When last we met to talk about chickens I had just got rid of 3 of the 4 chicks I bought in the spring. Because 3 of 4 of chicks turned out to be roosters. I blame all of this on the fact that, until I was 25 years old, my favourite food to order in restaurants was chicken fingers.
It's your basic Rooster revenge I'm dealing with here. You know, poultry karma.
It was such a struggle, to raise the chicks and then end up with a bunch of cockerels, that the woman who sold me the chicks (she breeds a variety of heritage breeds mainly for their kaleidoscope of egg colours) told me she'd give me one of the pullets she raised this spring.
So a few weeks ago, I drove 45 minutes straight into the country to fetch Mabel.
Mabel is a Blue Copper Marans. What that means is she's a Marans (breed) chicken, and her colour is Blue Copper. So her feathers are a blue hued gray with a ring of copper around her neck. Only she's missing most of her copper, which is why the breeder let me have her. It's the copper in the Marans neck that a lot of people think attributes to their very dark eggs. Marans are known for laying dark, dark brown eggs, with some colours producing much darker eggs than others.
The Black Copper Marans (which is the type I bought in the spring) is known to lay the darkest of the Marans eggs. And the Blue Copper Marans lays a slightly lighter, but sometimes speckled egg. Speckles are pretty. I'm O.K. with speckles. Unless they're floating in my milk. And upon further inspection prove to be centipedes.
Please enjoy the beauty of Mabel.
In case you were wondering, Mabel is as soft as a kitten.
Her comb has healed nicely. When she was first fully introduced to the other hens they tried to kill her. It happens. They chewed her comb. It bled. I put Wonderdust on it (stops the bleeding and masks the colour of blood) and after a few days they stopped picking on her and now she's one of the gang.
You can see that hint of copper around her neck.
This is my very favourite part of every chicken. The butt fluff. I swear to God I could mash my face in there if it didn't think it were so socially frowned upon. And gross.
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Marans have orange eyes.
Mabel is a softie. You can pick her up and walk around with her. When she gets scared she'll smash her head under your arm. I like this. I think it's fun. Unfortunately for Mabel because of this I do my best to scare her on a daily basis.
Like other Marans, Mable, my Blue Copper Marans has feathery legs and feet. Just her outer toe actually. Which is standard for the breed.
The day after I brought Mabel home she started laying eggs. Always a good sign because it means she's relaxed into her surroundings. And it means I get eggs. The rest of the hens are moulting and not feeling like laying many eggs and the young hen I got in the spring (who you'll be re-introduced to momentarily) won't be laying for another month or so.
Because I took the egg photos outside they appear lighter in the photo than they do in real life. They're a dark brown with speckles.
They're good lookin'.
Speaking of good lookin' it's about time I introduced you (by name) to the one, single, Black Copper Marans spring chick that I got to keep.
Josephine is black and french. Hence the name Josephine. Partly for Napoleon and Josephine, but mostly for Josephine Baker. Yes, I know Josephine Baker wasn't French but France is where she became famous for being a world class ass shaker.
I believe that my Josephine will also become famous. Also because of her great ass.
She's a beaut this one.
Here you can see the beautiful copper ring around her neck. This is what the ring around Mabel's neck is supposed to be like, but isn't.
And like Mabel (but hopefully not like Josephine Baker) Josephine has fluffy feet.
That brings my total chickens up to 5. Two of them (Mabel and Josephine) will be my main egg layers, with the older chickens, Walnut, Cuddles and Cheez Whiz pulling up the slack with the few eggs they produce. At 3 years old my original gals are moulting more and laying less. In the first year, a hen lays almost every day. By year 3 they may go on a laying rampage of laying every other day for a couple of weeks and then close up shop for a couple of months without warning or reason.
In another year or two they'll get a bit crankier, might not lay any eggs and will generally just lay around and eat lots of food.
In other words … they'll pretty much become Roosters.
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Gina
Question: What do you do with all the eggs??
Cred
Your hens are beautiful. But I really love the blue feathers of Mabel. Never considered keeping pretty chickens but now I want to.
Ruth
Mabel is beautiful. I have definitely never seen hen feathers in that hue. Love it!
Angela
I'm curious...what do you do with all the eggs? A person can only eat so many omelettes!
Karen
Well when I for got the chickens a few years ago I had a TON of eggs and gave a lot away to neighbours and family. Now I don't actually get enough to give away. I just have enough to get me through my normal egg use. Once the chickens stop moulting and there's a chance I'll have extras I'll give them away again. Or make the world's largest souffle. ~ karen!
Feral Turtle
They really do have nice butts! Gorgeous eggs.
Jody
Lovin' the new girls. They look like they are wearing bell bottom pants. Very groovy.
If three of the girls are molting right now are you planning a craft project with all those feathers any time soon?
Mary Kay
Karen - I just love, love, LOVE your chickens - it is poultry porn. Mable and Josephine are beautiful! I wish I could have poultry porn in my backyard.
Tracey
OH MY GOSH....Mabel and Josephine (which my iPad spell check changed to moose phone) are stunningingly BEAUTIFUL!!!!
