Our First Flock

[WendyF]

Hello,
We are so excited to have received our first five babies in the mail on Tuesday. We have six more coming July 10th. Our family is new to chickens (well, I have a very bad history with them from a childhood involving some dual purpose chicken farming in all the WRONG ways), but after our eyes were opened to the harsh injustices involved in large scale commercial poultry farming we were horrified at our contribution of consuming store bought eggs. Then after learning from friends about humanely keeping happy, healthy, affectionate hens for nutritious eggs - we decided to lift our collective middle finger to all the wrongs in commercial egg production to give a backyard flock a whirl. I want to start this thread by sharing a tool I made to help me choose which hens would be right for our family. The info on this sheet is a collection of things I found on the internet, so if I am incorrect on any of these please let me know. I liked using this sheet because it allowed me to prioritize aspects of each hen type:
BREED AVAILABLE EGG COLOR EGG SIZE EGG WINTER BROODINESS CLIMATE HEN HEN COLOR PERSONALITY NOISE LEVEL BREED/AFFECTION
SHIPPING 7/9: PRODUCTION PRODUCTION TOLERANCE SIZE TENDENCIES
Barred Plymouth Rock 7/9 &7/14 Light Brown Large High Good Seldom Cold Hardy 7.5 lbs Black/white barred Friendly/sweet Pretty Quiet Heritage Breed/Lap Chicken
Easter Egger (2) 7/9 &7/14/2014 Blue or green, sometimes pink Large Medium Not very good Seldom Cold Hardy 4.5-5.5 lbs Various creams/browns Friendly/sweet Quiet Mixed Breed
Welsummer 7/9 7 7/14 Dark brown speckled Large High Decent Seldom Cold Hardy 6 lbs Brown Very friendly Quiet Heritage Breed
Australorp 6/30, 7/9 & 7/14 Light Brown Large High Excellent Average All Climates 7.3-9.2 lbs Irredescent black/grey Calm/friendly Quiet Heritage Breed/Lap Chicken
Buff Orpington 7/9 & 7/14/2014 Light brown Large Medium Excellent Often All Climates 8 lbs Cream Very Friendly Quiet Heritage Breed/Lap Chicken

RECEIVED 6/24:
Columbian Wyandotte already here Brown Large Medium Very Good Frequent Cold hardy 6 lbs White w/black Friendly/sweet Quiet/Chatty Heritage Breed
Buff Laced Polish already here White Medium Medium ? Seldom All Climates 4.5 lbs Cream Sweet/flighty Heritage Breed
Golden Laced Polish already here White Medium Medium ? Seldom All Climates 4.5 lbs Gold & black Sweet/flighty Heritage Breed
White Crested Black Polish already here White Medium Medium ? Seldom All Climates 4.5 lbs Black w/white head Sweet/flighty Heritage Breed
White Cochin already here Tinted or light brown Medium Low Not good Frequent Cold hardy 8.5 lbs White & fluffy! Super Sweet Quiet Heritage Breed/Lap Chicken


GOOD ONES I DIDN'T ORDER:
Speckled Sussex 14-Jul Light Brown/Tinted Large High Excellent Frequent All Climates 7-8 lbs Rich red/white speckles Very Friendly Quiet
Buff Brahma 14-Jul Light Brown Very Large Medium Good Average All Climates 9.5 lbs Cream/blk Friendly/sweet Quiet Cuddly
Silver grey Dorking 14-Jul White/cream/tinted Medium Medium decent Frequent All Climates 7 lbs Grey? Friendly/sweet Quiet Oldest Breed

 

[ChickenRisa]

Wow, that's an awesome list of info you made! Thanks for sharing! I just got my first flock of chickens last summer and am having a great time with them! I got them as pullets though, my mom (who lives 15 minutes away) raised them from chicks. We might be doing the chick thing soon because I have a broody hen sitting on some eggs! It's so fun, you will be glad you joined the chicken-raising group!

 

[WendyF]

Thanks! Soo...now it is photo time...
Here is our White Cochin named Xena Warrior Princess. Xena is the cuddliest, most chilled-out of the bunch. She takes fluff to a whole new level!
1 Day old:

Xena & our daughter Raelyn, 2 days old:

 

[WendyF]

Here is Binks. She is a very inquisitive, lovable girl. My son, Michael's favorite - a Buff Laced Polish. Here are Binks & Michael on her first day home:



1 day old Binks wants to know if EVERYTHING is some tasty grub. She is our biggest little piggy!

2 day old Binks, asking for some more crumbled hard boiled egg yolk:

 

[ChickenRisa]

Lol, I love the huge fluff ball on Binks' head!

 

[b.hromada]

Awwwww, what sweet pics! Nice list you've got there! You sure did your homework! Thanks for sharing. Welcome to BYC! So glad you joined us!

 

[WendyF]

Now I'd like to introduce you to Chewbacca, our Golden Laced Polish. Chewie is our most adventurous, always wanting to be somewhere checking something out. She loves to fall asleep in our hands once she has worn herself out exploring the big, wide world. Here is one day old Chewie, always looking at us as if to ask 'Are you my mommy?':


2 day old Chewie, just looking goofy as all get up:

3 day old Chewie has discovered our gentle dog, Bella, and wants to be her friend. The problem is, that Bella is convinced the baby chicks are a ferocious pack of velociraptors who love dog meat:

Run, Bella, RUN!!!

 

[WendyF]

Here is my personal favorite, Ziggy, a Columbian Wyandotte. She was the most skittish, but after only interacting with her once she now LOVES to hop up into my hand & just wants to sleep there. She's the most vociferous and does not like it when she can't see the other gals. But as long as they're in sight, she stays calm & content to be held & loved on.
Ziggy 1 day old, discovered that she loves perching in my hand:

2 day old Ziggy can't get enough hard boiled egg yolk. She's so glad Binks showed her how tasty it is:

3 day old Ziggy fell asleep upside down in my hand on my lunch break, one leg extended the whole time:

 

[WendyF]

And last, but certainly not least, our spunky little Vera. She is Raelyn's favorite. She comes running up to our hands when we go in the brooder for anything, just eager to be picked up. She also adores 'nesting' into the hair at the crook of our necks to take her naps. She is a White Crested Black Polish.
1 day old Vera:

2 day old Vera:

 

[WendyF]

Lol, I love the huge fluff ball on Binks' head!

I know, it is so funny!