Zemeraire
Songster
Hi I'm Zemeraire!
I'm in Australia, and just got chickens again for the first time in a few years, and the first time that they are 100% mine and not mostly my parents!
Until the last few years when I was not living with mum, I have looked after chickens for pretty much my whole life and really missed having them around. My family always had a mixed flock of chooks that usually included a few ex battery hens, a couple random purebreds that we had either gotten from friends or hatched under our old silkie, and the mixed breed offspring of these hens and whichever rooster we had at the time (our first was a huge RIR, next was RIR X Isa Brown, next was Araucana (in Australia they look more like Ameracanas) X Isa Brown). We had three silkies when I was very young, and one of them became our broody mama for almost 2 decades, and died at almost 19 years old.
Right now I have 2 little chooks in a cute little movable coop I got myself for Christmas/my birthday. I only moved into my current house a couple days before Christmas, and am working on a perfect corner of the yard to chicken-proof and make into a proper coop. It has the back fence on two sides and the shed on the third, with two fruit trees and two other trees and a gooseberry bush inside the area I want to fence off.
The two I have are a (salmon?) faverolles and a mystery marans (the person who hatched them was not the breeder, they were told both parents were different coloured marans, all hens were wheaten but there were several roosters with different hens, one of which was wheaten and another was black copper). The faverolles is named butter and is currently around 7 or 8 weeks old, and the marans is named coriander and is around 6 weeks old.
I have had the chickens for 3 weeks now, and they have grown so much! They are now spending the days outside in the coop, but coming inside to sleep still. They get so exited in the morning to be taken out, and come running when I call them as I always bring either food refills or snacks.
I am getting a third, older lavender araucana pullet next week so I can get eggs sooner, and because they are my favourite breed <3
When I get the permanent coop sorted out I also really want to get myself a silkie, I just really miss having them around and the old girl we had when I was young was such a good pet.
Other than chooks, I'm living with my two cats and my BFs cat. Mine are indoor only, a calico and a blue point half ragdoll, and his is a hand raised tiny ginger tom cat who just wants to play with my two but everyone is still getting used to each other. The cats are actually really good with the chooks, Ive had a chook get out when moving them and run right over one of the cats with no issues. I also accidentally started paying the local magpie mob, after seeing a limbing old bird with half a wing right after Christmas and giving her some food, then she brought her baby and mate, then they brought their other kids and now there are 9 of them sitting at the back door every day around lunch time asking for snacks. Actually I can hear the baby right now as I type X3 They are actually quite handy, as they clean up the mess each day after I move the coop around the yard.
I'm gonna put a bunch of pictures down here of the chooks and cats for you all to enjoy!
And if anyone can tell from the photos Butter's correct colour and if they are pullets (I was told she was 90% sure they both were but Im worried), I would very much appreciate that!
<-Butter
^Coriander
^The mob came to collect while I was trying to take pictures of the coop. One of the babies, the old dad and an older sibling. Didnt see the old mum out there so Im actually a bit worried about her now.
My girl Arya, who's favourite bed is on my desk but only when I'm on the computer.
Casper, my baby boy <3
Boi, BFs cat. Sweetheart but doesn't communicate with other cats very well as he was a bottle baby.
And bonus, old pictures of chooks from my childhood
Terrible picture but this was Whitey, the best mamma chook we ever had who raised dozens of chicks, 5 pekin ducks and only ever hatched 1 chick we could be certain was her own. We always said she was too stubborn to die, she died just shy of 19 when a tree was blown over onto the chook yard.
Pretty chooks that were from a black araucana X isa brown roo (whos father was lavender) and hens that were also araucana X isa browns from the same father. There was also a pure lavander araucana roo in the pen at one point so he possibly had a hand in there. He was also from the same father.
Grandfather of the above chooks, with the only non isa brown in his flock. He was my dad's rooster.
I'm in Australia, and just got chickens again for the first time in a few years, and the first time that they are 100% mine and not mostly my parents!
Until the last few years when I was not living with mum, I have looked after chickens for pretty much my whole life and really missed having them around. My family always had a mixed flock of chooks that usually included a few ex battery hens, a couple random purebreds that we had either gotten from friends or hatched under our old silkie, and the mixed breed offspring of these hens and whichever rooster we had at the time (our first was a huge RIR, next was RIR X Isa Brown, next was Araucana (in Australia they look more like Ameracanas) X Isa Brown). We had three silkies when I was very young, and one of them became our broody mama for almost 2 decades, and died at almost 19 years old.
Right now I have 2 little chooks in a cute little movable coop I got myself for Christmas/my birthday. I only moved into my current house a couple days before Christmas, and am working on a perfect corner of the yard to chicken-proof and make into a proper coop. It has the back fence on two sides and the shed on the third, with two fruit trees and two other trees and a gooseberry bush inside the area I want to fence off.
The two I have are a (salmon?) faverolles and a mystery marans (the person who hatched them was not the breeder, they were told both parents were different coloured marans, all hens were wheaten but there were several roosters with different hens, one of which was wheaten and another was black copper). The faverolles is named butter and is currently around 7 or 8 weeks old, and the marans is named coriander and is around 6 weeks old.
I have had the chickens for 3 weeks now, and they have grown so much! They are now spending the days outside in the coop, but coming inside to sleep still. They get so exited in the morning to be taken out, and come running when I call them as I always bring either food refills or snacks.
I am getting a third, older lavender araucana pullet next week so I can get eggs sooner, and because they are my favourite breed <3
When I get the permanent coop sorted out I also really want to get myself a silkie, I just really miss having them around and the old girl we had when I was young was such a good pet.
Other than chooks, I'm living with my two cats and my BFs cat. Mine are indoor only, a calico and a blue point half ragdoll, and his is a hand raised tiny ginger tom cat who just wants to play with my two but everyone is still getting used to each other. The cats are actually really good with the chooks, Ive had a chook get out when moving them and run right over one of the cats with no issues. I also accidentally started paying the local magpie mob, after seeing a limbing old bird with half a wing right after Christmas and giving her some food, then she brought her baby and mate, then they brought their other kids and now there are 9 of them sitting at the back door every day around lunch time asking for snacks. Actually I can hear the baby right now as I type X3 They are actually quite handy, as they clean up the mess each day after I move the coop around the yard.
I'm gonna put a bunch of pictures down here of the chooks and cats for you all to enjoy!
And if anyone can tell from the photos Butter's correct colour and if they are pullets (I was told she was 90% sure they both were but Im worried), I would very much appreciate that!
^Coriander
^The mob came to collect while I was trying to take pictures of the coop. One of the babies, the old dad and an older sibling. Didnt see the old mum out there so Im actually a bit worried about her now.
My girl Arya, who's favourite bed is on my desk but only when I'm on the computer.
Casper, my baby boy <3
Boi, BFs cat. Sweetheart but doesn't communicate with other cats very well as he was a bottle baby.
And bonus, old pictures of chooks from my childhood
Pretty chooks that were from a black araucana X isa brown roo (whos father was lavender) and hens that were also araucana X isa browns from the same father. There was also a pure lavander araucana roo in the pen at one point so he possibly had a hand in there. He was also from the same father.
Grandfather of the above chooks, with the only non isa brown in his flock. He was my dad's rooster.
and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.
they sure put a big grin on my face. 
Thanks for sharing!
