HorseGirlAbby's flock thread!

[HorseGirlAbby]

Next up is Colleen!
Name: Colleen
Nicknames: Bukky, Buk
Age: 6 years
Breed/variety: Columbian Wyandotte
Favorite food: Anything green!
About me: Hi, I’m Colleen, but you can call me Bukky. I’m second in command here, and you’d better obey me! I even try to keep Peeper in line, though that usually doesn’t end well…One interesting thing about me is that I hate men. Whenever Abby’s brothers come see me, I run up to them, make mad noises and peck the ground like an aggressive rooster. I’ve also jumped up and tried to peck their hands before. They’re so rude though, and they laugh at me when I do this! It’s quite insulting. I lay light brown eggs when I want to, which isn’t very often. This spring I decided to lay them on the floor of the coop, which Abby really loved. I really don’t like the heat, and when it’s in the 90s I can often be found standing in the water bowl asleep. Last night I was having so much fun dust bathing I didn’t realize everyone had gone to bed. When I finally remembered, it was so dark I couldn’t get on the roost, and Abby had to lift me up there That was super embarrassing. Anyway, that’s me!

 

[Callender Girl]

She falls asleep STANDING in the water? Too funny!

Bukky looks a lot like my Columbian Wyandotte, Valentina. My friend thinks Columbians look like they're wearing those Icelandic sweaters with the patterns around the neckline.

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

She falls asleep STANDING in the water? Too funny!

Oh my, yes. I don’t have a photo of her asleep in the water, but she loves standing in it.

Bukky looks a lot like my Columbian Wyandotte, Valentina. My friend thinks Columbians look like they're wearing those Icelandic sweaters with the patterns around the neckline.

I’ve never thought about it like that, but they kind of do!

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

I haven't been posting for a while, as I've been pretty busy, and, to use the overused cliche, life happened. But here's the next installment!

It's Goldilocks!
Name: Goldilocks (Whoa, you couldn't have guessed )
Nicknames: Goldi hen, Cheeks, Fat Red Hen
Age: 6 years
Breed/variety: Easter Egger
Favorite food: Anything. If it fits in my beak, I'm taking it!
About me: Hi! I'm third in command in the coop, but I don't really boss the others around. Unless you're taking my food. Then look out. Seriously. I don't play games when it comes to food. Anyone seeing me would immediately assume that, because I look quite round. But I'm not fat, I'm fluffy! Well, to some extent. Abby doesn't call me Fat Red Hen for nothing! And about the other weird nickname...just don't ask. Please forget it. Oh, you want to hear about it? Really? All right, I guess I'll tell you. Or maybe just show you.

This. This is why. For some reason my weird owner's family decided to nickname me Cheeks, because of my glorious muffs and beard. People are annoying, am I right? They do give good hugs though, I must admit. I was one of the first chickens to discover that, and now I won't leave Abby alone. If she's crouching down, or if she DARES to hug another hen in my presence, I'm instantly there glaring at her. Usually she's very apologetic, and hugs me immediately. If not, I resort to pecking her most unkindly, and she normally relents. I'm usually one of the last hens to come in at night, because there's delicious grass outside! I mean, come on! I don't lay eggs very often, and when I do, they sometimes surprise me and end up popping out when I'm pecking around on the floor. It's not my fault though! I do like nesting boxes, they're just a little...small for someone of my (ahem) fluffiness.

So anyway, that's me in a nutshell! Wait, did someone say nut? Food!!

 

[daverh]

I figured I'd start a thread for my flock, as I haven't formally introduced them yet. I can't promise to update very often, but I'll try!
First, the original six, bought March 2017.
Peeper, a Mottled Java hen. Peeper is the queen of the coop, and gets very jealous if I don't give her enough attention. Like get-on-the-roost-and-squawk-in-my-face jealous. It gets a bit annoying. Here are a few photos of Peeper! She thinks she's a model, and I love taking pictures of her.
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The next original hen is Colleen, a Columbian Wyandotte. Colleen is second-in-command, and never lets anyone forget it. She loves to cuddle, and clucks loudly whenever anyone touches her on the back.
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Number three is Nancy, bought as an Ameraucana, but definitely an EE. She's very friendly and sweet to people, but mean to some of the lower class chickens. I don't have many good pictures of her, as she moves very fast, but here are a few!
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Next is Alice, a Buff Brahma hen. Sadly, she passed away in the summer of 2020, and is no longer with us. She was the sweetest hen, never minding being picked up or petted, and loved hugs. Here are a few pictures in memoriam.
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Number five is Goldilocks, Nancy's sister. She's an EE who loves cuddles! Look at that fluffy little face! Who could resist?
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Last, but not least, is Baroness, the Barnevelder. (She would be so mad to realize she was last!) She is a rather haughty hen, and takes the care of her precious feathers very seriously. She also lays beautiful dark brown eggs.
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Anyway, if you made it to the end, congratulations! In the next few days, I'll add the other hens, and the rooster, who deserves a post of his own.
Thanks!
~Abby

