The Sorority Chicks

For most of you this will be way too long with way too much information and way too many pictures about something that will probably not interest you.  This post however is being written for some of the most important people in my life.  Evie, Rosie, Juju and Fletcher here are Meme's new girls and all about them!

Earlier this past week, very, very early one morning I took a quick drive into our small town to the Post Office and picked up this little bitty box.

This little bitty box held 16 little fuzzy chicks.  Very lively and very gorgeous little chicks.  I could not believe they all fit in there!

AND that in it they had traveled all the way from St. Paul, Minnesota!  That is even further away than Auntie Karen and Auntie Sara live!

At first they were just a wee bit shy in their new surroundings and kind of huddled into a fuzzy pile under their red heat lamp.  They have to have a heat lamp in their brooder for several weeks.  It takes the place of their mothers' wings.  A brooder is the container they live in until they are old enough to move into their coop.

Within just a few minutes they were all drinking, eating, hopping around and singing as loud as their fuzzy little bodies would let them.  And pooping.  They poop a lot.

For the first few days I kept them in a cardboard box that was about 2 feet wide and 4 feet long.  Then they started acting crowded so I moved them into what is going to be their permanent brooder.

A kiddie pool.  In your bedroom.

We have three chicks each of five different breeds or kinds of chickens.  Two breeds that lay white eggs, two breeds that lay brown eggs and then one breed  that lays colored eggs.  How fun is that! 

One day before they came, Uncle Josh asked me if I was going to name them.  What a silly question!  I told him that I've known for a long time that when I finally did get my hens one of them would be named Phoebe.  Of course he wanted the reason and I gave him an answer that mothers give when they don't really have an answer.  Because.  Yes, just because.   I then said I didn't have a clue as to any other names and asked him for help with naming them.  It should not come as a surprise to you that he immediately told me that Phoebe was a Greek titan and that we could name them from mythology.  I thought this was a great idea but I wanted to give them my own version of the names.  He thought that was okay.  So we came up with a list of names from Greek and Roman mythology in preparation for the arrival of our fuzzy little chicks.

I have since come to believe that he thought of the idea just so he could call our girls in the coop

The Sorority Chicks!

(ask Mama what that means)

The White Egg Layers

Anconas - Famous as layers of good sized white eggs, non-setters, these beautiful chickens have lustrous black plumage with white tips on every few feathers. They are about the same size to a little heavier than Leghorns - about 4 pounds. The dark color and active temperament make them a good bird to raise where hawks, owls, and animal predators are a problem because they do not show up like white breeds; and they are very quick and alert. They are an old breed in the Mediterranean Class, coming from the area around Ancona, Italy via England to the United States by the late 1800's. Baby chicks are very bright and snappy looking with their approximately half and half combination of black and white patches.

Girlies, Mediterranean class means that they are chickens that originally came from the Mediterranean area many, many years ago.  Look up the Mediterranean Sea on your map of the world if you want to know where it is.

Ancona chicks.  Though they look yellow in the picture they are really almost white and black.

photo - Murray MacMurray Hatchery

 This is how they will look when they are all grown and giving us pretty white eggs.

photo from Google images

 Our Ancona babies:

Minerva is the Roman goddess of wisdom, magic, medicine, arts, commerce and defense.  Our little chick is Minnie and the name kind of fits are littlest baby Ancona with a dot on the top of her head.

Mater Matura is the Roman goddess of dawn and childbirth.  For some reason I thought this goddess' name appropriate for a chicken. As in getting up at the crack of dawn like a chickens does.  Also childbirth and eggs seems to go together to me.  This little baby is just plain Mater, you know like a tomato/mater.

This is Mater and Minnie admiring themselves in the mirror.  The chicks LOVE the mirror.  It is so funny.  See how much smaller Minnie is than Mater?

Mellonia is the Roman goddess of bees and beekeeping.  Which seems to me to be a very inappropriate name for a chicken.  She has more black on her back and wings that gives it almost a ball, round look.  So, she is Mellon.

Mostly because for some reason it amuses me to have a trio of chickens named Minnie, Mater and Mellon.  We take our jokes where we can in the back of beyond on the Hill.  This photo is kind of blurry, Mellon doesn't like to stay still.  And when she does it's usually like this.

Minnie, Mater and Mellon sleeping

Okay, I just have to say that one of the reasons I decided to get this breed was their name.  When Meme was growing up and living in Long Point (where Uncle Bill, the other Aunt Karen and Blake live) I rode the bus to the school in the corn fields.  And every day the bus I rode picked up kids in Ancona, IL.  So Meme HAD to get Ancona chickens!

Black Minorcas -  The Minorca chickens are the largest of the Mediterranean class.  The hens average around 7.5 pounds. They are non-sitters, excellent layers of large white eggs, laying perhaps the largest, and very hardy and rugged fowls. The breed has proven excellent on all soil types and adapts readily to range or confinement. In America, the breed made a name for itself due to its great egg laying ability combined with its hardiness and proclivity to excel on range.  The breed takes its name for the Island of Minorca, off the coast of Spain, in the Mediterranean, where it once could be found in large numbers. Spanish tradition relays that the breed came to Spain from Africa, with the Moors. In fact, it was sometimes referred to as the “Moorish fowl.”

