When I was in Kindergarten, the teachers got some eggs from local farmers and hatched them in the classroom to teach us about the circle of life, or whatever.
They told us at the end, they would give the chicks away and we should ask our parents if they were interested. Without ever having pets before and asking for them plenty of times, I assumed my request would be instantly shut down. But to my surprise, my mom responded with, “Yes, we’ve already decided to take five of them!”
Since then, I’ve had over 70 chickens throughout my life. One from the first batch even lived until I made it to high school, dying at age 11. Over time, chickens left the earth and were replaced by different, crazy breeds or hatched out as mixed breeds. Eventually in 2013, the remainder of my small flock was wiped out by predators. The following two years were known as the Chickenless Void. We don’t talk about the void.
The good news is, I was finally in the position to get more, starting the New Chicken Era! I currently own sixteen little feathery critters I call my flock. Of those, I have three different breeds: Easter Eggers, which lay blueish-green eggs, Mottled Cochins, a black and white feathery breed originating from China and the endangered Swedish Flower Hen, a beautiful breed from rural villages of Sweden which was close to extinction until conservation efforts were made in 2010.
Below is a chronological list of the flock starting with the New Chicken Era:
March 27, 2015
1. Chatter
Origin: Bought from Gooch’s Hardware on March 27, 2015
Breed: Easter Egger
Sex: ♀
Name inspiration: As a chick she wouldn’t shut up. As an adult, she still won’t shut up.
About: Chatter was always very needy and timid as a chick, growing up with Nugget and Chickpea. However, she soon rose to top of the hen’s pecking order and is among the friendliest chickens of the flock. She curiously follows me, especially if it looks like I’m about to dig up some tasty bugs.
Status: Part of the flock!
Video:
2. Chickpea
Origin: Bought from Gooch’s Hardware on March 27, 2015
Breed: Easter Egger
Sex: ♀
Name inspiration: It’s the result of letting your roommate’s girlfriend name a chick and vetoing the first two suggestions.
About: I’d say at some point I got Chickpea and Chatter mixed up as they grew but Chickpea was always distinctly darker than Nugget and Chatter. The reason I say that is Chickpea is easily the most timid chicken I own now, but as a chick she was the tamest of all three. She was a fan favorite due to her calm nature, always falling asleep in people’s hands and never making much of a fuss – the opposite of Chatter as a chick. When I toss seed on the ground for them, all the other chickens come running, but Chickpea runs in complete terror. She’s flighty, fast, and hard to catch. Somewhere along the way she must have been traumatized, though nothing comes to mind. She’s just a crazy chick.
Status: Part of the flock!
Video:
3. Nugget
Origin: Bought from Gooch’s Hardware on March 27, 2015
Breed: Easter Egger
Sex: ♀
Name inspiration: When I was first trying to come up with names for them, they were in a cardboard box in the car being driven to college. One hopped out of the box and I just haphazardly said “get back in the box you little nugget.” There is no correlation to chicken nugget.
About: My roommate was in charge of giving Chatter attention, his girlfriend handled Chickpea, and that left me with Nugget. In other words, Nugget got the most affection of all, though I did give the others attention too. It didn’t pay off that much because Nugget is only averagely friendly, even less engaging than Chatter who was handled much less by comparison. Still, she’s more sane than Chickpea, who’s real chicken. Perhaps it’s rebellion against her name that she doesn’t follow me around like a lost dog. When she was a chick, I entered her in some online photo contests (yes, that actually exists for chickens), but she didn’t win. I believe the judges were partially blind. Seriously, tell me that’s not a golden shot:
Video:
UNE Chicken Club 