All in all – I would have to say that the most talked about of any venture we have going on at the farm are the chickens. ”The Coop” as we call it – is usually the first place visitors to the farm go to see. Our coop has been home now for over the last year to our little flock (we started with nine). With a few minutes of care each day – they have provided us with a little over 4 dozen eggs each week – and maybe even more importantly – an incredible supply of organic matter for our compost bins.
Our hens are not free loaders – they actually pay for themselves. In a short time – we have developed a steady supply of farm fresh egg buyers who purchase our excess eggs, which is more than enough to pay for their feed and straw.
It’s amazing how each of our chickens has developed their own personality. Many have asked to meet them – so here you go:
Curious George
GEORGE: George earned her nickname early on – as she was by far the most curious of the day old chicks. She would wander around all over the brooder and explore new territories. She is often found wandering around by herself and genuinely enjoy’s her “private” time – although she does seem partial to spending time alongside Big Mamma if she needs company.
Comet
COMET : Comet is the classic “gossip” queen. Always in everybody’s business, if any of the other hens finds a worm or something to get into, she is right there to check it out and see if she can have it for herself. We are not quite sure but we have narrowed our one speckled egg that we get in the nest each day to either her or George.
Co-Pilot
CO-PILOT : Co-Pilot is Amelia’s partner at the top of the coop each night. All of our Leghorns are much more prone to flight than the Golden Comets, but Co-Pilot and Amelia are the top flyers – and have made a place for themselves each night high above the others in the coop.
Big Mamma
BIG MAMMA. By far our most “weight challenged” Hen. Big Mamma is just, well, big! She has a little trouble obtaining any flight whatsoever when she flaps her wings, and really seems to enjoy hanging out by the feeder more than anyone else. Even when roaming the property, she seems to keep her exercise to a minimum. She is more of what we term a “waddler”. She has an incredibly sweet disposition, and we are almost positive that she is the layer of the every so now and again “Monster Egg”. An egg so big, that we can never close the lids on the egg carton!
AMELIA: Amelia is our “flying chicken”, as in Amelia Earhart. It’s easy to see here as she tries out the rafters on the new barn. She has always had a penchant for flying, from her early day in the brooder when we came down to find her sitting on the top of the brooder when none of the others could fly past the first board. She is constantly trying to hop up ladders and see how high she can get.
Sherwin “Williams”
SHERWIN : Sherwin earned her name because of her affinity for paint. We were sprucing up the outside of the coop not long after the chicks had moved to the farm – and wherever we went to paint, Sherwin was there to try to peck at it. When we began to stain the barn wood, there was Sherwin again to peck at the brushes and see what paint he could find! And no, her eggs do not come out colored 
Goldie
GOLDIE: She is the looker of the comets and knows it. She will strut around and is quite proud of her beauty – she’s even been caught a time or too looking at her reflection in some old windows stored in the barn. She really is a beautiful hen – with a light golden color, she is easy to spot among the other hens.
DIGGER: It’s not too hard to see how Digger earned her name. Digger finds any pile of dirt, rock, or straw to start rooting through and make a home. She would have made a great explorer because she can always find a home anywhere. We have thought about putting her in areas where we will be planting and let her “pre-till” the soil.
Foghorn
FOGHORN: The most independent of our 3 Leghorn Chickens – Foghorn reminded us very much of the cartoon character – so we passed along the name. Her favorite place to gravitate to is the barn floor – where she carves out a little hole and promptly roosts. She will be very disappointed someday when the brick floor gets put down!
CHICKEN PICS :
What are you looking at?
George checks out the surroundings while Foghorn and Goldie clean their feathers.
KIds love the chickens
Hi, and Thanks for stopping by! Your blog is great, and your farm is very attractive! Our stories sound very similar. We live on just under 3 acres and call it “The Farm” too!
I look forward to reading through your posts!
Great looking bunch of chickens! It’s amazing how each one has their own personality like people do. One of our red stars is so nosey. She has to be right next to me to see what I’m doing. She’s so sweet.
Hi! Nice to meet your flock! Love the creative names you have come up with! Thanks for introducing us at the second annual Hen House Hop at Dandelion House!
Thanks for sharing; It is fun to take a virtual tour of other people’s coops.
I love the names you have chosen!
Oh my goodness! Your post made me laugh. The names are adorable! I think your hens are precious!
I love how you shared your pics of the hens! I have 5 red hens,1 white silkie hen,2 silkie roosters-1 white and the other black & gold and some blue! I will be getting 6 leghorn hens in oct. My husband thinks I am crazy cause they all have names and I talk to them every morning when I open them up! I love spending quite time with them and feeding them out of my hand. My black silkie rooster Jake eats out of my hand and loves to have hugs,every day I pick him up and give him hugs,he even lets me kiss his head!!! They give me such joy before I go off to work every day!!!
