My girls (and boys)
Of the original four chickens, I got, three were hens, and two are still alive. Victoria, the third hen, was constantly broody and she died in the nestbox during a stretch of 104 degree weather this summer. My two remaining hens, both Buff Orpingtons, are alive and well... but not really laying. This time of year is when chickens molt and they stop laying, but Buff Orps supposedly consider laying through the molt. Diana gives us maybe an egg a week these days. Elizabeth went broody for a long time and got attacked by mites until she was anemic. She's still not back up to her former weight, and her comb and wattle are still pink and not quite red yet. I give her as many treats as I can to help her recuperate.
Diana and Elizabeth
Diana. I love this chicken!
In March we got four more chickens, three Ameraucanas and a Wyandotte. I didn't like the Wyandotte much and I gave her away. We raised the other three until early August, when I was leaving for Bolivia and worried that we would have roosters crowing while I was gone. Of the three, two were roosters. You can tell because they have pointier saddle and hackle (neck) feathers than the hens do, and their feathers are also shinier. Plus, they are assholes.
Just before we re-homed the two boys, our only hen of the bunch, Daisy, bumped her head and got a brain injury. We nursed her back to health with vitamins and prednisone, but she's still not quite "all there." And she hasn't started laying, even though she's now over 9 months old. She still seems underweight for her age too. Who knows if she'll ever lay, but she is a lovely, lovely bird. I think Daisy is destined to be a pet.
My beauty, Daisy
Our next attempt was a purchase of four baby chicks who were just old enough to live outside (about six weeks old). I think we got them in September or October. We got a Barred Rock (Spot), a Rhode Island Red (Rosy Rose), an Australorp (Ella), and a Frizzle Cochin/Silkie mix (Frizzie). Rosy Rose is the one who died today. Spot is a boy for SURE. And it's now looking like Ella's a boy too, since his feathers are just too beautiful and shiny to be on a hen. The kids are working on thinking up a boy's name for Ella. My room mate and I are working on plans to eat Spot and Ella, and the kids are not down with that plan.
Spot and Ella
Last is Frizzie. It doesn't much matter whether Frizzie is a boy or a girl. I kind of hope Frizzie is a boy so we can find him a new home. He or she is a bantam, which means Frizzie will always be small. If Frizzie is a girl, the breeds (Cochin and Silkie) are notorious for being broody, so we won't expect many eggs. Having a bird who can incubate and hatch eggs and raise chicks is a nice idea, but it's not something I want to do until our mites are all gone. They are mostly under control but not 100% gone.
Frizzie
I've just emailed my "dealer" to see if we can get a few hens who are old enough to lay NOW. I've asked for another Rhode Island Red and either a Barred Rock or an Australorp. If she doesn't have any, then I'm going to go to another woman who sells chickens and get a few Black Star sexlinks from her, ones that are ready to start laying. We've got a full coop of chickens and almost no eggs, dammit! |
