This spring, I faced my fears and dove into the world of chickens. You might wonder, “Chelsy, why are you afraid of chickens?” Well, it’s a funny story. When I was in maybe 4th grade, my mom had chickens, and she sent me out to the coop to make sure the flighty little things had made it in for the night. It was dark, the mosquitoes were biting, and I was in a bad mood. I stubbed my toe on a rock hidden in the waist-high grass, and even though it was dark that July evening in Kansas, it was still hot. I was sticky, my foot hurt, and when I walked into a low-hanging tree branch, I not only startled the chicken that was roosting on it, but I also fell onto my back. The full-sized barred rock rooster came crashing down on top of me, frantically flapping its wings as I screamed. It squawked, and I vowed never to own chickens when I grew up.

Facing My Fears

But then I grew up. My best friend Sara got chickens, my kids wanted chickens, and Joel wanted chickens. It was time for me to face my fears. So now, I am the proud chicken mom to 57 chickens. I know that number sounds made up, but it’s not. There are indeed 57 laying chickens in my backyard as I type this. There is also one brand new, just-hatched Silkie and two eggs that should hatch in the next 24 hours in my house.

Overcoming My Chicken Phobia

Last spring, I watched Sara’s chickens while she was on vacation. I could handle the chicks, but the full-sized chickens still freaked me out. They were so flighty, and I never knew which way they would take off. So, no, I did not want to hold a chicken. Determined to overcome my fear, I decided I would hold our baby chicks every day, and as they grew, my confidence would. I’m happy to report that this plan has mostly worked out. While I’m not the first to catch a chicken in the run, I can usually hold on to a flapping one once it’s caught.

Meet the Flock

While I have no intentions of turning this blog into a chicken-centric blog, I will share about them here and there. Today, I want to introduce you to some of my favorite chickens in our flock. We have mostly chosen old lady names for our chickens. I hope you enjoy them as much as we have.

Lavender and Indigo

First up on our list are our oldest two chickens, Lavender and Indigo. I know we said old lady names, but these two were named before we made that choice. They are Sapphire Gems, and we love their coloring. Indigo is a bit darker than Lavender, and so far, they are the biggest.

Kiki

Next up, we have Kiki. She is a Buff Polish and is hilarious, always looking like she is lost with her fluffy head.

Bonnie and Clyde

Then we have our two little grey Bantams. Originally, we thought we would have one male and one female, so we named them Bonnie and Clyde. Now, we just call them both Clyde since they both have been practicing their crows.

Left Twix

There was a Right Twix at one point, but she ran off to greener pastures—literally, she escaped to the pasture and was never heard from again. So now we just have Left Twix. Twix is a Smokey Pearl. Left Twix has a black speck on her left wing; right Twix has a black spot on her right wing.

Ester and Chubs

Next are Ester and Chubs. Ester is an Easter Egger, and Chubs is an Americana. Both should produce blue eggs. Chubs has these little cheeks that fluff out when she is flustered.

Betty

Meet Betty. She’s a Buff Orpington and a golden girl.

Black Poe

Poe, who looks like a crow, is a surprise breed we got from a farm swap at the same time we picked up Bonnie and Clyde. We think she may be an Ayam Cemani since she was part of a hatchery’s choice and matched up to that as a chick. She does have a few feathers on her legs, but not a fifth toe like the Mystic Onyx, which is a Silkie cross.

The Silkies

Finally, meet the three Silkies. They don’t have any names yet, so if you have some good ideas, let me know.

Meet the Rest of the Flock

Some of the other birds in our flock include the following breeds:

• Austolorps
• Sapphire Olive Eggers
• Barred Rocks
• French Coco Murans
• Light and Buff Brahmas
• Silver Laced Wyandottes
• Gold Laced Wyandottes
• Mystic Onyx
• Calico Princesses
• Bielefelder

Overall, getting chickens has been fun, and I’m excited for them to start laying eggs. We are currently scheming up farm stand ideas to help manage our inevitable surplus of eggs later this summer.