Shufflin'

After all of my hatches for the schools, I was up to a total of 24 chickens.  Then, my neighbor gave me my gift chicken back. Bow is a Rhode Island Red that she got from the feed store last spring. She turned out to be a mean girl, and was particularly vicious to my neighbor's silver laced wyandottes (SLW). Since my SLW was the queen, J asked me if Bow could come to our coop for a while and get taught a lesson. My girls immediately schooled her and they all got along well. So, J gave her to me. Bow was the only hen to survive the critter attack last November, so I gave her back to the neighbor. Evidently she continued her mean girl ways, so about 6 weeks ago, she came back to our coop. So, up to 25 chickens.

Unfortunately, she was absolutely awful to my new girls, and they were younger and smaller, and didn't try to beat her down, so began a reign of terror.

One of the preschool lavender ameraucanas was definitely a boy, and starting to get a bit agressive, so I sold him.  I decided I couldn't handle Bow being such a meanie anymore, so I gave her back to the neighbor.  I'd promised my brother in law/sister in law a lavender ameraucana from the preschool hatch, and a blrw (blue laced red wyandotte) from the first grade hatch, so I gave those to them a couple days ago.

When it came to blue laced red wyandottes, I really wanted a true blue one. I have a lovely splash. Out of the seven that I hatched in May, I could tell that all 7 were going to be black, which I think pretty much looks the same as a GLW (golden laced wyandotte), so I decided to keep Fred, the last to hatch of the bunch and sell the other five. Found a buyer last week.

So, I was down to 17.  Then I went to the feed store.

Ooooh, that feed store. They always get me in trouble. I had to get a little speckled sussex pullet from them in early May because she was so pretty, and she was the exact same age as the BLRW that I had just hatched. Whoops.

So, I was at the feed store, and the employee knows me by now (which the kids think is HILARIOUS). She sees me, and asks if I'd be possibly interested in a couple of polish chicks she has. They're the same age as my BLRW and speckled sussex. Unfortunately, they've been really picked on by the other chicks, and look really rag tag.  They're also straight run, so a big question mark on gender.

Meet Thing One and Thing Two

The feed store had done the best they could to get them healed, even employees taking them home to nurse them back to health.  At this point, they still have a couple of bald patches, but they are getting better.








So, at this point, I have 19 chickens. I have my two roosters chosen- a White Legbar and a Black Copper Marans.  If any more boys pop up, they'll get sold.  I suspect both of the polish chickens are pullets (wouldn't that be AWESOME? I got an amazing bargain on them). The only chicks that I'm not sure on gender are the final three hatched.


 Emily's comb is looking awfully big, which worries me.




















I have no idea on Chloe, the Coronation Sussex.

And, no idea on Shirley, though I'm starting to lean towards pullet, which is funny because at hatch, I was saying Shirley was a cockerel.