Our first batch of girls arrived on April 28. They were 5 itty bitty day-old chickies and I loved them right away. We had Sophie - a Black Copper Marans, Queen BeautiBlue - a Cream Legbar, Sammie Snuggles - a Black Silkie, Savi Lavi - a Lavender Orpington and Fifi Feather Fluff the Mottled Cochin Bantam (who we lost to a hawk attack when she was a month old). A couple weeks after the 1st batch of girls arrived, because they were so much fun to watch and we had the room in the coop we were building, I ordered another four day-olds from My Pet Chicken which arrived a month after. Over the next few months, they grew rapidly as Kyan and I tended to them each day. Because we spent so much one on one time with the first batch of girls, they are noticeably more approachable than the second batch. We were busy building the coop for the girls when the second batch arrived. I believe not touching them and giving them affections during the first weeks led to them feeling much more distanced and apprenhensive. It feels a little like attachment parenting. The children who has strong attachment from a young age with their parents shows more independence and surety.
Our first batch are clearly more calm in demeanor and less skittish when I enter the coop, unless I'm bearing kale and, or yogurt, then the younger ones crowd around quickly without reservations.
The second batch of our girls. Houdina Lola - Blue Ameraucana, Lil' Grey Lilly - Splash Ameraucana, Veda Va Dee Do - Patridge Penedesna and Tweetie - Salmon Faverolle (who didn't make it due to a quickly degenerating cross beak condition). Losing chickens was hard but it gave us valuable life experience which we share delicately with Kyan and explain to him about life and death.
Fifi Feather Fluff and Tweetie were his favorites and till this date, if someone asks him which chicken is his favorite, he'll pause for a moment before answering, Fifi Feather Fluff. And Tweetie. But they are in chickie heaven now, next to Logan's doggie heaven.
Kyan loves being around the girls, carrying them, feeding them kale, talking to them, treating them like a dog friend, bossing them around, telling them to be gentle with their pecking, petting them. Some of the chattier girls, love going up to him and cluck away. I caught a precious movie of him chatting with Houdina Lola today and it just melted my heart.
Another couple more weeks we should be expecting eggs from some of the older girls and I am anxiously waiting for that first morning of farm fresh, over medium eggs for breakfast, not to mention fresh egg yolks for making icecream.
