A year ago this month, I found myself elated to begin the adventure of owning a backyard chicken flock. I placed an order with Tractor Supply Co., and waited two excruciating weeks for the little peepers to arrive. Before ordering our first backyard chicken flock, I did a stupid crazy amount of research on chicken breeds. We live in a small town that doesn’t “technically” allow chickens, but everyone tends to mind their own beeswax, and my neighbors had already told me to go ahead and just order ’em already. Therefore, I wanted to be conscious of the amount of noise, but I didn’t have to be obsessive about it. Here is what I learned.
Roosters Should Not Be Part of a Backyard Chicken Flock
Unless you’re in a crazy-rare town that allows roos, backyard chicken flock owners should steer clear of roosters. They’re extremely loud & repetitive. And there is really no reliable, humane way to keep them from crowing. Roosters will drive even the most friendly, tolerating neighbors crazy. For this reason, sex-link chicks are very popular in backyard chicken flocks. These are chicks whose gender is obvious from day 1. Other breeds can be sexed on some level, but it’s only 70-90% accurate. If you don’t want to get your heart broken down the road, choose sex-link chicks for your backyard chicken flock of 100% hens.
Keep Hen Population to a Minimum
I know, I know. Chicken math is killer. Like, “Sally has 5 hens, and sells 2 hens. How many hens does Sally have now?” The answer is 7. She has 7 hens. Because after she sold two, she had to replace them with two more, and well, what if one is a rooster? And one dies? Then she better get four. But she had neither a rooster, nor a death, so she has 7 hens. And the cycle continues. If you can manage to keep your backyard chicken flock to a minimum, you will have less noise. Less waste. Less overall destruction of property. But let’s be honest… who can do that?? If you can, more power to you. But if you want your backyard chicken flock to succeed on the highest level, keeping poultry population down is key.
MEET OUR BACKYARD CHICKEN FLOCK
Without further ado, I’m excited to introduce you to our own backyard chicken flock. I have listed their names below.
- Mabel
- Willow
- Quick
- Cookie
- Delilah (Deli)
- Millie
- Reptar
- Amelia
- Pinky
- Ms. Frizzle
- Pickles
- Lucy
We have 7 Easter Egger hens, 3 Black Copper Marans hens, and 2 Olive Egger hens. The Black Copper Marans and Olive Egger hens are only about 10 weeks old right now, and I’m 90% sure we lucked out with all girls again. However, there is one I am keeping an eye on to be sure…
Mabel
Mabel is an Easter Egger, about 1 year old. She loves to peck eyeballs and fly up on human shoulders without warning. (Not a great combination.) She acts a bit like a rooster, and is most likely the matriarch of our suburban chicken family. She lays a light blue egg.
Willow
Willow is an Easter Egger, about 1 year old. She is the smallest of the bunch, and the sassiest, too. What she lacks in size, she makes up for in bullying. Seriously, she picks on the bigger chickens every day. She lays a blue-green egg.
Quick
Quick is an Easter Egger, about 1 year old. She is the sweetest hen we have, and is extremely personable & cuddly. She coos gently & snuggles in whenever she’s picked up. She likes to lay her egg in the beans. She lays a blue-green egg.
Cookie
Cookie is an Easter Egger, about 1 year old. She is our most talkative chicken, and considers herself quite important. She’s independent, but enjoys conversing with humans from the ground. She has zero fear of anything. She lays a yellow egg.
Delilah (Deli)
Delilah is an Easter Egger, about 1 year old. She’s pretty independent, but is our greatest forager & worm finder. Therefore, she hangs right on my heels whenever I’m working in the garden. She’s constantly turning dirt & finding bugs. She lays a beige egg.
Millie
Millie is an Easter Egger, about 1 year old. She’s talkative, sassy, & walks with the biggest pep in her step. She’s also our fluffiest chicken. She’s extremely funny to watch, and I can’t help but giggle every time I see her. She lays a bright blue egg.
Reptar
Reptar is an Easter Egger, about 1 year old. She has cross beak (or scissor beak) which means she spends most of her time trying to eat. She does alright for herself though, since she is our biggest chicken. She is very friendly due to the extra care we’ve had to give her, and acts more like a house cat than a chicken. She lays a blue-green egg.
Amelia
Amelia is an Olive Egger, about 10 weeks old. She is the biggest chick, and we are keeping an eye on her, as sometimes we wonder if she is a cockerel. She very much enjoys getting face scratchies. We have yet to see what color egg she will lay.
Pinky
Pinky is a Black Copper Marans, about 10 weeks old. She is a flighty one, and screams for her life whenever we catch her. (If we can catch her.) We have yet to see what color egg she will lay.
Ms. Frizzle
Ms. Frizzle is a Black Copper Marans, about 10 weeks old. She has many rogue feathers all over her legs, hence her name. She’s quite flighty as well, and honks when picked up. (Poor thing’s voice is just starting to drop.) We have yet to see what color egg she will lay.
Pickles
Pickles is an Olive Egger, about 10 weeks old. She has the most adorable, MASSIVE beard on her chin. She is the calmest, most friendly chick. She will hang out on her side, relaxed, in the open palm of your hand, casually chattering away. She did this from the first day we got her as a chick. We have yet to see what color egg she will lay.
Lucy
Lucy is a Black Copper Marans, about 10 weeks old. She’s pretty flighty, but has calmed down a bit since we treated her for sour crop last month. She is the chick that helped us discover how to cure sour crop, so make sure to check out how we did it!
Disclaimer: We’re not professionals or experts on this topic, so all we can do is share our own personal experience in hopes that it helps you in your journey! We always recommend consulting with the pros directly.