Blue Cochin. Head Hauncho.

Danny was our first successful rooster. As a chick he was failing to thrive and got sick so I gave him extra TLC. I did not know he was a cockerel, I definitely thought this was a pullet. As he grew older, I noticed he was a cockerel and was determined to help him be nice because I was already connected to him. Turns out, TLC and tough love do help to make a nice rooster. He is careful of our toddlers and protective of his ladies.

Birchen Ayem Cemani.

Darth Vader takes care of his lady – Black Betty. He does little dances that herd her to where he wants and is excellent at keeping her safe. Other than taking care of Black Betty, his mannerisms are that of a hen – he knows his place.

Mosaic.

Oreo is bottom of the rooster totem pole. He takes care of his hen but respects the authority of those above him. Oreo’s hen is Samoa. They are the Barbie and Ken of the coop. They do their own thing and are always together, but cause no drama with the other birds.

Barnyard Mutt.

We adopted Todd when he was 1.5 years old. He is the most gentle of my roosters. Due to the fact that he is the newest of the flock – he currently has no hens and is actually housed with the boy sheep.

Easter Egger. Brown Eggs. The OG.

Big Mama is my oldest hen. We got her in 2015 from a family member. She is my original chicken buddy. She follows me around the yard, looking for pets and to be held. She knows that when I am in the garden, she will get treats. Before I had a rooster, instead of going into the coop at nightfall, sometimes she would sit on the front step until I carried her to her roost.  She has recently succumbed to a rooster (Danny) and that broke my heart a little, but I know he keeps her safe.

Blue Laced Red Wyandotte. Light Brown Eggs.

Big Red is the second OG. She is younger than Big Mama by one year, but they are buddies. She lost her tail in a bout of mites and I am not sure if it will ever grow back. She does not enjoy being held and will peck at even a duck or rooster when it comes to her food. Nobody messes with Big Red.

Silver Laced Cochins. Brown Eggs.

Rachel has the lighter head and Monica the darker… obviously. They mind their own business, and are loyal to Danny. I think they are low on the hen pecking order because they really do not make any type of waves in the coop.

Olive Egger. Light Olive Green Eggs.

C-3PO is one of the most flighty birds. She is always ‘jumping’ up high for a place to roost. She reminds me of a cat in that way. She is also a lone wolf. Even though Danny is her rooster, she kind of stays away from the other hens.

Black Marans. Dark Brown Eggs.

I got Black Betty (from the song, Black Betty) from a local hatchery. She was my easiest introduction to the flock that I have had in eight years. I set her down during a time of free-ranging and she just fit right in. Darth Vader took her under his wing as he was hen-less at the time. Until Black Betty, he was the third wheel in the Barbie and Ken couple. It was kind of funny.

Mosaic. Small, Brown Eggs.

Samoa is our Barbie to the Barbie and Ken chicken couple. Oreo is her rooster. January 2019 she was paralyzed on the floor of the coop, so she was brought inside to an infirmary. With extra love, warmth and kitchen scraps, she made a 90-95% recovery. She was brought out to the coop after 6 weeks and has reunited with Oreo. She follows me around and chirps until she gets her daily snuggles and pets. She really is the sweetest.

Easter Egger. TBD.

Pheobe is my hen with the longest backstory ever. I would almost bet she has the longest chicken backstory ever.

I was given a chick that was abandoned by the hen from a family member. That chick was SO LOUD and did NOT STOP chirping, so I went to my favorite feed store (Anoka-Ramsey Farm & Garden) and purchased a chick, Phoebe. These two got all the way to the coop together where the abandoned chick was snatched by a predator. Phoebe was alone in a coop of birds.

I always took special care of her and made sure she was fed and watered. One winter day I let my chickens free-range because it was ‘warm’. I went to lock up the coop after a few hours and Phoebe was kicked out, her feet were frozen solid. I brought her in to warm her up and eventually put her back on her safe perch in the coop. A few days later she was acting weird and I discovered cold feet again. She was inside for good.

A few weeks later her feet ended up falling off and she is our footless chicken. You can follow her story on the blog under Freebie Friday posts.

Pekin Ducks. White/Cream Eggs.

Ricky & Lucy (from I Love Lucy) are our Pekin Ducks. I have an extreme biased towards Pekins. They are SO cute, and SO comical. Ricky and Lucy are besties and hang out with the chickens. As soon as they hear your footsteps or your car, they start quacking, LOUD. I live for it and I often quack back. They hog the water and LIVE in their kiddie pool in the summer. Our ducks are currently housed with our chickens without an issue. The summer months I put all of the water outside to keep the coop dry. In the winter they keep the water from freezing because they are always drinking.