Hi there, I live in a fairly urban area in Florida and keep a few chickens plus other pets. Here's a little bit about everyone, as of May 2024:
Claudia, a speckled Sussex. Purchased from the feed store in June 2023 and raised by a broody hen. Like her mom, she's pretty flighty. She also survived being grabbed by a neighbor's dog early on. She's currently on the bottom of the pecking order in the flock.
Claudio, a speckled Sussex rooster. Like Claudia, he was purchased from a feed store in June 2023 and raised by a broody hen. We didn't intend to have a rooster, but he was just too pretty to eat! He wears a DIY no crow collar, which is pretty helpful in being able to keep him in a backyard environment and he still has a high quality of life. I know this is a controversial topic, so perhaps I will write an article on it sometime.
Pizza Works is a street chicken from the Florida Keys. She's the white pullet on the far right in the bottom photo, pictured with her siblings. She's named for the pizza place she was hatched next to. She looks similar to a white leghorn, but has some stray black feathers and lays light brown eggs. Despite raising her and her siblings from day-old chicks, they have all remained quite feral! One of her sisters has joined a friend's coop and goes broody frequently, but Pizza has yet to do so, She hatched in May 2022.
Banshee, a silver-laced wyandotte. Named for Siouxsie and the Banshees and their striking white-on-black post-punk pre-goth aesthetic. She was purchased from a feed store in October 2021
Turu, an easter egger. The most outgoing of that batch of chicks, so I initially thought she might be a cockerel when she was a tiny chick. Between that and how floofy her muff is, she was a shoe-in to stay. She lays greenish eggs Purchased from a feed store in October 2021
Leca, another easter egger. I fell in love with her coloring and had to keep her! She and my other EE are named after the Spanish kids' song "La Gallina Turuleca" If you're curious, "turuleca" means something sort of like "crazy" or "silly", which I think is a good fit for most chickens. She lays light blue eggs and was purchased from a feed store in October 2021.
Betty White, a golden-laced wyandotte, named for another Golden Girl! Being the animal lover she was, I don't think she would mind the tribute. She was purchased from a feed store in October 2021 and was named around the time that her namesake passed.
Top, most of the flock (everyone except Pizza) pictured in April 2024 happily munching on some rotten plums from a neighbor's tree. Bottom, some new chicks ordered from Meyer's in May 2024, including some Polish chickens! I'll try to remember and update once we decide who is staying from the latest batch of chicks.
Non-chicken flock members:
The rest of my crew, Oka (calico kitty), Mango (orange kitty), and Lantana (brindle hound mix). Both cats were found as stray kittens, Mango in New Mexico and Oka in Miami. Lantana is a rescue from rural North Florida. All are shockingly tolerant of the chickens!
Not pictured: my husband, two freshwater aquariums, and the mealworm farm!
Past flock members:
Frankenchicken, a Rhode Island Red, posing here with her very first egg! Her name comes from when she was attacked by a possum who put a big, deep gash in the back of her head. Fortunately she made a full recovery with some TLC, and had a big scar like Frankenstein's monster. She was my most vocal chicken. We had to put her down in May 2024 due to rapid decline, possibly some kind of reproductive cancer. She lived to be ~4.5 year old.
Goldie was a red sex-link. She was a champion egglayer, laying big brown eggs nearly every day. She was the most docile of the flock. We had to euthanize her in 2023 due to symptoms consistent with reproductive cancer, which is apparently pretty common for super high production breeds. She lived to be about 3 years old.
Buff, the buff orpington (I know, creative). She was the top hen, and would chase squirrels or cats away from the flock. Despite this breed's reputation for being friendly, Buff was super flighty. She died suddenly for reasons we couldn't determine in May 2022 at about 2.5 year old. No apparent injuries or illness, hopefully it was a one-off!
Blue the wonky chicken, a production blue or maybe a sapphire gem. She had some kind of misalignment in her pelvis, one hip was higher than the other, making her look crooked and walk with a swagger. That plus her huge floppy comb made her look a bit ridiculous, but she held her own! Unfortunately lost to a predator in September 2021 when we were away and she decided not to go sleep inside the coop, which has an automatic door.
Flappy the barred rock. The most adventurous of the flock who would peck at my freckles! Her flappiness eventually did her in when she escaped the run and wandered away through a gate accidentally left ajar. Surely a predator found her, but we never found any evidence of her after she left the yard.
Scratchy the cockerel. I live in city limits, so he couldn't stay. He was, however, delicious, and I canned some of the broth so he lived on for quite ahwhile!
