Frederika, Josephine's "sister" and my lil' love bug waiting for that egg to come...

Henrietta telling Fred to hurry up so she can use that box because....

Morticia is in the other box... (they only use these 2 boxes out of the 12 we made)

And Miss Gertie got tired of waiting and decided to lay hers up on the rice-straw bale again. (she does this every so often...)

Then when Mom got home from grocery shopping (to go get the chickies their cucumbers and radicchio) Morticia had to go see what Gertie left up there on the straw bale. Gertie's eggs are a light aqua-blue which doesn't show up well in this pic...

Grizzie (Griselda) stopped for a quick pose..

Gertie, Ezzie and Henrietta were happy to have some sunshine after days of rain. Makes for a wonderful dirt bath time...

And a few minutes later... Gertie was being a lazy-bird lying there pecking at some grain, with Fred flashing by...

It's always a fun time in the chicken pen! When I went out there earlier this morning, I ended up with 5 of the girls (not at once) hopping up on my lap. I think they were so glad to see me hangin' out since the weather has been so crappy. Three of them never voluntarily get on me normally!! It was nice to feel loved! LOL

Beth, beautiful roses, esp. Modern Magic and then there's the chicks....love your chick pics and the dialogue! Thank you!

Love all the roses and the chickies. I especially love your choice in names - they're hilarious!

Love it!! Your narrating cracks me up. Love the roses too. Wish we'd get some rain. Haven't had any in months. Judy

Love the "sisters" feathers and your chicken saga. Teaching a townie a thing or two...

Adore all the roses, particularly GYPSY CURIOSAs colours.

Watercolors Home run looks very pretty, and I always enjoy the stripeys!

I love the chookies tho- I had one that looked exactly like Griselda when I was a teen.

Beautiful form on 'Luce de Todi'.

Golly, our white chickens were such a bore. These are neat.

Your roses are always so pretty and I really loved seeing your chick pics, they really are beautiful and it's so funny that they all want to lay their in eggs in the same two boxes. I hope to have some chickens one day and would like a variety like you have. Thanks so much for sharing!

Oh you guys, if any of you can have chickens... I recommend doing it! You just have to make sure you have a secure area to keep them in if you aren't able to let them free-roam. I can't do that because of our dog and the fences are too open. They'd get out. We have raccoons, which have never come in my yard that I'm aware of, but stilll... they can get in our yard at night if they want. You have to have chicken wire along the ground around the run and on top, and we put metal corrugated roofing across the main run to keep rain out. Altho we had to also put up tarps and plastic along the sides when it rained recently. Anyway, having the chickies has been such a joy for me. Yeah I gotta pick up poop all the time, and clean out the coop once in awhile, but it's sooo worth it. Not only for the eggs, but they just are so darned entertaining. I love the sounds they make, and I love watching them run around and peck at everything. They're fun to interact with, and they all have their own little personalities. And some are just so beautiful. Their feather coloring in the light is sooo cool! And they're so soft. Some like to get up and sit on my lap for a few minutes, and that is really cool!

How awesome, Beth! Love the roses and chicks. Oh, I miss my chickens. When I moved a few years ago I could not bring them with me but we have the chicken house set up ready to go again. The only hesitation I've had is trying to find someone to watch the chickens while we're away. Some neighbors have thought they are "diseased" and "mean" - such the opposite! We had a RIR that loved to be cuddled and would wrap her head around our neck and close her eyes as if giving a big hug. She'd also sound the alarm at night if a fox or raccoon was in the yard (unlike most chickens who will just sleep through their death). She sat in the kitchen window most of the day. I miss that. You've made me want to get them right away - yours look so great!

Beth I'm curious as to what are the breeds of your chickens?

Boncrow, Morticia and Elvira, the two black ones, are called "Black Sex-Links." Some people prefer to call them Black Stars. They call them "sex-links" as they are easily identified at the time of hatching, because the males have a white dot on top of their heads, and the females just have black heads. They are large birds, laying large dk brown eggs, and are my most consistent layers. They rarely miss a day. The breed usually have a mottled brownish chest, and the rest of the feathers are black, but they have the most beautiful iridescent sheen that is mostly green, but also at certain angles, they shine light purple. I call them my "green goddesses."

Griselda and Esmeralda (Grizzie and Ezzie) are my Plymouth Barred Rocks. They are slightly smaller than the BSLs, and lay med brown eggs. They are black and white striped (barred), and the black part has a slight green sheen in certain light.

Henrietta and Gertrude are my "Ameraucanas." They are actually not true to the breed, so they are referred to as "Easter Eggers." True Ameraucanas are bred from Araucanas, which are rumpless, and have ear tufts, and crossed with other breeds. The true Ameraucanas have muffs or beards and tails, and steel blue legs. Most of what are sold as "Ameraucanas" in the US are bred with yet other varieties, and they have green legs and beards. The beard gene produces blue egg shells. The Easter Eggers have been bred to so many different other breeds, and their eggs can be blue, aqua, green, pink or light tan. That's why they call them Easter Eggers. There is also a sub-breed called "Olive Eggers" that lay dk olive-brown eggs. My Henrietta lays medium sized minty-green eggs and Gertie lays medium sized pale blue ones. And whatever color they lay the first time, they will always lay that color, or different shades thereof. If it's blue, they won't lay pink ones later, and vice versa. They are very interesting birds. No two are exactly alike as far as I have seen on the chicken forums. So many variations of colors. They're kind of the "mutts" of the chicken world. But oh so entertaining! They make the weirdest sounds and act so silly. And these girls have the biggest tails! Gertie's is huge!

