Say hello to my flock!
This is their home. Although it is spacious and well-stocked, they are always begging to be let out. I am always obliging, even if they do wreak havoc on my tomatoes and poop all over the patio.
And while I love all my girls (and boys!), there have been a few notable characters over the years that have a special place in my heart. The first, of course, is Greta, the Queen. She was a Silver-Laced Wyandotte and she lived to be 7 years old. She was THE boss and everyone knew it. She is the sole survival of the first group of chicks I ever got when I was a kid. She lived by herself for a few years, hating the coop and choosing to roost in the magnolia tree in our backyard instead. She slept on the same branch for years until we added some more girls to the flock.
Benny and Greta were fast friends.
Next up on this notable list is Pigeon, the tiny rooster. My high school biology class raised ducks as a project and I was the only one to choose a chick instead. The feed store where I got him said he was a blue Silkie, but turns out he wasn't! He was my baby and would fall asleep in my lap. When I introduced him to the flock, the older girls pecked him senseless! The skin on the top of his head was so pecked away that you could see his skull and I was sure he wouldn't make it. Luckily, he did. I built him a perch so he could get away from the girls twice his size, and eventually they grew to tolerate him. And even though he was the lowest in the pecking order, I admired him for having some definite swagger. When I went away to college, I would write to my parents asking how he was. I always knew in the back of my mind that a rooster would be a problem with the neighbors. My parents never told me he had taken up the habit of crowing at 5 am... uh oh. A few months away at school, and my parents confessed to a half-asleep, early-morning murder. I was so angry! Rest in peace, little Pigeon. This is my favorite picture of him:
Next up is Betty White, my Silkie. I got her from the same feed store as Pigeon. I made sure the owner spent his time sexing her, just to make sure we didn't have another rooster. I raised her with a RIR chick in a dog crate in my apartment in college. Yes, I was "that girl with the chickens". Luckily my landlord never found out and when she was big enough, I took her home one weekend. She is hilarious to watch and is scandalized by EVERYTHING. She reminds me of a teenage girl, you know... "lyke oh my gawwd". For the few of you who watch "Adventure Time", she is exactly like Lumpy Space Princess.
She spends most of her time sitting on nonexistent eggs. I have to shake her out of her broody stupor quite often. Here she is mulling over her choice in fallen apples:
Veruca is the reigning queen at the moment. She is one of the oldest. She even knew Greta way-back-when. She is the top dog, but unlike most top dogs, she isn't mean. She reminds me of a wizened matriarch. Veruca is named after the rich girl who turns into a blueberry in Willy Wonka's factory because her eyes make her look bored with everything. They look a little stuck-up haha! Check 'em out:
Finally, we have Wednesday. She is the newest addition, only a few months old. She's named after Wednesday Addams from the Addams Family because of her macabre, amazingly fearless ability to kill and eat any bug, even as a tiny chick. Keep an eye out for Wednesday, folks. You'll see great things coming from her. Here she is in my tomato garden, her favorite place to be.
Stephan(ie) is scared to death by Benny, but Wednesday couldn't care less.
Thanks for checking out my girls!
This is their home. Although it is spacious and well-stocked, they are always begging to be let out. I am always obliging, even if they do wreak havoc on my tomatoes and poop all over the patio.
And while I love all my girls (and boys!), there have been a few notable characters over the years that have a special place in my heart. The first, of course, is Greta, the Queen. She was a Silver-Laced Wyandotte and she lived to be 7 years old. She was THE boss and everyone knew it. She is the sole survival of the first group of chicks I ever got when I was a kid. She lived by herself for a few years, hating the coop and choosing to roost in the magnolia tree in our backyard instead. She slept on the same branch for years until we added some more girls to the flock.
Benny and Greta were fast friends.
Next up on this notable list is Pigeon, the tiny rooster. My high school biology class raised ducks as a project and I was the only one to choose a chick instead. The feed store where I got him said he was a blue Silkie, but turns out he wasn't! He was my baby and would fall asleep in my lap. When I introduced him to the flock, the older girls pecked him senseless! The skin on the top of his head was so pecked away that you could see his skull and I was sure he wouldn't make it. Luckily, he did. I built him a perch so he could get away from the girls twice his size, and eventually they grew to tolerate him. And even though he was the lowest in the pecking order, I admired him for having some definite swagger. When I went away to college, I would write to my parents asking how he was. I always knew in the back of my mind that a rooster would be a problem with the neighbors. My parents never told me he had taken up the habit of crowing at 5 am... uh oh. A few months away at school, and my parents confessed to a half-asleep, early-morning murder. I was so angry! Rest in peace, little Pigeon. This is my favorite picture of him:
Next up is Betty White, my Silkie. I got her from the same feed store as Pigeon. I made sure the owner spent his time sexing her, just to make sure we didn't have another rooster. I raised her with a RIR chick in a dog crate in my apartment in college. Yes, I was "that girl with the chickens". Luckily my landlord never found out and when she was big enough, I took her home one weekend. She is hilarious to watch and is scandalized by EVERYTHING. She reminds me of a teenage girl, you know... "lyke oh my gawwd". For the few of you who watch "Adventure Time", she is exactly like Lumpy Space Princess.
She spends most of her time sitting on nonexistent eggs. I have to shake her out of her broody stupor quite often. Here she is mulling over her choice in fallen apples:
Veruca is the reigning queen at the moment. She is one of the oldest. She even knew Greta way-back-when. She is the top dog, but unlike most top dogs, she isn't mean. She reminds me of a wizened matriarch. Veruca is named after the rich girl who turns into a blueberry in Willy Wonka's factory because her eyes make her look bored with everything. They look a little stuck-up haha! Check 'em out:
Finally, we have Wednesday. She is the newest addition, only a few months old. She's named after Wednesday Addams from the Addams Family because of her macabre, amazingly fearless ability to kill and eat any bug, even as a tiny chick. Keep an eye out for Wednesday, folks. You'll see great things coming from her. Here she is in my tomato garden, her favorite place to be.
Stephan(ie) is scared to death by Benny, but Wednesday couldn't care less.
Thanks for checking out my girls!