Ah, I can just see Mabel burrowing her head in your armpit...so adorable
The pictures are stunning....but I have a feeling they are even more spectacular in real life..wow
Pretty eggs. Either you have really tiny hands, or those eggs are huge!
Like my father in law told my husband many years ago......."never marry a woman with big hands son"
Sorry...that egg picture just reminded me of that.....
Tigersmom
Oh, and I love the new girls names.
Tigersmom
What beautiful girls! I never knew how pretty chickens could be. I think it's a testament to how generally happy your chickens are that they accepted the new girls so quickly after the initial rejection attack. Still loving those Clydesdale ankles.
The hiding of the head in the arm is very endearing. I've had a cat that did it and my Corgi does it if its really stormy outside. Corgis also have amazingly fluffy and round butts that are irresistibly adorable, especially in winter when they have their thicker coat. Plus, their butts work buttonholes when they walk like a 1940'3 bombshell climbing a staircase in front of a man they like. Baaaa - bowwww, Baaa-bowwww, Baaa-bowwww. Just like that.
Karen
LOL. Bombshell Corgis. :) You have Corgis? How very royal of you. ~ karen!
Tigersmom
Just one Corgi. We've had her for about 3 years and she's full of attitude. She's the royal one.
Our other shedding machine, I mean dog, is a Great Pyrenees and a Saluki mix rescue. So, we truly have a pair of opposites: a tall thin leggy blonde and a short, fat and decidedly NOT leggy, but sassy redhead.
Tina
I am very curious. What does a Great Pyrenese and Saluki cross look like?
Tigersmom
Well, Tina, she's quite a babe really. She is very tall (bigger than a Labrador ) and leggy and her build is like that of a slightly stockier saluki or greyhound. She has the Pyr shaped head and ears but with the longer hair of a saluki all over and not just on her ears and tail. Her tail curls up over her back and has even longer, (longer than mine) hair that reminds me of ostrich feathers in the breeze. And her eyes are black rimmed so she always looks like she's rocking a smokey eye. She is mostly a creamy white with a couple of large fawn colored patches (two pale ones on her face around her eyes and two darker ones on either side of her body) and has black tips on her ears and a little punk rock black stripe that goes around the end of her tail near its base. Hope that paints a picture for you.
If not, maybe Karen will give us another opportunity to send her pics of our pets. I think I can figure out how to do it this time.
Karen
I love Saluki's and I don't think I've ever seen one in real life! And I love Great Pyrenees. So I'm pretty sure I'd like that dog of yours. ~ karen
Su
Hello Mabel and Josephine!! gorgeous gals!
marilyn
ahh they are so pretty..and i love their names!
Karen
Thanks Marilyn! They're really nice chickens. Josephine's a bit of a nutjob, but she's pretty. ~ karen!
Tori
Oh my god... did that really happen with the milk and many legged things? I can't even type the word, I am highly phobic of those things. I would probably cry and pass out if I found one in my milk.
Pati Gulat
They are beautiful, Karen ! My very first pet EVER was a Rhode Island Red. She was very tame, almost like Cuddles. My sister just got chickens recently and she and my 78 yr old Mom put together a chicken house and yard. She got pullets; Rhode Island Reds and Barde Rocks . My mom is THRILLED OUTTA HER EVERLOVIN' MIND ! LOL ! LOVE your Marans !
Robin
Those are two nice birds Karen Mabel is a beauti though I hope she keeps producing those outstanding eggs for you
Robin
Karen
Thanks Robin. Me too! ~ karen
Kim C.
Beautiful gals! Brings to mind that ZZ Top song...She's Got Legs. :-)
Debbie D
Both girls are gorgeous! Can't wait for more chicken updates!
Jaime
Well...I guess that answers my question about whether you regret getting chickens. Enjoy!
Karen
LOL. It does indeed. ~ karen
Maura
Gorgeous!
Jenny W
Hi Karen, I'm in Looove with Fuzzy Chicken Butt Now :) I have a couple of questions for you - I live in the Maritime Provinces, and we have Really Rotten Winters. What do your girls do in the cold, snowy, "Polar Vortex" months? Do they roost all day? How cold is too cold to go outdoors, and what kind of heater do you use in the coop? Silly questions, but a girl with Chicken Dreams needs to know!
Karen
Hi Jenny! There are two things that are really bad for chickens. Dampness and heat. The cold they can deal with. In fact they prefer the cold to heat. They actually like to leave the coop and romp in the snow in the winter. Last year was the first year I decided I had better get a small heater for their roosting area so they wouldn't get frostbite. It was the most brutal winter in memory. So I got a small ceramic, wall mounted heater for their roost that comes on automatically. I don't have it set to very warm, in fact I only have it set to keep the coop above freezing. The other important thing is to make sure, no matter how cold it is outside, to have ventilation in their sleeping area. Like I said, humid/damp air is what will kill them. I have narrow windows across the front and sides of their roost. Their respiratory systems can't take it humidity and they'll get sick if they don't have ventilation. Dream away chicken girl. ~ karen!