I am laughing out loud! What an adorable presentation. I loved meeting all of your “girls.” I originally saw your post called “chicken talk – raising our hens” and then saw “meet the chickens” on your sidebar and just had to take a peek. I’ve had chickens in the past and am considering having some more, so that’s why I was attracted to your post via Six Sisters’ Stuff. Thanks so much for sharing your life. Your blog is delightful!
Thank you so much Resa for the compliments! We can’t imagine life without our hens around – and so glad you stopped by from Six Sisters. – Jim
I came via Hometalk. I love your chickens. I was wanting one of two myself, but don’t have the money or means to build a chicken coop. Any suggestions? And do you have a post about what to do when you first get a biddie and have never owned a chicken before?
We have several post on the chickens – if you go to our categories on the right side – just click on the link and it will take you to all of our posts on them. We absolutely love them and they have been so easy to care for.
Oh yes, I don’t want them running loose cause of small property and neighbors, so is it necessary for them to be able to be free and roam?
If you give them a small penned area to roam they will be fine. We let ours roam freely when the garden is not in season – but keep them to a more confined area with temporary posts and chicken wire so they can roam about in there. If you only had a few – a small pen or chicken tractor would work. So glad you stopped by our blog!
Enjoyed meeting your gang….I have several chickens, we call them “The Girls or Sisters” they are free roaming also. We’ve had to make several adjustments, such as putting up wire around the fence so they can’t get into the yard with the dogs and fenced in the garden, the horses don’t bother them except to sometimes herd them around. We had a terrible drought here in Texas for several years and had problems with coyotes getting them so my husband made them a coyote proof hen house by using cinder blocks placed in the ground around the house…the coyotes can’t dig under the cinder blocks to get in the hen house now. We love all our pets, but the chickens pay for their keep by providing us and several other families with fresh eggs which are much better tasting, in our opinion, than the ones you purchase in the store. I hope my hint about the cinder blocks will help others if they are having problems with critters. I read all your articles on gardening and you have provided us with great tips for gardening. Thank you
Thank you for sharing. You have a fab flock there and I can see the fun you’re having with those silly little girls. I’ve been in the chicken wrangling hobby for over a year and a half and we share similar naming circumstances. All critters round my place earn their call sign by their unique behaviors and sometimes by time of the year. I started with 16 birds in July last year, and gave 3 hens names of “Yankee, Doodle and Dandy” simply to take some of the pressure of being Double-Octo-Mom overnight. You’re right, the chickens are what everyone wants to see and know about when talking with me.
They’re all adorable!
Just in case you sometimes have way more eggs than your friends and family can eat — you may want to check out http://www.eggzy.net. A few friends our ours started this a while back. It’s a free online network connecting people with backyard flocks to folks looking for fresh local eggs.
Thanks for sharing your girls! I had to give mine away due to money problems
so I really enjoyed this! Sure miss my girls they even sat in my lad my shoulder and anywhere else the could land! Debi
Thank you for the introductions. Your girls are beautiful with very fitting names! I love the way you landscaped around the coop too! Keep up the good work! You make farming look fun. I always thought it was, but could never convey it to others the way you have here. Again, thanks!
Thanks so much Mary!! That was such a nice compliment – and we love our girls!!! Jim
I live on a 6ac horse ranch in the guest house and she has 6 dogs and I have my one cat. He has run into one of the dogs twice now and cost me some vet bills. And the owner has had to pay out some from the damage my cat put on him. So chickens might be a problem for me. But I want some for the eggs and fertilizer they produce. My garden is in the middle of the motorized exercise ring. It is is big and totally fenced. Nothing can get in except for some rats and mice and maybe a baby rabbit here and there.I was wanting to put the chicken coop inside the ring but I was told chicken call dig up a garden doing their scratching for bugs and such so it wouldn’t be a good location. What is your take on this?
We have to fence the hens out of garden when it is in season because they will just devour it all – so I would definitely keep that in mind for your garden placement. We do however let them in at the end of the year to help clean up the bugs and fertilize. Jim
My son has 4 hens and their toe nails get very long and bent…can you cut them yourself?
I have to be completely honest and say I have no idea on that question. We have never had to worry about that, but you may be able to find the answer to your question on a website called http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/ She has a great site with a lot of great information.
I LOVED MEETING YOUR GIRLS THEY ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL AND THE NAMES ARE SO CUTE I MISS LIVING ON OUR FARM AND HAVING CHICKENS AND RABBITS AND BABY CALVES TO WATCH GROW. I DO HOW EVER HAVE ROOM FOR A GARDEN AND I AM HOPING IT WILL BE PRODUCTIVE SO i CAN CAN AND FREEZE FOR WINTER.
Thank you so much Patricia – glad you liked the article on the girls
I wish you luck on your upcoming garden and let us know how it goes!!! Jim and Mary