Tree1008
Here is a pic of some of our chickens. Four barred rock hens, a white leghorn hen, and three retreating white roosters, which are barred rock/white leghorn cross.
The big barred rock in the front is named "Nonny-Nonny". She is the only survivor of the original batch. She is probably 8 or 9 years old. The other three barred rock are second generation hens four or so years old-hatched perhaps by Nonny-Nonny herself, and fathered by our dear old barred rock rooster Manny, passed several years ago. He was purchased from a breeder at one of the local fairs.
The White leghorn escaped from a neighbor and is still quite wild. I guess she heard our roosters and came to join the flock. She can fly over a 6 foot fence. She is the only one laying eggs right now-one enormous fat white egg each day. Amazing! She is such a scrawny thing. Her legs are bleached white-an indicator of a dry hen, I once read, but she is a tremendous producer! With feeding the rest of the flock, I figured her eggs cost us about $2 a piece-so you can imagine how terrific they are!!! :P
I thought she had stopped laying, but today I found her stash of three white eggs and stole them gleefully. We haven't bought eggs from a store in a very long time-and I didn't want to start just yet!
Behind her are three of her four sons-fathered by one of our second generation barred rock roosters;either King or Chick Boy. We still have poor old King-he lost the flock to the younger roosters. Chick Boy was murdered by me because of his nasty disposition.
Willow has named all of the hens. We have a couple more hens that hang with another white rooster that aren't in this pic. One of them is just known as "The red Chicken" -a Rhode Island Red given to us by another neighbor because she was broody. Now she is an egg eater and a goat grain thief, and not well liked by me.
We also have "Chooster"-who crows, but Willow swears he laid an egg. He was the only barred Rock hatched out in the last clutch-most likely inbred and possibly a hermaphrodite.
