Meet the Flock

We recently decided to try out raising a small backyard flock of chickens.

We would ideally like 3-4 but the store where we purchased them requires a minimum of 6.

So, we have six!

And we shall see how that goes.

Re-homing a couple is an option if needed.

As I prepared for this undertaking, I read a few articles about chicken raising.

One was called, 5 Things You Need to Know About Raising Chickens.

The first was a warning NOT to name them.

Pretty much because they are at the bottom of the food chain and very vulnerable.

But since we have such a small number of them, the kids couldn't resist naming them and we weren't going to stop them.

When we got our puppy several months ago, I didn't even give the kids an option of being involved in naming.

As far as they knew, Banjo came with his name.

If I'd left it up to them, his name would be Fluffy, Whitey, or Mr. Dog

But with the chickens, I told them to go for it.

That being said...Here we have them...

Judson named Bella.  Our neighbors have a dog named Bella and the kids adore her so I'm guessing that was his inspiration here :-)

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We have three black chickens that look identical at this point so they all have the same name...Chickie!

Great choice, Thatch!

Lucy was named by Ava.  However Ava is not so much an animal person.  She's more of an observer.  Lucy is the cutest!

Story time!  When I was a little girl, my Mom was a teacher.  She had baby chicks in her second grade classroom which meant we had them at our home on the weekends!  There was one that looked distinct and my sister and I named her Owl.  She was friendly and sweet and followed us around wherever we went.  As the chickens grew, my Mother gave them to a family who lived on a farm.  It turned out that Owl became their beloved pet.  They kept her name and she did indeed follow them around like a puppy even as an adult chicken. 

This little one reminded me of Owl and so we took a chance that she is indeed, a she, and that we can keep her.

She is an ameraucana breed and if she turns out to be female, she will lay some beautiful BLUE eggs in time.  

Anyways, this is fun.

The kids are excited and we are too!

James is working on their coop because these chicks are growing bigger everyday!