The Black Minorcas chicks.  These also look yellow in the photo but they are also more white than yellow.

photo - Murray MacMurray Hatchery

This is what they will look like some day.  The Black Minorcas are also called the Red Faced Black Chicken. Can you see why?  They are a glossy black color with dark red faces, large red wattles and combs and very large white earlobes.  Yes, ear lobes!  Shall we give them earrings!  Just kidding.

photo from Google images

Our Minorca babies:

Hera is the Greek queen of Olympus and the goddess of marriage, women, childbirth and empires.  It appears that this is the little lady that will rule the roost.  She already appears to be taking her place at the top of the pecking order after just a few days.  Nothing happens in the brooder without her leading it or nosing or pushing into it.  So of course Uncle Josh wanted to name her Hera.  Because she is already acting sort of queen like.  She will be called Hera.  Because it is not a good idea to mess with a queen's name.

It was very hard to get a photo of Hera by herself.  She is always pushing herself into the the middle of everything!

A few hours after I had written the above I went in to check on the chicks and I saw this.

That is Hera.  And it is kind of typical for her to be the first to make it to a perch.  She just sat up there watching the flock kind of like a queen!  I had to take the photo through the netting I had to put up because the little Anconas are all flying as high as the top of the pool.  The next time I go to town I will buy some real bird netting to drape over the perches.  I am not real worried because since I put the netting up and they can see it they quit trying to fly up there.
 
Helena is the daughter of Zeus, the Greek god of the sky and king of Olympus.  Our little Helena will be called Helen.  Because Helen is a good name for a chicken, this was decided on the phone with my sweet Evie.

  
This is Helen in the left front and Hera is peeking over the backs of the group.  I have a very hard time telling them apart unless they are right together.  Hera is larger and has more white around her beak.  And Helen has lines that come out from her eyes that look like white eyeliner!

Hestia is the Greek  goddess of the hearth and home.  Hessie was our smallest chick and she seemed fine for the first couple of days but by the third day it was obvious that she was in distress.   When baby chicks hatch, for the first few day they actually live off of the nutrients they received from their egg sac.  Little Hessie never managed to eat or drink on her own.

 I separated her from the others because they were kind of picking on her. I tried hand feeding her for a day but she quit breathing sometime during that night. Sometimes that just happens, it is kind of sad but it is also just part of the circle of life. 
 

The Brown Egg Layers

New Hampshire Reds originated  around 1915 in the state of New Hampshire from poultry farmers who started with the breed Rhode Island Reds and by means of generation after generation of selective breeding intensified the characteristics of early maturity, rapid full feathering, and production of large brown eggs.  Their body is well rounded with a deep full breast a medium length tail and they weigh in at around 6.5 pounds.  The head is deep and rather flat on top with prominent eyes, a single comb with five points, smooth face, large wattles and oval red earlobes. The legs are yellow and the lower thighs are large and muscular with feet that have four toes. The feathers are a lovely deep chestnut red and are fluffy and full.

New Hampshire Red chicks

photo - Murray MacMurray Hatchery

and when they grow up they will match the dirt on the Hill. 

photo - Murray MacMurray Hatchery

Our New Hampshire Red babies:

Alectrona is the Greek solar goddess or goddess of the morning or waking up.  Fancy name for a chicken but when I read what she was a goddess of I just had to use this name for one of my hens.  She is Alec even though she's a girl. The chick that got this name was hatched for it, she has a morning sunshine yellow head!

Asteria is the Roman titan of nocturnal oracles and falling stars.  Which has nothing to do with chickens.  But Uncle Josh and I both liked this name.  Meme loves asters,

they are a purple flower and the bridesmaids carried them at Meme and Papa's wedding  42 years ago.  That is a long time isn't it?  So, the chick whose wing feathers look like flower petals is Aster.   Even though she will be red and not purple.

Aster is right in the middle.  Her wings are a plain, creamy white and resemble flower petals.  That is Alec in the front on the right.  See how much lighter her head is than Aster's?  And see the darker markings on Alec's wings?

Anna Perenna is the Roman goddess of the "circle of the year."  This was one of the first names that I knew instantly I would use.  I just liked the idea of having a chicken with this name.  So Anna she is. Anna's head is darker than Alec's and has an even darker stripe down the center of it.  That is how I tell it is Anna!

I won't be surprised if she gets called AnnaPenna or AnniePennie or as Uncle Josh already has, Anna Pehenna.  See previous comment about jokes  in the back of beyond on the Hill.

Cuckoo Marans  The Marans breed was developed in France in the mid 1800's in the town that carries its name, Marans. The breed had made their way to England in the early 1900's and quickly became very popular for their very dark brown eggs - a trait they are still known for today. These beautiful birds were first exhibited in 1929 in Paris by the Poultry Breeders Society of France and since then have gradually made themselves popular in various countries around the world.  The Cuckoo variety have a black and white feather color pattern similar to the Barred Plymouth Rock and the hens at full size weigh about 7 pounds.

