Six New Hens

Polly is a Barred Rock with speckled black and white feathers. Polly seems to be at the top of the pecking order. She was the first to lay an egg and now gives us an egg nearly every day. Polly lets us hold her and comes running when we call. Polly is our fourth Barred Rock over the years and all our BRs have been very tame and great layers.

Della is a Delaware hen. White with a little black around her neck and tail, she’s sweet, curious and quite tame. Della began laying at 21 weeks. Her eggs are light brown and small/medium in size. She is not easily ruffled by children or the dogs. She is making a great pet as she lets us hold her on our laps.

Anna is Polly’s look-alike. Both Barred Rocks, they look so similar it is hard to tell them apart. Anna has a distinct personalty, very curious, and is the tamest of all the hens. She follows us around, especially if we have something in our hands. She is very curious about everything. When my grandson visited, she followed him around pecking at the buttons on his pants. Anna began laying eggs at 23 weeks.

Easter Egger

Dixie Chick is an Ameraucana, or Easter Egger. She is a tall bird with beautiful bronze and gold feathers. She is a bit shy and runs if we reach for her. She lays beautiful, large green eggs. Dixie was a moderately early layer at about 25 weeks and lays about 4 big eggs a week.

François, or Franny, is the clown of the flock. She is a free spirit usually ranging away from the others. She would be at the bottom of pecking order except she is spunky and won’t take any nonsense from the others. Her breed is a Salmon Favorelles, developed in Northern France, thus the French name. She has feathers on her legs and an extra toe on each foot (typical of the breed).

Big Bertha, a Dark Brahma, is the biggest and shyest, of all the hens. She runs and squawks loudly if we try to pick her up. She is huge and will probably weigh 8 lbs. as an adult. Brahmas are known to be quite mellow, but at 24 weeks, Big Bertha is a bit of a “scaredy cat”! We’ll see if, over the years, we’ll be able to gain her trust and  pick her up and pet her.