Of the three only 1 is left, the one in the middle, Grace. Three original girls of the coop...
I keep the girls for eggs and for pets. I try not to over do any of their care, but give more than just adequate care, since they are kind of like pets.
I started with chickens in the spring of 2012. I originally got a total of about 30, in 3 batches, most from a breeder (in Michigan). I picked them up myself. The third batch of 8, I got were Black Copper and Blue Marans from a breeder close by. I split the groups with a friend of mine, some were roo's that went to freezer camp and a whole batch didn't make it. And I ended up with 8 for the winter, 4 Marans, 2 EEs, and 2 Sex links. In the spring of of 2013 I got 2 more groups from Meyer hatchery this time. The total that I kept were 14. Unfortunately that December two neighbor dogs running loose killed 9 and injured the remaining 5. I nursed those 5 back to health and have them yet today. They are 1 Blue Marans and 1 EE (both from my original groups) and 2 RIR's and 1 BO from the spring's order. The spring of 2014 I ordered 23 more chicks from Meyer Htchery in 2 batches, thinking "if I got that many roos before, I had better order extra". Right? Anyway, I only got 1 roo from Meyer in those orders. Oh well! It's all good! I also got 6 beautiful silkie chickies from a good friend who breeds them and 4 of those were roos. I actually was able to rehome all of the roos at a BYC chicken stock in Michigan! It was great fun to meet everyone and see the folks getting the roos who really wanted roos for breeding and pets! I also sold 3 BO's to a fellow BYCer also in Michigan, but not at chicken stock. She still has them! And loves them! Yay!
Now I am at 24 hens. While my coop and run can hold 32 (at 4 sq ft per bird), I think 24 is optimal. Maybe 3 or 4 more standard and a few more silkies. IF... I take out my storage and give a low narrow loft area in the coop, for bad weather days, it might work just fine! Chicken math you know!
In naming the girls, my sister and my grandkids helped pick out all but one name. The original EE named Naomi is so named because no one could come up with a name. After about 6 months of calling her No Name, I finally named her Naomi. Using the letters from N-O-N-A-M-E, I rearranged a little and swapped the the "e" for an "i". Poor Naomi. But at least she has a name!
So here is my current list and pics!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/6722413/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/6700431/
Thank you! And I hope you enjoyed looking at the Girls!
My run and coop pages.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/updated-my-coop-for-a-french-hen-the-run-2
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/my-coop-for-a-french-hen
