always looking for them. She is one of my friendliest hens.
Blair; She's Not A Marans:
Blair is an Olive Egger hen. She bears the resemblance to my French Black Copper Marans and even lays a dark-colored egg (not the olive-colored eggs she's supposed to lay). Her hackles are a bit lighter in color than the BCM, and it laces in the front. When I got Blair, she was small and appeared unhealthy, but something about her made me want to keep her. She was my thirteenth chick, despite me being supposed to only get twelve, and I wondered if she would survive to maturity. Surprisingly, she did and grew up to be a very healthy hen. She is one of my weird hens in both appearance and stance, and she offers a quiet personality.
Blair appeared sickly as a chick, but her health improved with age.
An Olive Egger who doesn't lay olive eggs takes more after the Black Copper Marans in her lineage than the Whiting True Blue.
Cody; A Cowardly Cockerel:
Cody is an Olive Egger cockerel. He was one of the first chicks I had picked and apparently was sex-linked. It didn't take me too long before I realized he was a cockerel, so I started shooing him away to avoid 'spoiling' him. He developed a skittish personality (which he would have had either way, as my other 'supposed' cockerels weren't skittish as him, despite being shooed away as well). I eventually rehomed him at a chicken swap and ended up regretting it. I was rehoming all my cockerels because I thought 'Bobby' (Beatrix) was a rooster. Had I known that Beatrix was an early maturing pullet, I would have kept him due to his small size.
Cody, an Olive Egger cockerel, was apparently sex-linked.
Cody was very skittish, which made it hard to catch him after a photo shoot.
Eli; The Gentleman:
Eli is a Lemon Cuckoo Orpington rooster. He was a very big cockerel and was a handsome fella. I picked him with Betty due to his color. He was lighter in color than Betty and I hoped that would mean his barring was more obvious. Unfortunately, the lighter color meant he was a cockerel as the Lemon Cuckoo is sex-linked. Eli grew to be a sweet-tempered cockerel who cared a lot for his flock. When my hens Beth II and Shiloh II began bullying his flock of 19, he was the one to stand up to them and defend his flock mates from the 'raptor-hens.' I later had to rehome Eli despite how much I wanted I Lemon Cuckoo rooster to match my Betty. He was going to be a huge rooster, and between a small hen (Marvalo II) in the flock and the grain amount he'd eat, I knew it was best to rehome him.
Out of Eli and Betty, Eli, pictured as a chick here, was my favorite.
Eli was very protective of his flock and would protect them from Shiloh (the blue hen in the back).
Marvalo III; Smallest of the Flock:
Marvalo III is a Whiting True Blue hen. She was named directly after Marvalo I for as a chick, she looked so much like Marvalo I that I couldn't think of naming her anything different. Marvalo III continued to look like Marvalo I even to maturity except for less copper in her hackles and she wasn't crossbeaked. Marvalo III is also much smaller than Marvalo I. In fact, she is the smallest standard-sized hen I have ever had. She is so small, that when my flock had Pinless Peepers, she wasn't able to wear them without them coming out. She has become very skittish amongst her flock mates due to being smaller than them all. She is friendly towards me and will come perch on my lap or even jump to my arm for safety.
Marvalo III looked so much like my first EE, Marvalo I, that I just had to name her after her.
Marvalo is the smallest in my flock and is at the bottom of the pecking order as a result.
Midnight; Midnight Majesty:
Midnight is a Black Split-Lavender Orpington hen. Like she is royalty, she has the full name, Midnight Majesty, though she's only ever called "Midnight." I had been wanting a Black Orpington for a while, so when I heard this seller who had these chicks had some, I was very excited. I picked Midnight as the only Black Orpington chick and hoped and prayed that she was a pullet (these chicks were all straight-run). I often referred to Midnight as "my baby," but as she grew, I worried that she was a cockerel due to her large size and her wattles reddening early, so I didn't spend as much time with her as I would have liked. Thankfully, she was a pullet and I was overjoyed. Midnight has become the most beautiful hen in my flock with her glorious fluff and shimmering black feathers. Her favorite thing is to perch on something that is low to the ground, even if it's my ankle when I'm sitting in the chicken yard.
Midnight was one of my favorite chicks.
Midnight Majesty; she definitely is one of my most impressive hens.
Phoebe; Lost Amongst Predators:
Phoebe was a French Black Copper Marans hen. When she was only three months old, I had nearly lost her forever. While I wasn't home, Phoebe had escaped and got chased off by my neighbor's cat, Brute. She hid somewhere on my neighbor's property for the night while everyone searched for her until sometime past dark. Foxes and cats were both active that night which led me to believe at least one of them had gotten her. Shockingly, the next day around noontime, Phoebe came walking out across the neighbor's yard unharmed! After that, the run was secured so she wouldn't escape and she never again spent another night outside. Sadly, she passed away a year and a half later, but I'm so thankful I got to have that extra time with her.
