Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Chicken Pi Day

Time for a different kind of flock talk!

The girls have slacked off a bit from the January/February egg rush, but we are still getting enough to use and sell. Rhode Island Red Kate (no photo) stopped laying her large brown eggs for several weeks, and is now laying JUMBO eggs. Whiting True Blue Splash is currently my closest hen-friend; she's the only one who seems to enjoy being held:

Once-gamebird-beautiful Spangle (my other Whiting True Blue) is molting so heavily she looks like a quail amongst the flock, poor thing:

Pearl, one of our four recent acquisitions (along with Puff, Lady E, and Ashes) is so similar to Splash that I have to look carefully at their combs to tell them apart from a distance. Up close it's a no-brainer since one is friendly and one is not. Pearl is downright vicious when in a nest box!

Little Puff, like Pigpen in the Charlie Brown comic strip, is always dirty.

I named this Easter Egger Lady E, but I've often thought since that with her white 'lace' collar, she should have been dubbed Ruth, for the Notorious RBG:

Ashes, above, is very different in color and shape to my three old grey hens. The six-year-old Blue Wyandottes are massive in comparison; beautiful to look at but not great layers.

My other old hen is a seven-year-old Black Australorp, not shown. Never fear; none of them are ending up in a pie or pot in this vegetarian's kitchen, today or any other day! Our hens live out their days here, and I enjoy watching and interacting with them.

That's it for now from . . .

6 comments:

A :-) said...

Oh, I'm totally calling her RBG. That's so perfect!! :-D

Michelle said...

I don't know why it didn't strike me at first! I'm wondering if her neck was dirty, or if more white feathers have come in since she moved here.

Retired Knitter said...

Ruth, of course! I love the fact that they all have individual personalities. And the first picture at the start of this post is a “hoot”!! So glad they can live their full lives. it should be that way for all living things.

Tim B. Inman said...

THE NOTORIOUS RBG!!! Ruth for short. That was one kick-butt lady, and she needs a name sake. Under that laced robe, RBG carried cannons. She's missed. But smile when you can, and Ruth should have an official name change. Cheers!

Debbie said...

Great photos! Love RBG.

Michelle said...

Elaine, chickens sadly can have very short lives, bred as they are for production. But they are characters!

Amen, Tim!