Chicken Names

[Tre3hugger]

I have 9 hens and a rooster. They all have names, ranging from fluff(named by niece) to Vickie. My rule of thumb is if I am going to personally butcher and consume an animal, I don't name it. Dispatching my furry and feathered friends is hard enough emotionally, so I skip names on food animals to make it easier on myself. For example, the meat birds I get this year will not be named. I will name my breeder rabbits, but not the offspring they produce for food.

 

[RiverOtter]

Oh, forgot to mention, while it's not names exactly, we kind of title the roosters. Our senior, breeding rooster is always King Roo. There's generally a couple of young ones that we refer to by color, and eventually one will stand out as the clear next breeding rooster, who gets called Prince, or sometimes The Yellow Tailed Prince, The Barred Prince, etc, if there are two close contenders.

Then, one day, the King is dead, long live the King.

 

[tn_artist]

We had 39 chickens and they all had names (got rid of a few, down to 34). Some have names that describe them because they weren't formally named. All of our Old English Game Bantam hens are named for their color of size. Duck, because we called the silver duckwing 'Duckwing' to explain which one we were discussing, and it shortened to Duck. Spangled, Splash and Tiny. The rooster though, is Blueberry.
Others were just the whim of me or my kids. The names don't usually stick/solidify for a while, especially if they were named young. Muffin, Icy, Toasted Marshmallow, Buddy, Slate-all kinds.
The only superstitions we have, are built right here. One daughter kept making newborn chicks Patton. After death or chicken-cide by another hen or predator, she would name another Patton. Happened four times before we convinced her to stop using the "kiss of death" name. The other daughter had the same issue, but was naming chicks Nightlight 2.0. we are up to 4.0.

 

[Bri916]

We name all our chickens, although we only have 6. (our flock is pretty small, so it's not hard to remember them Their names are Pumpkin, Squirley, Poppy, Merida, Rosy, and Zippy. They are all also different breeds except for Rosy and Merida, (both Rhode island reds,) but they have unique personalities and looks so we can tell them apart. I don't really have any superstitions though, except the name Willow. We've had a hen and cat named willow and both died, the chicken of vent prolapse and the cat by getting into wasp poisoning. I also wouldn't want to re-use a name.

 

[BY Bob]

Do you name your chickens?
Yes

What names do you call them?
We have used the following, Dolly, Trisha, Elphie, Daisy, Patsy, Lilly, Hattie, Jabberwocky, Maleficent, Aurora, Sydney, Phyllis, and Sansa.

Are any names recycled in your flocks?
NEVER

Are there any superstitions about naming chickens?
Not for us

Are there any taboos?
Not really

What tips or suggestions do you have for naming your birds?
Meet the bird, learn their personality, the name will come to you

Do you choose NOT to name chickens, and if so, why?
Everyone gets a name

Do you make a point to give every bird in your flock a name (even in larger flocks of 100+)?
Our flock is small, 6 right now. They assail Geert names as they are pets.

Is there a cut-off point in numbers, where it simply becomes too much of a hassle to name all of your birds?
No

 

[Bear and Dart]

We name all of our chickens. I usually wait to see what they are like and then I find a name that sticks because I've found if I pick one too early it won't fit her. We have 4 chickens right now Hillary, Dusk, and Eclipse, the Cuckoo marans and Bear the EE. We are getting 7 new chicks in June. We had another hen that was my favorite, her name was Dart she passed away a month ago. We don't have any superstitions or taboos about naming our chickens right now.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

Do you name your chickens?
Yes, I do.

What names do you call them?

Right now: CreamPuff, Marshy, Kiwi, Melody, Dazzle, and Blamo.

Are any names recycled in your flocks?

No way!

Are there any superstitions about naming chickens?
*Skip*

Are there any taboos?
*Skip*

What tips or suggestions do you have for naming your birds?
If they are pets, don't name them after chicken baste meals.

Do you choose NOT to name chickens, and if so, why?
If you have meat birds I wouldn't name them. If you do, it helps you to get attached to them.

Do you make a point to give every bird in your flock a name (even in larger flocks of 100+)?
I've never had a flock that big. But I'm sure some people do, and some don't. It really all depends.

Is there a cut-off point in numbers, where it simply becomes too much of a hassle to name all of your birds?

I would say yes, but maybe some people deal with it.