txhall3
Chirping
Hi everyone,
My name is Heather and we live outside of Austin in Leander, Tx. I have my first flock as an adult and am totally in love and obsessed.
We did lots of research and my kiddos and I carefully selected our new additions and have loved them since we brought them home. Unfortunately I made the mistake of not quarantining them at first ( my thought process being that because we got them from 4 different places I didn't want one chick by itself. They were all within a week of each other in age until I brought one in that was 4 weeks older. That one also brought mites, coccidia, and a respiratory infection. :/ ) so several vet visits and big bills later we saved almost all but lost the youngest- a tolbunt Polish named Miriam. So sad ( but had the distinction of being the first client to bring 10 chicks to the vet office, lol!) but I learned quite a bit. Still learning and reading everything I can. Our young flock of 6-8 month olds consists of:
1. Amazing Mayson ( formerly Amazing Mayzie )- Cuckoo Frizzled Polish Roo (with a pretty decent case of scissor beak)
He is small but mighty! Didn't think we would keep a rooster but with his mop of feathers, hilarious personality, and funny looking scissor beaked face I just can't give him up. We'll see how it goes in the spring...
2. Aurora - Black Copper Maran.
She slept a lot as a chick hence her name. She is incredibly vocal and very industrious! 2nd lady in command it seems. Love her feathers in the sunlight!
3. Nugget- Buff Orpington
We won't ever eat her so it's kind of like naming a big guy "Tiny". She so far hasn't gotten the memo the Buff Os are supposed to very friendly and docile. Now that she is old enough to have started the "hen squat" every time she is startled I can get my paws on her more often and take the opportunity to love on her and give her some mealworms. She's coming around!
4. Stacey ( Stacey My Friend, My Chicken Friend. Named from some internet person named Tobuscus that my daughter finds funny. *shrug*)- Blue Ameraucana
Sweet but now one of the more shy girls. She was the first to lay and surprised us by laying a month earlier than expected. Quiet until one of the other ladies tried to come into the coop while she is in "her" nest box.
5. Penny ( Jalepeno)- Light Sussex
She is very businesslike and takes her top hen job very seriously. Very curious and is the first over to see what I've brought them. To say she loves to eat is an understatement!
6. Celeste- Welsummer
She was the most beautiful chick! Now I love to just look at the sun on her feathers and the beautiful subtle colors. She is currently our most flighty and fairly shy girl but is just lovely!
7. Sashimi- Salmon Faverolle
She is small and has scoliosis but it doesn't slow her down one bit! She is vocal and for sure lower in the pecking order as I expected for this breed but since they free range all day she can just avoid the higher ups most of the time. She is content to do her own thing and run circles around everyone. Just started the "hen squat" this week so now I can catch her more easily for cuddles! She follows me everywhere and talks incessantly. Kind of like me...
8. Pepper- (Chili Pepper)- Barred Plymouth Rock
She is my biggest surprise. Didn't love to be handled as a chick and was the 2nd most flighty as a "teenager" but since she started laying she has had a complete turnaround in personality. She follows me everywhere, sneaks in the house when I'm not looking, and is into everything like a puppy! She runs to me to be picked up and gets impatient when I take too long so will try to jump up into my arms. Keeps me laughing!
9. Lilah- the younger blue Ameraucana.
We bought her as a lavender but nope, she is definitely blue. I know I shouldn't have favorites but she is my fave. From the day we brought her home ( 3 days) old she has been the most intelligent, sweet, curious, independent, least chicken-like chicken we have. Only one thing- she has been very slow to mature and is getting more and more feathers ( 6 months old) and some things look kind of roo-ish. 0_o I have a thread posted in the gender question section so hopefully will get some clarity. At this point it doesn't really matter, I would wrestle a grizzly before giving her (him?) up. Maybe she's just androgynous, kind of like a high fashion model!
We also have 2 gorgeous 6 month old Sebastopol geese named Kiku and Tomoe ( toh-moh-ay) after some animae characters my daughter liked. They are a breeding pair. Noisy, messy, smart, protective and funny!
I absolutely love this site and it has been very helpful to me as a new chicken mom. I appreciate all of you very much!
