Keep The Coop Weird

Here at Sweet Biddies Farm, we have had several types of chickens pass through our lives. And anyone that has owned chickens can tell you, each has their very own look, style and personality.

It’s been a couple of hens here that have really stood out and made a big impression on our lives, which is why they get actual names (and a little write up on a blog dedicated just to them).

No one else gets a name because, well, they are a bore.

That is how we roll at Sweet Biddies. 

Meet Freddie Mercury, one of our white leghorns.

Freddie Mercury got her name from a very sweet little boy named Colin, who received a pet chicken as a gift from us and is currently being raised at the farm.

Colin got to name his chicken and the moniker Freddie Mercury was chosen (with no help at all from his parents...).

Freddie has a very distinct feature about her...

...that ridiculously large-ass comb on the top of her head.

Look at her swing that comb around like the superstar she is. 
The human Freddie Mercury would be so proud.

But seriously, can she see?

It just looks so annoying, God love her. But you know what they say about a large comb, right? Amirite???

Meet Maria, our very last cuckoo maran.

Funny thing about Maria…

She’s a little bit different than all the others.

Maria has a leg issue, which means that she walks much slower and a little funnier than her sisters.

We’re not sure if she was born with this issue but we are sure that it is not serious. In fact, Maria knows that she is not as fast as everyone else, so she knows just how to stay out of harm's way. You’ll never see her out in the open scratching around like the others sometimes do. But you will find her just sitting by herself relaxing in the coop or lying inconspicuously under a bush, content as can be.

She is one of the first chickens that we got when we moved to the farm. And guess what??? She is one of only a couple of the originals to have survived this long.

Some might call Maria slow.

I call her smart.

Oh and if you feel sorry for Maria for being different from the others or that she may be picked on because she seems weaker, don’t. I have seen Maria deal with the others around food time and the girl has got a mean peck.

Meet Peggy, our beautiful rhode island red.

Peggy is my absolute favorite chicken.

My absolute favoritest chicken ever.

EVER!

Unlike every single chicken that I have ever met – and that has been quite a few – Peggy will not run away from you.

Nope, she does quite the opposite in fact. It's really more so the fact that she is very interested in what she is going to get from you rather than wanting to actually be around you but I'll take it.

Her greed very much outweighs her fear.

She’ll run to you. She’ll stand on your feet. She’ll follow you around. She'll peck at anything and everything on your body trying to find a treat. She'll let you pet her (the only chicken that I have ever been able to pet in fact). She'll even let you pick her up.

And there is this other interesting thing about the Pegster…

The gal loves water.

Not loves drinking water. She. Loves. Water.

She splashes her head around in water. She needs to be right next you while you are pouring it, just waiting to be able to dunk her head in it. She loves being sprayed with the water hose...

She's a total weirdo.

But I love this weirdo.

Our dog doesn’t even like being sprayed with the water hose.

I've been told that growing attached may not be the best idea when it comes to your free-range chickens. The odds of a long chicken life are just not in your favor, which I must admit has gotten to me a bit. Throughout the day when they are outside, I continuously check to see if Peggy is still out there. If there is a commotion outside, I run to make sure Peggy is ok. And at night when they are back in the coop, I need to make sure that Peggy made it back in safe and sound.

I even make sure that she is resting in her favorite roosting spot at night. If she is not, it's usually because another chicken beat her to it, so of course, I kick the other chicken off and place Peggy where she belongs.

Yes, we play favorites at Sweet Biddies Farm…