We currently have a nice little flock of 8 laying hens and a cockerel. Over the winter we try to pair down our flock to around 9-12 birds, since I keep them shut in the hen house if the temperature is below 15-20 degrees and they don’t like to come out if there is measurable snow.
Sunny, the Light Brahma, is a gentle broody old gal with a little rose comb & lovely feathered feet. She is one of the two oldest hens we have and has been a great layer.
Red Hen is the other old girl. She’s a New Hampshire Red we brought home in 2005. Good layer, always loudly announces the arrival of anyone’s latest egg.
Polly Puff another New Hampshire Red is still a pullet and lays well. She is always in a rush to get out of the hen house first thing in the morning. She also likes to find hidden places to lay her eggs and for about a week last summer she decided she preferred to sleep in the pine tree just outside the coop.
Rainbow is our resident Partridge Cochin cockerel. We’ve had a lot of very cranky roosters over the years and he’s only slightly less cantankerous. He does seem to know just how handsome he is with his fluffy feet & multi-colored plumage.
The Dark Sisters are a close knit group of 5 Black Australorp hens we brooded together in 2006 and they are best friends. They look so much alike we haven’t given them individual names. They are calm, lay lots of nice brown eggs, and seem to enjoy ganging up on Rainbow if they feel he has been too pushy in his breeding attempts with any of the other sisters.