My name is Heather and we live outside of Austin in Leander, Tx. I have my first flock as an adult and am totally in love and obsessed.
We did lots of research and my kiddos and I carefully selected our new additions and have loved them since we brought them home. Unfortunately I made the mistake of not quarantining them at first ( my thought process being that because we got them from 4 different places I didn't want one chick by itself. They were all within a week of each other in age until I brought one in that was 4 weeks older. That one also brought mites, coccidia, and a respiratory infection. :/ ) so several vet visits and big bills later we saved almost all but lost the youngest- a tolbunt Polish named Miriam. So sad ( but had the distinction of being the first client to bring 10 chicks to the vet office, lol!) but I learned quite a bit. Still learning and reading everything I can. Our young flock of 6-8 month olds consists of:1. Amazing Mayson ( formerly Amazing Mayzie )- Cuckoo Frizzled Polish Roo (with a pretty decent case of scissor beak)
He is small but mighty! Didn't think we would keep a rooster but with his mop of feathers, hilarious personality, and funny looking scissor beaked face I just can't give him up. We'll see how it goes in the spring...
2. Aurora - Black Copper Maran.
She slept a lot as a chick hence her name. She is incredibly vocal and very industrious! 2nd lady in command it seems. Love her feathers in the sunlight!
3. Nugget- Buff Orpington
We won't ever eat her so it's kind of like naming a big guy "Tiny". She so far hasn't gotten the memo the Buff Os are supposed to very friendly and docile. Now that she is old enough to have started the "hen squat" every time she is startled I can get my paws on her more often and take the opportunity to love on her and give her some mealworms. She's coming around!
4. Stacey ( Stacey My Friend, My Chicken Friend. Named from some internet person named Tobuscus that my daughter finds funny. *shrug*)- Blue Ameraucana
Sweet but now one of the more shy girls. She was the first to lay and surprised us by laying a month earlier than expected. Quiet until one of the other ladies tried to come into the coop while she is in "her" nest box.
5. Penny ( Jalepeno)- Light Sussex
She is very businesslike and takes her top hen job very seriously. Very curious and is the first over to see what I've brought them.
To say she loves to eat is an understatement!6. Celeste- Welsummer
She was the most beautiful chick! Now I love to just look at the sun on her feathers and the beautiful subtle colors. She is currently our most flighty and fairly shy girl but is just lovely!
7. Sashimi- Salmon Faverolle
She is small and has scoliosis but it doesn't slow her down one bit! She is vocal and for sure lower in the pecking order as I expected for this breed but since they free range all day she can just avoid the higher ups most of the time. She is content to do her own thing and run circles around everyone. Just started the "hen squat" this week so now I can catch her more easily for cuddles! She follows me everywhere and talks incessantly. Kind of like me...
8. Pepper- (Chili Pepper)- Barred Plymouth Rock
She is my biggest surprise. Didn't love to be handled as a chick and was the 2nd most flighty as a "teenager" but since she started laying she has had a complete turnaround in personality. She follows me everywhere, sneaks in the house when I'm not looking, and is into everything like a puppy! She runs to me to be picked up and gets impatient when I take too long so will try to jump up into my arms. Keeps me laughing!
9. Lilah- the younger blue Ameraucana.
We bought her as a lavender but nope, she is definitely blue. I know I shouldn't have favorites but she is my fave. From the day we brought her home ( 3 days) old she has been the most intelligent, sweet, curious, independent, least chicken-like chicken we have. Only one thing- she has been very slow to mature and is getting more and more feathers ( 6 months old) and some things look kind of roo-ish. 0_o I have a thread posted in the gender question section so hopefully will get some clarity. At this point it doesn't really matter, I would wrestle a grizzly before giving her (him?) up.
Maybe she's just androgynous, kind of like a high fashion model!We also have 2 gorgeous 6 month old Sebastopol geese named Kiku and Tomoe ( toh-moh-ay) after some animae characters my daughter liked. They are a breeding pair. Noisy, messy, smart, protective and funny!
I absolutely love this site and it has been very helpful to me as a new chicken mom. I appreciate all of you very much!
) My wife and I were both raised in the great state of Texas. All of us here at BYC have OCD (Obsessive Chicken Disorder). 
and welcome to BYC!