Cuckoo Marans chicks

photo from Murry MacMurry Hatchery

and when they grow up they are black and white stripey like this, though this is actually called barred. 

photo from Google images

Our Cuckoo Marans babies:

Daphne is a Greek water nymph.  Again I just thought Daphne was good name for a chicken.  Kind of like Phoebe.  Just because.

Daphne's wing are more marked and the spot on her head is shaped like an hourglass.  She is real easy to pick out of the crowd!

Dea Dia is the  Roman goddess of growth.  Dea Dia is pronounced like DayUh DeeUh.  But this little lady is being called Dedi like Deedee.

Dedi is less marked that the other two Marans.  the spot on her head is like a blur and she has a matching pair of blurs on her wings.  She is also our little Ninja chick.  She moves so fast and she can hide in an instant!

Demeter is the Greek goddess of grain, the harvest, growth and nourishment.  Our third little Cuckoo Maran is being called Demma.

 
 Do you remember how much Papa likes Star Trek?  Do you remember these aliens?

photo from the MakeUp Gallery

They are Klingons.  Demma has a mark on her head that looks like the ridges on a Klingon forehead.  And  Demma is a Klingon name!  No, Uncle Josh did not know that but we looked Klingon names up on the internet and found it.  Pretty good name, right?
 
I'm excited about the Cuckoo Marans because they are also known as "Chocolate Eggers"  and they are supposed to give  us eggs that look like this. 

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Awesome, right?

The Blue Egg Layer

Ameraucana  is a  breed  of  chicken thought to have been developed here in the United States, though it is not clear exactly where they were developed.  This unusual breed in part gets in name from an Indian tribe of Chile, the Araucana . The breed is believed by some to have descended from Araucana chickens brought into North America during the 1967 World Fair in Montreal, Canada. Their name is a combination of  America and Araucana.  They have characteristic traits that include a pea comb, white skin, full tails, slate or black legs and muffs and beards.  Yes, they have beards! They come in these colors: Black, Blue, Blue Wheaten, Brown Red, Silver, Wheaten and White. They are a midsize bird with an average weight of 5.5 pounds. They are one of only three chicken breeds to lay blue eggs.

Ameraucanas chicks

photo - Murray McMurray Hatchery

and when they are grown they will look like this.

photo found on Pinterest

or this

photo found on Pinterest

 or maybe like this.

photo found on Pinterest

See their beards!

Our Ameraucana chicks:

Phoebe is the Greek titan of the "bright" intellect and prophecy.  Our chipmunk stripe chick has been Phoebe since I opened the box.  She is also our largest chick so it is good that she is named after a titan!  That is the Ninja Dedi chick behind her.

Persephone is the Greek goddess of vegetation and queen of the underworld.  The dark brown chick is Perse, pronounced Percy like mercy.  As in mercy me!

Pietas is the Roman goddess of duty.  Our littlest and lightest in color Amerecauna has been Petie from day one too!

These ladies should give us eggs in different pretty shades of blues and greens.

photo from Pinterest

How fun is that!
 
We will have white eggs, light brown and dark brown eggs and pretty shades of blue and green eggs.  Fun!  But really they will all taste the same and all have the same nutritional value because the shell color really doesn't mean anything.  What counts is what our hens eat.  So we have to make sure they eat healthy!  And you know what?  Meme should have so many eggs that we will have to meet for lunch in Scottsboro so that you can take eggs home!

I almost forgot.  Some simple mathematics.  3 little chicks x  5 breeds = 15.  Right?  And if you remember from way up there at the beginning of this novella on chickens I said I had 16 little warm fuzzy chicks.   We ordered our chicks from Murray MacMurray Hatchery.  As a thank you every order receives a free exotic chick. Our free chick is a very soft, pale yellow and truth be told, I have no idea whether she is a she or if he is a he.  I found a couple of different tests to try to see if she is a she and she passed them both! I am being optimistic that she is a she because a he is not very welcome in our layers only coop.  She looks just like the palest of these Blue Andalusian chicks

photo - Murray McMurray Hatchery

and exactly like this photo of an Andalusion chick with the faint gray around her eyes and on her wings.

photo found on Pinterest

She would be called a Splash Andalusion rather than a Blue because obviously she is not blue but hopefully she will have splashes of color like this. 

photo from Google images

Because she is so gorgeous Uncle Josh thought she should be named  Aphrodite.

Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of absolute beauty and  love.  She has been called  PhroPhro since Uncle Josh first saw her!

And it really suits this fuzzy ball of fluff. 

This is The Sorority House.  Their future home.  We have to really work hard to get it done for when our fuzzy girls are ready to move in.  It sits in the woods behind our house and we can see it from the big windows in the family-kitchen room. 

It will have a covered run similar to this

that will hopefully keep our little chicks protected from the predators that live around us.  No free ranging for these girls with all the snarly teeth and talons that live in our woods!  But their run is going to be very large so they will have lots of good healthy stuff to peck.

I can't wait for you to come see our Sorority Chicks!   And me.