Chickens: A Love Story

I love chickens. I love my chickens. I also love chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-a and spicy fried chicken from Popeye's.  But I have not yet eaten one of my chickens. They have names, after all, and so are not suitable for consumption. My pet chickens are given free reign in the backyard to scratch and cluck and dust bathe underneath the swingset. Plus also they poop on the back porch as they wait for me to bring them a treat. They need treats every few hours or they get super grumpy and fuss by the back door. Since I bought 15 new baby balls of fluff at Tractor Supply, I thought it was time for a compendium of baby chicken adorableness. I do not have pictures of all of them because baby chickens are hard to photograph. GG1 actually took a good many of these pictures; she's been practicing with my camera lately and she enjoys photography.

Moonstone, a precious little bantam chick of unknown breed. Possibly a Sebright, but assuredly the cutest baby chicken in the world. 

Stripes, cleverly named by the kids. Perhaps a Phoenix bantam but so wee it hardly matters what she is.

 

Moonstone again, showing you another angle so that your day, too, might be brightened by her preciousness. 

Chestnut in a bit of a pickle. Would have kept inching her way upward if GG1 hadn't stopped her. 

Butter, a fluff-ball of personality who is a little yellow chickie that will grow up to be a white hen of some sort. 

Chestnut after being rescued from the Sleeve of Terror.  

Merida, a Buff Orpington, showing just how brave she is. GG1 took this fantastic pic. 

Baby chickens on a baby blanket! Chestnut, Galbatorix, and Moonstone are lined up neatly, ready to do the Harlem Shake when the music starts.

Avatar, a white cochin. She is supposed to be a bantam but I think she is a full-size cochin because she's bigger than our other bantams. She looks armored because she has a lot of body feathers and no head feathers. A bit freaky but still nice to cuddle. 

Another GG1 shot-this is Eragon, our lone Silky baby. She is as close to perfection as a petite morsel of feathers can be. 

Moonstone again. I promise we have other chicks, she is just one of the most cooperative. She is enjoying a light read in the sunshine.  

And guess what! Calissa is a girl! Here she is with her first egg. Silkies are notoriously poor layers so I expect her to lay twelve eggs and then not lay again for a few months. But that's ok. Because when you look as awesome as she does, you get to do whatever you want. 

Lastly, GG1's depiction of her grief over Darth Vader's untimely demise. Yes, her spelling needs work. I accept full responsibility. I think the creature on the right is the devil who snatched Darth Vader from the bosom of our family too soon. Not sure.

My next blog post will have pictures of kids in it. Maybe. These babies are hard to resist. Have you hugged your chicken today?