Introducing the Royal Flock

Here they are—our three hens!



Naming the girls turned out to be easy after we decided to call our coop Poultry Palace. It seemed obvious to us that a chicken living in a palace needed to have a royal title. There should be a queen, of course, and how about a princess, and maybe a duchess, too. And then the puns just came without even trying. We couldn't help ourselves. Laugh with us or forgives us, whichever applies.

Now, on to the introductions...

This is her royal highness the Queen of Eggland. We call her Queenie for short. She's a Golden Laced Wyandotte, a brown egg layer. She was my pick for our flock. I think her feather pattern is stunning—so regal. She had to be the queen, though we're not sure she's the one ruling the roost.

Here's a picture of me holding Queenie, so you can get a sense of her size. She and our other two hens are approximately four months old. They still have a lot of growing to do. It will another two months before they start laying eggs.

Our Rhode Island Red is named Princess Lay-a. We hope she lives up to her name and lays lots of beautiful brown eggs. We call her Princess or Prissy. In typical princess fashion, she has a knack of getting her own way and we think she's calling the shots in the palace. John picked her for her beautiful coloring and classic good looks.

And then there's the Duchess of Yolk, the sweetest hen in the flock. We call her Duchess or Duchie. She's a Barred Plymouth Rock and lays brown eggs, too.

This sweet hen has a way of stealing your heart. She is very friendly (or maybe very hungry) and will readily eat out of your hand. She doesn't mind being touched and is the easiest to photograph. I believe Duchess is the one that will become our pet chicken.

And so ends the introductions (if you know what I mean). I'll be back next week with more from Poultry Palace and Gardens.