name that chicken!

awhile back i mentioned in an early chicken post that i didn't know what breed two of my chickens are. i searched far and wide but never really found a proper source online. so i bought a starter book, and it had great insight of feeding, what to expect, egg recipes and lots of chicken owner tips. it also had a photo of a gorgeous hen that looked just like my little (now big) stevie. although the book is full of tons of super valuable information, it didn't say what breed that chicken was on page 77. luckily the lovely author of this great piece of chicken knowledge is the wonderful ashley english of the blog small measure. i contacted and right away she wrote me a super friendly email informing me that stevie was a black australorp! i googled this breed and was thrilled to discover that they are "hardy, docile, and a good egg-layer as well as meat bird" (although she won't be dinner - ever).
knowing what kind of chick i got, well its beyond exciting for me. and best of all now i have discovered ashley's blog and her collection of inspiring books. she not only has her excellent book on keeping chickens, but she has also written a book on canning and preserving, home dairy and keeping bees! this woman is my hero. check out her blog here. again, thank you ashley - i love finding other folks that have a passion for learning how to be sustainable in this crazy world of robots and gadgets.

next chicken detective job - what kind of breed of bantam is lucia?

a feather from each of my chicks...


stevie (looking over her shoulder) in her early days with her sisters...


the book! the page that named my chicken!



big girls (and hannah the chicken tending dog)...




p.s. i know, i know, the chickens are still living in that dog crate till i move to the new place - i promised them a fancy new house. in the meantime they mostly free range or the dog pen works just fine. don't judge. i am a good mother!

p.p.s. hannah the puppy is terrific around the chicks! only negative - she loves to eat chicken poo. and she has bedding all over her fluff when she sits by them. :)