The Chicken Lady

So, the last time I blogged about my chickens, I had just bought my first girl...Mammy.  Well, I've now got 5 lovely ladies.  Yes, I'm chicken addicted. They are just so fascinating to me.  There are over 150 varieties of chickens and each comes with its own use and personality.  I bet you didn't know that the color of a chickens ear lobes determine the color of its eggs...interesting, right?  

I thought I would introduce you to my gals.

 
 
This garden is right outside their coop.  They love to pick through all the plants looking for bugs and small toads.  They also use the plants for cover when they spy a hawk in the sky.

This is Missy.  She is a standard Red Star and she is CRAZY.  She comes running to me every time I walk out of the house. She is a food monger and will eat just about anything.  I walk around the yard and pick up big rocks for her to peck under.  Her favorite are big fat worms.  I've actually caught her walking around my kitchen a few times.

 

This little lady is a Sammy.  She's a bantam Silver-laced Wyandotte.  My husband calls her "Chicken Hawk" cause she chases all the squirrels and birds out of the yard. She is a little toughy.  However, she is very shy with me.  Her and Mammy are BFF's and can always be seen together.

Just like I said....always together! Here you can tell the difference in size between the standard chicken and a bantam chicken.

 

No, she is not a pigeon.  This is Sky and she is a bantam Lavendar Ameraucana.  She hasn't started to lay eggs yet, but when she does they will be blue.  Sky has a lot of instinct in her.  If I don't have her locked up by 6PM, she flies up into a tree for the night.  She always picks a high thin branch that a predator couldn't jump too or stand on.  She's a smart one.

Good ol' Mammy.  My first and still favorite.  She is a standard Barred Plymouth Rock.  She is an old girl and no longer lays eggs.  I think most people would think I'm crazy for keeping her, and she was about to be butchered before I got her, but I think she is so beautiful I have to keep her. She is a big girl, and I love to see her barrel across the lawn to me when I throw scraps out.

Meet the newest addition...Snow(Sorry for the lack of creativity...my children come up with the names). She is a standard White Leghorn Frizzle.  After about a week of picking on her, the ladies have finally accepted her into their clan.  They now allow her to free range with them without chasing her back into the pen.  I love her for her bold whiteness and silly feathers.  She is a sight! 

Here's a shot of their pen.  My husband built it for me a couple years back.  It is one of my most favorite things in this world.  It is just done perfectly, and in the summer it is surrounded by greenery.  It's such a sweet sight.  

Thanks for listening to me about one of my passions!  I'll post some pic's of Sky's little blue eggs when she starts laying.  Can't wait!