Gorgeous birds!

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

Gorgeous birds!

Thank you!

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

Well, it's been a while. Both Baroness and Colleen, two of my first hens, have gone to chicken heaven, Baroness after a brave fight with canker, and Colleen very suddenly, in my arms. But life goes on, and I'm thankful for the fifteen hens and rooster I have left.

Only two, Peeper, my Java and Goldilocks, one of my EE's, are living from my original flock of six, and they're seven years old now. Peeper is probably going to go broody in the next week or so, and I think she'll probably live forever at the rate she's going. Goldilocks is laying a few eggs a week, sometimes on the floor, sometimes in a nesting box. Pretty much wherever she feels like it. She's a sweet, affectionate chicken who always wants hugs.

From my second batch of chicks, six of ten are still alive, and they turned six this year. Dover and Delaware, the Delawares, struggle a lot with egg laying issues, and poor little Del gets picked on a lot. As I type this, she's in the tractor because two of the others won't leave her alone. Silver and Sprinkles, the silver laced Wyandottes, both lay lots of eggs, usually one every other day. Silver still has breathing issues that get worse when she lays an egg, but she doesn't really seem to be bothered by them. My two EE's, Little Nancy and Gidget, are going strong! Lil Nancy is in the beginning stages of EYP, I'm pretty sure, so I don't know how much longer she'll be with us. Gidget is my little blind girl, and she's as healthy as a horse! She lays eggs in her little area, and greets me very very loudly every morning.

I guess Mr. Beard deserves a little blurb as well. He's a very good rooster, both to me and to his hens. He's turning four this year, and has never acted aggressively to any human. We got a new cat recently, and now his new favorite game is "chase the kitty" when I let them out in the evening. Poor kitty doesn't like him very much! A few nights ago, I tricked him by "crowing," a very bad imitation, of course, but he started flapping his wings and crowing up a storm

From the chicks I hatched in 2021, three of the four hens remain. Holly is in the process of going broody right now, and she's turning into a raging little demon. Mo and Ivy just kind of sit around a lot. They're nice hens, just not very remarkable. They lay lots of eggs, and Mo pretends to attack me when I reach in there to get hers. She also has decided the cat is fun to tease, and kitty joins in the fun by pretending to pounce on her and make her fly away. It's quite entertaining, and no one gets hurt by it, so I let them keep doing it.

We got more pullets in fall 2022, and all four of those girls are still going. Charlotte is the sweetest and dumbest EE I own, and you can do basically anything to her. Pick her up, turn her in circles, upside down, she doesn't care. Cleo, her sister, isn't as happy to see people, but she's still nice and enjoys hugs. It's hard to believe that these too friendly little hens were untouchable when we first got them. Penny and Bean, the Welsummer sisters, aren't as nice, but at least they don't go insane when I walk in the coop anymore Penny likes being petted on her chest when she feels like it, but Bean won't have any of that. I like catching her just to hold her sometimes, because she's such a tiny little Bean.

Anyway, that's what's been going on on the chicken front! Hope y'all enjoyed the update.

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

Some photos!
Goldilocks chilling in a tree:

Sweet Colleen:

Pretty little Cleo:

Charlotte:

Penny:

Little Blind Gidget chowing down on some grass:

Mr. Beard:

 

[Callender Girl]

It HAS been a while since an update! Great photos!

Sorry about all the ones that are no longer with you, especially Baroness and Colleen. The last of my original hens passed last year, and I know it's especially hard to say goodbye to the ones who first made you fall in love with chickens.

But, hurray for all the rest of the girls -- and Mr. Beard, even if he does harass poor kitty! BTW, Charlotte, whose photo is lovely, sounds like a wonderfully adorable girl.

Best wishes for the whole flock!