Many of you have asked me about Della . . the sweet little bantam girl who was living withe the evil red hens who pecked open all her eggs before they hatched.
Della
We removed her from the coop with the mean chickens and put Della in the little coop right next to the red chickens. She was alone but she could see them and they all hung out by the fence together each day. But Della was truly lonely. She wanted to be with her chickens her own size so we moved her into the bantam coop. It was not a smooth transition. A couple of the chickens in there were downright mean to sweet little Della. I would pick her up several times a day, hold her, tell her it was going to be ok, feed her strawberries or blueberries and then put her back in there. I am much relieved that they have all now bonded.
Della
Della has not begun to lay again and I suppose it’s because of all the trauma . . losing her babies, then getting moved, then getting moved again, but she seems happy and content now and I’m hoping she will begin laying again soon.
Boys in the Bantam Coop
We have some handsome guys in the bantam coop if Della decides she would like to have a boyfriend! In front is Petunia, which really isn’t a good name for a boy but so far, he has not complained. In the back is Screech and he is still the dominant rooster in the coop. He makes sure everyone knows it . . including Vince and me.
Edith
This is a Sebright and her name is Edith. She is very petite but not very friendly with us, though she doesn’t seem to cause any problems in the coop.
Buff Brahma Bantam
This is a Buff Brahma Bantam. We have several of these. One of them was one of Pearl’s original babies but she is no longer joined at the hip with Pearl.
Pearl
Pearl, of course, is not a bantam but I’m not telling her that! We tried moving her to another coop and she was heartbroken and stopped eating so we put her back. She doesn’t hurt anyone so she can stay in there with them. She’s a full sized white leghorn and she lays one big, white egg almost every day.
Chief
There are a few others but I didn’t get pictures of them. This little guy is Chief! He’s an offspring of our original Silkies. There were 6 that hatched out after we lost the others, I gave one rooster away, a snake killed one and we were left with 4 – 2 whites, a black and Chief. One of Pearl’s babies was a buff colored Silkie so now we have five Silkies, with Chief being our only Silky rooster. I love that Chief reminds me of all or our original Silkies. We had Thelma and Louise who were solid white. They were both supposed to be hens but Thelma ended up being a rooster. We had Tiffany who was buff colored and Smokey who was blackish/grayish/blue. Chief has the buff colors, just a little white, and the dark tail feathers. He’s such a pretty rooster! His earlobes are turquoise, as they are supposed to be on a Silkie, but they’re huge and look like he’s wearing big ear rings. Don’t you think he’s so pretty? He was the only rooster in there til the other bantams moved in and little, bitty Screech quickly showed Chief who was the boss. They don’t fight but there’s no doubt who’s the top dog in that coop . . it’s Screech!
Paula says
I like Edith’s colors. Love reading about the chickens, thanks for taking the time.
Paula in KY
shirley bruner says
I LOVE Edith…she is so pretty.
Sandy says
Thanks for the chicken updates! They certainly are beautiful!
Donna says
I never knew chickens could be so pretty! (I’m a city girl with a country girl heart.)
Michelle Harrison says
I’m a chicken enthusiast! Well, On the internet, if not in real life. I love learning about your chicken family. I am still working on my chicken quilts.
Robin says
Edith might not be friendly but she is a very striking looking chicken.
Judy H says
I’m glad to hear Della is happier now!! I think she’s really pretty.
Edith and Chief are both striking. Edith looks almost as if she had been painted. I had no idea there were so many kinds of chickens!
Kathy (QuiltMonkey) says
I’m chiming in with the others – Edith is gorgeous! I’ve never seen feathers that looked like that before. Thanks for the updates – I never thought I’d be so interested in the lives chickens!
Gail Sheppard says
Judy, I love hearing about all the different breeds of chickens. It’s fun to learn about them and hear the various stories about the individual chickens. LOVE It!!! And, I follow your blog for the quilting. How fun to learn about other things in life! (Knitting, prepping, your family, cooking …)
As everyone else has said, Edith is beautiful. Love her colouring … wouldn’t her colours make a beautiful quilt?
Anne says
I think Edith is the most beautiful chicken I’ve ever seen! She’s just lovely.
I love your chicken posts. 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing them with us.
Joan says
WOW! I’m hooked! I want chickens! They are sooooooo beautiful! I love the variety! Chief looks so soft! I would love to have a stuffed animal version of him to cuddle with! Thanks for all the chicken posts!
Penny in So CA says
Oh Judy ~ what a beautiful chicken family! I especially like Chief & Edith! Funny about little guy, Screech! One of our smallest miniature horses is still a stallion (not sure for how much longer) and he has a similar personality as you describe Screech. He thinks he is king and lets us humans & all the horses including the large normal sized horses that he is in charge of the ranch and also that those are his “girls.”Thank you for sharing your chickens today ~ I enjoyed reading their stories and seeing their pictures. Hugs, Penny
Bon says
You have such interesting looking chickens. Edith is very unusual. Too bad she is not sweet tempered. Thanks for the pictures and descriptions.
Hope you are feeling better tonight.
Dar in MO says
I will have to agree with most everyone on how beautiful Edith is. I think Chief and Edith could have some beautiful offspring if they were to get together. Any chance of that happening? Thanks for sharing your chickens with us who cannot have them. They are so much fun to see and to hear about their escapades.
Rebecca in SoCal says
I agree about Edith: beautiful! She looks like a designer chicken, or art deco, or a wood carving! Thank goodness she doesn’t (seem to) cause trouble with the other chickens.