- Apr 24, 2014
- 62
- 48
- 92
So we started off with six chicks, two Rhode Island Reds, two Buff Orpingtons, one Barred Rock, and one Silver-Laced Wyandotte. We were looking for docile, sweet chickens that would lay nice eggs for us.
This is Gwynevere as a pullet she was our Silver-Laced Wyandotte, the sweetest and best chicken I have ever and will ever own. She was so chill, i would take her out of the cage and sit her on my lap and we would just sleep together to the sound of the other girls chirping,
She even read the newspaper with me!. She was also a beautiful show girl and always looked like she was dressed up for a ball. She would have made a great show bird if she had gotten the chance to grow up...
While I was away with the dog (who usually keeps an eye on yard intruders) a hawk attacked the flock and since Gwynevere was a Wyandotte she was always a big chicken and therefore slower...
We named the two Rhode Isalnd Reds Lucille (after Lucille Ball but also because sometimes I yell "Lucy you got some 'splainen to do!" when she hops up on the table saw and makes a mess of things) and Scarlett. Lucille is the most independent little chicken, she doesn't even really travel with the flock, not because they pick on her because they don't. She's not super into people but she lays HUGE eggs! Sometimes they don't fit in the cartons!
One of her's compared to a grocery store jumbo egg.
...and Lucy herself.
Scarlett is a sweetie. She's pretty friendly and very curious and lays really big eggs like Lucy. I've taken to calling her dinosaur however because, number one she looks kind of like a dinosaur and number two because when you open the nest box and she's in there she makes this crazy pterodachtyl noise and raises her hackles, its hilarious!
(Both reds when they were babies)
Our two buffs are Picky and Betsy. Picky is a super, super friendly chicken. If you sit down and pat your lap she'll hop up on it like a cat! Actually if you just sit down she'll hop up in your lap because she knows that when she does she gets treaties. She is a total food hog!! She barely ever lays and She is also the dominant chicken.
Betsy is the smallest and scrappiest chicken she is a little brat and really doesn't like people very much however she is definatly the cutest of them all because of her petite size. But recently she has taken to doing this turkey impression whenever she feels I have gotten too close. She'll puff up to twice her size and strut like a turkey while she makes these low threatening noises. Yea she's not so cute then. She also lays these really little eggs inconsistently.
She's the far chicken, being unfriendly doesn't really lend itself to good pictures : )
Lastly is Fiona the Barred Rock. She was a fiery little rebel when she was a chick and wouldn't eat of my hand. But she's grown up a lot since then and now she will hop up beside me if I have food. She is a consistent layer of nice eggs.
After her first bath for her first show, needless to say she wasn't super amused.
So after Gwynevere died Id didn't have any good show birds. While I love my girls to death they are just plain old hatchery chickens and they don't stand out very much. So I went down to a breeder to get a nice, show quality Silver-Laced Wyandotte. Well chicken math happened and I ended up coming home with three birds. Two standard Silver-Laced Wyandotte Hens and one black Wyandotte bantam. A bantam! I hated bantams, they were the birds for people who couldn't handle real chickens. They were tiny little hamsters with wings and you were more likely to step on them then get decent sized eggs out of them. But i took her home anyways because she was a beautiful bird and would likely make a great show candidate, even more so then the other two birds. Well I can shamefully say that i have fallen in love with a bantam. She's cute and more apt to sit with me then the other two birds. Her name is Anasatsia and she lays little bitty eggs that have no real purpose.
Of the two standards one was definatly prettier then the other and the uglier one started picking on Anastasia, bad idea on her part. She is now up for sale ($30 if anybody wants her ; ), located in Ohio)
This is Ugly, as i have taken to calling her. It is only comparivley, she is a beautiful bird.
As for the prettier one, who does not pick on Anastasia near as much (Ugly is relentless on her) we named her Pricilla she is a beautiful bird! Not super excited about being handled but I'm working with her. Both Anastasia and Pricilla are on quarantine right now. I think Pricilla will fit in fine with the flock but I'm crossing my fingers with Anastasia because I'm attached to the girl now.
So that's my story of the pretty girls who stole my heart!
