Hen Bios
 Agnes and Philomena
In this picture these two girls are twenty weeks of age (hatched January 2009)- as they mature their feathers will fill out and they'll put on more weight. They are "sex-link" hybrids, which means that they are a cross between a brown rooster and a white hen (usually Rhode Island Reds), so that the resulting boy chicks are white and the girls are brown, with fluffy white bottoms. Each hatchery breeds their own line of hybrids and you'll find different names. These are Golden Comets. They have docile temperaments and are good layers of brown eggs. Their eyes are the prettiest light-olive green color.
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Coco
Coco's full name is Coconut, because she is snowy white like flaked coconut, but will surely get as dirty brown as the outside of a coconut soon enough. She was hatched in March 2008 and had an illustrious show career before I got her. |
 Mazie and Alma
These two hens are Wyandottes, which is an old American breed. The Wyandotte was a useful bird for homesteaders because it was both a prolific layer of brown eggs and good for meat. Like many breeds of chickens, this one has color and style variations. Alma has a rose comb and Mazie has a large single comb. Alma is golden-laced and Mazie is silver-laced. Alma hatched on March 18, 2007, then spent some time as a chick in a backyard flock before joining my hens. Mazie is probably about the same age. She spent her first summer in an educational program that introduced city kids to farm animals, but lost her job when winter came, and so joined my flock. |
 LuLu
LuLu is a Sussex. She was hatched in the spring of 2007 and spent her first year being oohhed and ahhed over by children in an educational program, so she is well-socialized to people. She is outgoing, curious and loves attention. |
 Eggers and Betsy Ross
Snowball was such a wonderful character that I decided to get a couple more bantam White Leghorns. These two pretty girls stay out of the way of the big hens. Egger, the one with the green leg band, has a personality similar to Snowball's - she's friendly, likes to be held, and has a bit of a mischievous glint to her eye. Betsy is a tad flightier and tags along. |
 Buffy
This beautiful Buff Orpington was part of a small backyard flock but she was at the bottom of the pecking order and had wounds to prove it. So Buffy came to live with our hens who chase her away from the finest tidbits, but otherwise leave her in peace. Sometimes she even manages to sneak a crumb away from the bossier girls! |
 Edwina and Eleanor
These two Barred Rocks are hard to tell apart, though side-by-side you can see that Eleanor has a thicker tail. They are consistent layers of bown, slightly speckled eggs. |
 Aunt Marge and Aunt Petunia
These two hens are New Hampshire Reds and are good layers. Basic big brown hens, they are always busy, clucking and scratching and keeping the other hens off their few inches of dirt. Named after muggles in Harry Potter books, these girls waddle about, bossy and complaining, rather like their namesakes. To tell them apart take a close look -- Aunt Petunia is the skinny one and Marge is fat, just like in the books. |
 Twinkydink and Blackie
These two look-alikes are Australorps. Their black feathers shimmer with greens and rust colors; they are especially beautiful on sunny days. They are classic big laying hens. |
 Candy
Obviously not a chicken! Candy is a lop-eared rabbit who lives in a hutch in the chicken run. She gets out every day for a "hop-around" and her favorite activity is chasing the hens. |
| Loved and Remembered |
 Ginger
This big hen was a Black Star. She layed large brown eggs that sometimes had double yolks. She liked to be in the thick of things and was the first one to eyeball something new. |
 Perrie
This hen had hawk-like markings, and so named Perrie for a Peregrine Falcon. She was an Ameraucana cross-breed and laid blue-green eggs. Like a hawk, she was always watchful. |
 Snowball
Snowball, AKA Snowboss, was a bantam White Leghorn. She proved that it is personality, not size, that matters in the hen house. Snowball was on the top of the pecking order. She was also the fastest to the fence when I said, "I have a juicy bug for one of you hens!" Snowball liked to be held, and if she was in the garden with you, she'd either be underfoot or in your arms. She was clicker-trained to pose for the camera and had a wonderful time as the star of the children's book, Tillie Lays an Egg (Scholastic Press 2009.) Snowball was an exceptional chicken and as much a part of the family as a pet dog.
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 Prudence
Prudence was a Rhode Island Red, a breed known to be prolific layers of big brown eggs. She was friendly and gentle.
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 Tweedledum
Tweedledum was a Silkie, which is a breed that looks as if it has hair. Gentle and placid, Silkies make wonderful pets for young children. Tweedledum's other name was "Queen Victoria" because she looked as if she was wearing a fussy Victorian gown and because Tweedledum stayed away from the other hens, as if the riff raff were below her.
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