Last year, we took care of some chickens. Because we live in town (even if it is the edge of town), we cannot have roosters. One of our neighbors was talking about how she could hear our hens when they started getting a little rowdier. That was when I decided that we needed to sell them. I didn't want to eat them because I got so attached to them.
These are true white Ameraucanas. We started with Red Stars and Easter Eggers, but the first time around we got mostly roosters so we ate those. We also ate 2 out of 4 Red Stars because they were mean, and unfortunately one died (the friendliest one) by unknown causes. Anyway, these Ameraucanas were the friendliest birds we've ever met and had. The one on the bottom was especially friendly. She would sit on our laps or arms (when she was younger), and her face was exceptionally poofy. We used to have four, but one was a rooster that we named Smokey. We gave him away. The very fortunate thing is that when we needed to sell our chickens, the same lady we gave Smokey to bought them. So, the Ameraucana quads were reunited! When we buy land, we'll be getting more of these white Ameraucanas as well as other colors.
Apparently, these white Ameraucanas are supposed to lay quite well even through the short days of winter. Other types of Ameraucanas (for example, the Wheatens) from the same farm did not lay as well through the winter.
This was our last Red Star. She used to be quite nice when she was very young. She'd fly up onto the palm of my hand and sit there even when I wanted her to get off. But, even though she became very mean to the younger batches of chicks we got after her and the other Red Stars, she was a prolific layer. She was also the first one to lay for us. Here she was in their favorite nest box. She'd make a dinosauric sound when the other girls would come near her if she was in the nest box.
A bit blurry on the head part, but this picture shows our Delaware. They were skittish when I pulled the camera out to take pictures of them, so they were trying to run away. But the picture nevertheless shows the classic markings of a Delaware, even though we got her at a feed store. She was fat and round, she had trouble flying up to the roost at night because she had what we called "stubby" wings, and she had always had a dirty bottom. But, she laid well, too, even though her eggs were the smallest. She was such a strange chicken, always looking distantly somewhere, not moving even when other chickens were shoving her around. Nelly was our "special" pullet, but she was mostly nice to the Ameraucanas. Our Red Star and Blue Copper Marans pullets did not bother her much, either. It was as if she was outside of the pecking order.
This was the biggest pullet I've seen in my chicken pen. When she was younger, she had the makings of a big hen. Her feet are heavily feathered. Although she was very nice when she was a chick, she started becoming irritated and mean once she began to lay. She was especially mean to the Ameraucanas. It was a constant battle to keep her away from them. I would, of course, let them out of the chicken pen early in the morning so that the Ameraucanas could have some peace. When they went back in, however, this Blue Copper Marans (named Blue) would peck an Ameraucana every time she saw one.
In this picture, the darker red chicken in the back is the same one in the nest box in the other picture. However, the lighter one in the front (Scratch) was the Red Star that we found mysteriously dead in the coop one morning. She was my fiance's favorite. She had only started laying when she died, but her eggs were beautiful. Scratch was such a nice, matronly pullet, and we still miss her.
This picture shows the eggs we were getting at the time. The darkest brown one comes from the Blue Copper Marans. The one on the bottom right comes from the dark Red Star. The top one comes from Nelly the Delaware. The Ameraucanas weren't laying yet when we sold them, but they started soon afterwards.
The most wonderful thing that I learned about chickens is their unity with their hatch mates or whichever chicks they grew up with. The four Ameraucanas had a strong bond that couldn't be broken even after a couple months of separation. When the three Ameraucana pullets were reunited with their brother at their new home, the lady put up a picture of the roo hanging out with one of the pullets. It looked as though they had never been separated, and I felt so much joy seeing that.
I also know that chickens have different types of feelings, even sadness. When Scratch died, the darker Red Star ("Runt-Red"), didn't act like herself. She was almost listless and ignoring the others. She would go up onto the roost in the middle of the day and just stare at things. It was only after a week or so had passed that she began to look like her normal self. Her time of mourning seemed finished, but we don't know if she ever forgot her "sister." They were inseparable, too.
Blue was a loner chicken after we had to give her brother back. My Black Copper Marans chick died mysteriously in front of me one day. After it was all said and done, Blue was the one left from that batch. She was a loner for quite some time, but after Scratch died, she and Runt-Red became better friends. The pecking order was rearranged and Blue gained some footing.
When we have our land, I will be hatching out chicks. I would love to be able to see, firsthand, a mother hen leading her chicks around and showing them how to be chickens. Another great thing about having chickens is that they are basically self-sufficient. They are a model of self-reliance. A GOOD mother hen will find food, warmth, and shelter for her chicks and will always put them first. Chickens can forage for their own food, so they would need very little corn-based feed. And, they multiply quickly, too, even though not as fast as rabbits do. (We'll have meat rabbits, as well.) I hope that this post encourages some of you to learn about caring for chickens and maybe having chickens of your own. Be sure to check your local laws, and even if hens are allowed in your neighborhood, be sure that your neighbors don't mind. They are the ones who will most likely turn you in, if it comes to it, even if hens are legal. They can still turn you in based on noise complaints.
*** I got my new driver's license today! One thing irked me when I was looking at it. On the back of the card, it says that the driver's license does not provide proof of eligibility for employment. I was surprised and a little angry at this statement because every time I have had to establish proof of eligibility for employment, HR always asks for a driver's license. I always brought in my passport because I didn't have my DL at that time - isn't a passport better than a DL for employment purposes? They do ask for an SS card but they always ask for a DL with it, too. Ugh. Well, at least I have my license now.
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