Claudia, a speckled Sussex. Purchased from the feed store in June 2023 and raised by a broody hen. Like her mom, she's pretty flighty. She also survived being grabbed by a neighbor's dog early on. She's currently on the bottom of the pecking order in the flock.
Claudio, a speckled Sussex rooster. Like Claudia, he was purchased from a feed store in June 2023 and raised by a broody hen. We didn't intend to have a rooster, but he was just too pretty to eat! He wears a DIY no crow collar, which is pretty helpful in being able to keep him in a backyard environment and he still has a high quality of life. I know this is a controversial topic, so perhaps I will write an article on it sometime.
Pizza Works is a street chicken from the Florida Keys. She's the white pullet on the far right in the bottom photo, pictured with her siblings. She's named for the pizza place she was hatched next to. She looks similar to a white leghorn, but has some stray black feathers and lays light brown eggs. Despite raising her and her siblings from day-old chicks, they have all remained quite feral! One of her sisters has joined a friend's coop and goes broody frequently, but Pizza has yet to do so, She hatched in May 2022.
Banshee, a silver-laced wyandotte. Named for Siouxsie and the Banshees and their striking white-on-black post-punk pre-goth aesthetic. She was purchased from a feed store in October 2021
Turu, an easter egger. The most outgoing of that batch of chicks, so I initially thought she might be a cockerel when she was a tiny chick. Between that and how floofy her muff is, she was a shoe-in to stay. She lays greenish eggs Purchased from a feed store in October 2021
Leca, another easter egger. I fell in love with her coloring and had to keep her! She and my other EE are named after the Spanish kids' song "La Gallina Turuleca" If you're curious, "turuleca" means something sort of like "crazy" or "silly", which I think is a good fit for most chickens. She lays light blue eggs and was purchased from a feed store in October 2021.
Betty White, a golden-laced wyandotte, named for another Golden Girl! Being the animal lover she was, I don't think she would mind the tribute. She was purchased from a feed store in October 2021 and was named around the time that her namesake passed.
Top, most of the flock (everyone except Pizza) pictured in April 2024 happily munching on some rotten plums from a neighbor's tree. Bottom, some new chicks ordered from Meyer's in May 2024, including some Polish chickens! I'll try to remember and update once we decide who is staying from the latest batch of chicks.
Non-chicken flock members:
The rest of my crew, Oka (calico kitty), Mango (orange kitty), and Lantana (brindle hound mix). Both cats were found as stray kittens, Mango in New Mexico and Oka in Miami. Lantana is a rescue from rural North Florida. All are shockingly tolerant of the chickens!
Not pictured: my husband, two freshwater aquariums, and the mealworm farm!
Past flock members:
Frankenchicken, a Rhode Island Red, posing here with her very first egg! Her name comes from when she was attacked by a possum who put a big, deep gash in the back of her head. Fortunately she made a full recovery with some TLC, and had a big scar like Frankenstein's monster. She was my most vocal chicken. We had to put her down in May 2024 due to rapid decline, possibly some kind of reproductive cancer. She lived to be ~4.5 year old.
Goldie was a red sex-link. She was a champion egglayer, laying big brown eggs nearly every day. She was the most docile of the flock. We had to euthanize her in 2023 due to symptoms consistent with reproductive cancer, which is apparently pretty common for super high production breeds. She lived to be about 3 years old.
Buff, the buff orpington (I know, creative). She was the top hen, and would chase squirrels or cats away from the flock. Despite this breed's reputation for being friendly, Buff was super flighty. She died suddenly for reasons we couldn't determine in May 2022 at about 2.5 year old. No apparent injuries or illness, hopefully it was a one-off!
Blue the wonky chicken, a production blue or maybe a sapphire gem. She had some kind of misalignment in her pelvis, one hip was higher than the other, making her look crooked and walk with a swagger. That plus her huge floppy comb made her look a bit ridiculous, but she held her own! Unfortunately lost to a predator in September 2021 when we were away and she decided not to go sleep inside the coop, which has an automatic door.
Flappy the barred rock. The most adventurous of the flock who would peck at my freckles! Her flappiness eventually did her in when she escaped the run and wandered away through a gate accidentally left ajar. Surely a predator found her, but we never found any evidence of her after she left the yard.
Scratchy the cockerel. I live in city limits, so he couldn't stay. He was, however, delicious, and I canned some of the broth so he lived on for quite ahwhile!
