Meet the Hens

The girls are settling into their new home quite nicely, despite the crazy spring-in-Virginia weather we've been having this week, and Jesse and I are slowly gaining some footing in this new world of chicken raising.

Sadly, the first night, one of our girls was badly injured. She is currently convalescing at a more experienced chicken-handler's home (it was just way too much for us to handle right out of the gate), and once she has recovered we'll reevaluate whether we can introduce her back into the flock. I sure hope so...she was my favorite.

Anyway, back to the remaining motley crew! The picture above shows their color variety quite well I think. The top and bottom are Welsummers, the solid black is our Black Australorp, and the other two are Easter Eggers.

So far, though neither seem to be aspiring toward lead hen, the Welsummers are the smartest by a mile. They figure out everything first, are the most adventurous, and also have the sweetest dispositions. 

Meet the twins: Muriel and Marilla

Both Easter Eggers are a little flighty and gruff. The red-head (Jen Pringle - "Pringle" for short) is our largest bird and likes to throw her weight around (and hog the feeder-always). She's also a bit of a scardy pants, thinks the ladder is the most terrifying contraption ever, and is suuuuper clumsy.

Tillie Boulter ("Tillie") is the black and white EE. She is the most vocal of the bunch. Likes to fly around, is stingy- but really just wants what everybody else has, and is also the most likely to be spooked...by anything. Though she's the only one who hasn't found her way up to roost at night yet, I'm thinking she just might be in the running for the lead hen position.

Lastly we have Miss Katherine Brooke ("Brooke"). We hadn't planned on an Australorp, but the farmers who raised our chicks spoke so highly of them, we thought we'd add one to the gang. Brooke is fairly even-keel. She'll often follow the lead of the Welsummer twins, but will also stand up for herself. Just kinda does her own thing, and is pretty gentle and friendly.

All of that is just after a few days of getting to know them... It will be interesting to see how their personalities unfold.