It’s been a while since I updated you on the chicks. The chicks are no longer chicks. They’ve feathered out and a couple are really starting to get their combs. They think Mr. Thistle is their mama, which is hilarious because it took years to convince him to let me have them in the first place. They follow him around and congregate at his feet. It’s quite funny.
They have been living happily in their coop and foraging in their run for some time now. They go to roost every night like clockwork at dusk and file out of the little coop door every morning in a single file line. They are so funny to watch. Each one has a different personality and they function like a little community.
We’re saving up for a chicken cam that we can stream live on the blog. I can’t believe I even just said that. I’ve totally lost it. But I love to watch the chickens so I thought the rest of the world might like it too.
Mr. Thistle and I still believe we have at least one rooster in the bunch but it will be a while before we know for sure. We’ve gone ahead and named them anyway despite the fact that some of the boys might actually be girls and vice versa.
Allow me to formally introduce you:
Mrs. Cluck Norris
General Tso
Ladybird Johnson
Oscar Goldman
Sebastian BockBock
Crooked Foot
Sweet little Crooked Foot is my favorite and holds a special place in my heart. We discovered a week after getting the chicks that she had a turned in foot. You can see how her back foot has toes that curl to the right in the above photo. She is perfectly healthy otherwise and gets around just fine. But it took more practice for her to learn to roost and she still falls off sometimes. She is by far the gentlest of the 6 birds.
Also, you might remember that we purchased these 6 Ancona birds because they are on the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy List under the “watch” category. That means that the breed has lost popularity and is threatened with extinction. Because our farm values biodiversity and heirloom varieties and species we jumped at the chance when our local Tractor Supply offered these birds. However, as you can tell by the photos, all of these birds do not look like Anconas. In fact, I’m starting to think that they aren’t Anconas at all. It is so hard to tell when they are fluffy little chicks. But now that they are bigger I think we ended up with a grab basket from the lovely folks at Tractor Supply who are always so knowledgeable about their poultry offerings…..SIKE!
We think Ladybird Johnson, General Tso, and Sebastian BockBock look the most like Anconas. But even so, they are still not very close to the typical look of the Ancona which is similar to a reverse Dalmatian. The typical Ancona is predominately black with white spots. And the other three are no where close to the typical markings of an Ancona. We’re thinking we might have received Ameraucanas or Araucanas. You can see how it could be confusing for the Tractor Supply.
So, looks like we have mystery birds.
But…..in a couple of weeks we’ll have 6 new chicks to add to the bunch and I should know exactly what kind they are. Unless they slip an extra bird in there, which is not unusual for smaller shipments. We’re expecting a buff orphington, a partridge cochin, a blue hamburg, a star spangled hamburg, a dominique, and a silver laced wyandotte. I can.not.wait to see the look on the miserable post office lady’s face when those chicks arrive. Surely those sweet little chirps can soften her Grinch heart. If only for a moment…..
More on her in another post.
I sat outside tonight and just watched the chickens interacting with each other. They are so soothing to watch. The one that we think is the rooster at the top of the pecking order is so fascinating. He guards those hens and is ever watchful. He keeps them in line and takes care of them. How does he know? There’s been no mama or daddy bird to show him but he does it anyway. And the way the girls get all crazy when one of them finds a bug or a worm cracks me up. They all want it. And the rooster is there to break them up. I love how crooked foot is the weakest of the birds but still so brave around me. She’s not afraid to be held and not very skittish. Then there’s ladybird, who’s not really a lady at all. She fights with all of her might to avoid being held and flies to the top of the fence (and occasionally over it). She is beautiful but she is totally crazy. She’ll probably never be much of a lap-bird. And I love how, at the same time every day, they file into their coop to go to sleep. And how they pile up on top of one another because they haven’t quite gotten the hang of roosting full time for sleep. They are so interesting. I never thought I would be so interested and fascinated by a chicken until I got them.
I also never knew how fast getting a chicken would turn me into a vegetarian but it is happening. Mr. Thistle is making the transition unexpectedly as well.
It is amazing what happens to a person when they start growing their own food. And naming that food. That food becomes a pet. Ha!
Luckily, that pet will still provide us with eggs, pest control, entertainment, and all the free manure we can handle!
This is it folks. I’m officially an urban farmer. And loving every minute of it.
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