My best girl Fred (Frederika) and her sister Josephine are my Golden Laced Wyandottes. They are medium-to-large sized birds that lay lovely medium sized light tan eggs with a slight point at the top. Their coloring is gorgeous. It's a golden-brown and blends thereof with the body feathers edged in iridescent green, and some black-green in the tail feathers.

In the spring, I'm hoping to add a couple of Blue-Laced Red Wyandottes, which will be like Fred and Jo, only the golden-brown is a mahogany color, and the green edges are instead, steel blue-grey. Gorgeous birds!! And I also want to get a couple of Light Brahmas, which are large white birds with black tail-tips and hackle feathers, and they have feathered feet. I'd also like to maybe get a Lavender Orpington. Those are beautiful pale lavender-grey birds that are rather expensive. Guess we'll see. I might have to get some Silkies again too. My husband is still pissed at me for giving them away. But one was a rooster, and we aren't allowed to have them in out town. I didn't want to get under their radar because we're actually only supposed to have 2 chickens. Stupid!! Who has just 2 chickens?!!! That's not even worth the effort.

I love your roses and your chickie pics. We have lots of chickens. They are so funny when they are laying out in the sun dirt bathing. I swear a few times I have freaked out because they looked dead the way they lay out there when they are basking in the sun LOL!! We have Marans, Orps, Silkies, Key West/Gypsy chickens and some other odds n ends lol.

Here's a few pics of my Lavender Orpingtons when they were younger.

Here's a few links to my chicken photo albums on backyard chickens forum.http://www.backyardchickens.com/g/a/6314905/marans/

http://www.backyardchickens.com/g/u/45258/flgardengirl/

Beth thanks so much for taking the time to tell me about your chickens. I think when I am finally able to get some of my own I want a few of Plymouth barred rocks, Easter eggers, Buffed Orpington's and Wyandottes (not sure which ones yet). I also would like a few silkies too. My friend has a small backyard and has only two chickens but may be getting more she loves them so much. It will be awhile before I am able to get any but it's been fun learning about the different breeds, I had no idea there was so many!

Jasmine, your Lavendar Orpingtons are gorgeous! I really enjoyed looking at all of your chicks pics too!

So my biggest question is what do you when they get older and stop laying eggs?? I have read some people eat them but there is no way I could do that after they were part of my family lol!

Thank you, for the very interesting info of your hens. How about a photo of the colourful eggs?

Oh yes, Jasmine, your Lavender Orpingtons are gorgeous! So are the Marans! I joined the Backyard Chickens a few months ago. I love to see all the beautiful chickies everybody shares. And the stories are fun to read.

Boncrow, I imagine once my girls stop laying they'll just be my pets. I actually didn't get them for the eggs. I just love chickens and have always wanted them. My older son got a few last yr, and talked me into doing it after I lost my old job. The girls have been my stress relievers. I could spend hours out there sitting with them and jut watching them. They're so darn funny. The eggs are just an added bonus. Have you seen how many different Wyandottes there are? The Silver-Laced ones are also quite beautiful. And then there's the Columbian Wyandottes. And Black-Laced Reds, and solid whites, blues, etc. Oh another breed I discovered that's not very easy to get, from what I can see, because it's so new, is the Blue Partridge Brahma. It's THE most gorgeous chicken I've ever seen!! OMG I'd be in Chicken Heaven if I could get ahold of a couple of them!! I can dream....

Ingrida, here's some egg photos:

The brown one in the middle was one of Elvira's early eggs. She and Morticia laid a few of these jumbo double-yolkers in their first month. The green egg on the left was Henrietta's first egg, and the lt blue one on the right was Gertie's first egg. This was taken in early September. Now most of the girls' eggs are pretty close in size, a little smaller than Elvira's, but bigger than the other two.

As you can see, they like to use this one nest box the best. The color is a little off, but you can see the range of colors. The two darker ones are Elvira's and Morticia's, the blue one is Gertie's and the green one is Henrietta's. I think the pale brown one might've been Fred's. She and Josephine lay the pastel ones.

I'm amazed, at the range of colours. No artificial colouring needed at Easter.

I have seen light blue ones, but never green. I "feel" for Elvira, that's a giant egg.

Thank you for posting.

Nice eggs! I love having fresh eggs. You dont realize how old and nasty the store eggs are until you get them next to a freshly laid one.

Thanks the Lav Orps are such sweeties. The roosters are big fat fluffy things now and think they are lap chickens. They get jealous if I allow one to sit on my lap. They like to snuggle and make good baby daddies to the chicks. I had one who even fostered baby ducks and a few stray kittens lol. We live in a rural residential area on about 4 acres so we can have roosters. Some people even have alpacas, cows, horses, emus and who knows what else.

All my hens stay here even if they quit laying. Roosters can stay too as long as they are sweet. Almost all have been nice. Only a few were nasty and they went to freezer camp :/

Hahahahaha freezer camp! I love the different colored eggs, so pretty and fresh eggs are definitely tastier than the ones from the stores. I appreciate y'all sharing your chickens with us, it's been fun researching all the different breeds.