Despite going on a risky adventure at three months old, Phoebe was never the adventurous type before or after.
Phoebe often was a part of my photoshoots away from home, just as she was in this picture above.
My post after Phoebe was found:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-duckwings-flock-thread.1505879/post-25979234
BYC link of Phoebe's fatal illness:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hen-not-acting-well-poop-picture.1612128/
Sarah; The Only One Like Her:
Sarah was a Whiting True Blue hen. She was one of my all-time favorite hens due to her gentleness and the love she had for me. She'd often jump up on my lap and sit there while I petted her. Sometimes, she'd even fall asleep there. Sarah was always gentle, and I sometimes wanted to change her name to one that meant 'dove.' She did like to scratch me with her beak a lot, but that was her way of asking for treats. She also had the tendency to be 'jealous' of other chickens who were getting more attention than her. She was always sweet though, and for her gentleness and friendliness, I've never had a hen like her, and I don't think I ever will. I unexpectedly lost her on May 22, 2024, and I was absolutely devastated. She was my very special girl and forever will be.
Even as a chick, Sarah loved to cuddle up on me and was already being as sweet as she could be.
Sarah hated photoshoots, as one can see in this picture, but she was a very beautiful and unique hen.
BYC link to her memorial thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rip-sarah.1625247/
Smokey; One Big Orpington:
Smokey was a Lavender Orpington rooster. He was the extra chick I had gotten when I had gotten this batch and was the one my Mom had wanted. He was one of two Lavender Orpingtons that the lady that I got these chicks off from had, and to me, he looked like the better out of the two. He was always living in Eli's shadow, despite being a big guy, and I eventually rehomed him.
Smokey was very photogenic as a chick, and I captured some great pictures of him.
Smokey, originally named Sapphire, was always named after his color.
Turbulence; The One With the Beard:
Turbulence is an Olive Egger hen. When I got her as a chick, she was the cutest chick in the hatch with her extremely fluffy cheeks and feathered shanks. Being so cute, I assumed she was a cockerel at first, but much to my delight, she was a pullet. As she grew, she grew one of the most impressive beards I had ever seen on a chicken. Instead of the usual fluff, her beard was feathers like her hackles! They were long and impressive, and with such a beard, she drew in the attraction of my family. Unfortunately, much to my horror, my hen Valerie was not impressed. She had plucked Turbulance's amazing beard and have not allowed it to grow back since.
Turbulence was the cutest chick in her batch, and she knew it.
Up until her beard was plucked, Turbulence was the favorite by appearance by most of my family.
Valerie; Starter of Troubles:
Valerie is an Olive Egger hen. Of the three Olive Eggers that I got, she is the only one who actually laid an olive egg, thus that being the reason why I still have her. She has been nothing but trouble, which she started at an early age. When she was four months old, she laid her first egg, which was good, but shortly after, she went broody and I didn't have a rooster nor was looking to hatch. Soon after, she picked up the habit of feather plucking, particularly, beard plucking. Then at some point, she started mounting other hens, and she chose my crossbeak, Amber, as her 'favorite.' Getting a rooster about a year later stopped her on that last part, and Pinless Peepers has slowed her down a little on the feather plucking, but she still likes to be broody, even if she still lays her eggs while she's brooding just to stay out of broody jail.
Valerie was never cute, but her Splash markings are what caused me to get her.
Valerie often wore Pinless Peepers in an attempt to stop her and her naughty ways.
BYC link to a weird nail she had as a pullet:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/weird-nail-growth.1523304/
BYC link to her 'mounting' issue:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hen-mounting-other-hens.1569018/
BYC article that I wrote using her as the example on Pinless Peepers:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-to-apply-pinless-peepers.78669/
Victoria II; Never Reaching 'Show-Bird' Level:
Victoria II was a French Black Copper Marans hen. She was named after my hen, Victoria I, for she looked a lot like her. I had hoped she would reach my term called 'Show-Bird' as Victoria I failed to reach it due to a bee sting, but unfortunately, Victoria II never reached it either. Like Valerie, she became a beard-plucker, so in her first year during my Fall photoshoot, she was wearing Pinless Peepers. Then over the winter as the plucking became worse, she was soon plucked as well. She eventually molted, but her feathers never grew back the same. Victoria sadly passed away on November 15, 2023, and her feather issue remained undiagnosed.
Victoria II was named after Victoria I, and I had high hopes that she'd accomplish what Victoria I never was able to.
Though Victoria missed all other photoshoot opportunities, she did manage to get a good Christmas photoshoot.
There was a second batch of chicks in this year, but they are not included here. Someday I might finish this page, but as time passes, it becomes unlikely. This page was saved as a draft for quite some time and I figured it's about time to make it visible. ~March 25, 2025
- Previous page: Flock from 2020 to 2022
Thanks for sharing!