Grab a cup of tea and come and meet our new chooks!
As you might recall, a couple of weeks ago, we introduced five Lohmann Brown hens, purchased from City Chicks, into our existing flock of three ISA Browns.
At just 16 – 20 weeks, the new girls were awkward teenagers compared to four year old Rosemary, Francesca and Harriet. On the advice of Linda, we put the newbies up on the roost at night (it’s supposed to make the integration process easier).
The following morning, I went out and found that only one of the new girls had been brave enough to come down, and she was being picked on mercilessly by the older hens. I couldn’t bear to watch, so Pete, bless him, sat in the dome and played rooster for a couple of hours, breaking up fights. I adore that man…
It only took a few days for everything to settle down, and the flock is reasonably harmonious and peaceful now.
Of the Lohmann Browns, Amber is the oldest and most dominant – she started laying just a few days after she arrived. She’s named after Amber Wheeler, a character in the hilarious new Aussie sitcom Upper Middle Bogan. In the series, Amber is cranky, foul-mouthed and surprisingly endearing, not unlike our new chook…
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I think Mrs Gronkle will be the next hen to start laying. When she arrived, she made a funny little noise, which turned out to be a sneeze. Have you ever seen a chook sneeze? It’s comical to watch. Steve the Vet told me that, like humans, they occasionally get runny noses. Anyway, the noise passed, but the name stuck…
Mrs Gronkle has very distinctive dark brown feathers with a white collar around her neck. She’ll be easy to identify…
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This is Billie, and she seems to be the third oldest of the Lohmann Browns. So far she’s kept to herself a bit – it will be interesting to see what she’s like as she gets older. Her beak is quite hawkish…
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Baby Esme, named in honour of our friend Beej (her twitter moniker is @esmewatson) is very, very cute. She has a pert white tail that seems to stand upright. She’s one of the youngest two, as evidenced by her almost non-existent comb…
She’s quite similar in colour to Billie, so we’ll need to study them closely to be sure we can tell them apart in years to come…
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And finally, we have…Not Quite Lorraine. When this beautiful white feathered chook arrived in amongst the others, how could we possibly name her anything else?
She’s adorable – impeccably groomed and cheerfully exuberant, just like her namesake…
NQL and Esme are the babies of the flock, and can often be seen hanging about together. The Lohmann Browns have very fluffy bottoms!
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Our old girls haven’t exactly welcomed the newcomers, but it didn’t take long for them to accept their presence. Somehow their arrival has given the existing hens an air of gravitas – whilst the youngsters jump about on the swing and race around chasing flies, the old ISA Browns sit sedately like village elders.
Rosemary has clearly forgotten what an annoying youngster she was, and is now very impatient with the newbies…
Even though she’s no longer laying, she’s looking quite magnificent at the moment…
My darling Francesca has turned into a bit of a mad old chook. She used to be pedantic about her dust baths, but now doesn’t seem to care anymore, and is often a little bedraggled. I guess that’s what happens when we go through henopause…
And finally, Harriet was looking decidedly regal today, like a peacock displaying her feathers. Pete described it as “Harriet in her kaftan”…
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And so, the adventures begin again! I’ll keep you all posted!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Awesome post Ceila
Thanks Linda! :)
Henopause! Ha!
It’s now part of the vocab here – the chooks and I have henopause empathy for each other. Well, I have for them, at least, I don’t reckon they notice my grumpiness at all.. ;-)
Awww I loved this post! And not just because you named a chicken after me!! How wonderful is Pete? I knew that but he deserves an extra special hug after playing rooster to help them all settle in. xxx
Isn’t he just the best? I couldn’t stand the one poor chookie getting picked on and he didn’t want me to get too upset… x
I’m impressed that you take the trouble to tell your hens apart. I’m very fond of my girls, but don’t name them, although our rooster is named – we call him Fos. Your new girls have splendid pants on, don’t they?!
Amanda, you have LOTS of chooks, I don’t know how you’d ever keep track of who was who if you named them all! They’re very fluffy bottomed, aren’t they?
What a gorgeous post. Love the stunning pics of all your hens.
Thanks Fran! We’re already very fond of them!
Go Pete! Well done! Not sure my Pete would have been as patient.
Celia, I love how you name your girls!
Have a super day and here’s to the oldies and newies settling in nicely together.
:-) Mandy xo
Mandy, they seem to name themselves, actually. The last one to be named was Billie, but I knew it had to be something beginning with B! :)
This was a lovely post. It is no surprise to me that you know them all and there characters cause thats what you guys are like. Glad Lorraine likes her namesake AND awwww Pete is so beauiful
Because we’re mad and obsessed? Maybe just a little bit. :) They’ve really settled in since you saw them! xx
G’day and great post Celia, true!
GREAT name for NQL and nothing like freshly laid eggs for brekkie, lunch or dinner too!
Cheers! Joanne
Joanne, it’s such a treat to be getting eggs again! :)
beautiful post and photographs… Thank you dear Celia, love, nia
Nia, I’m so glad you enjoyed them, I always get so much from your gorgeous photos it’s nice to be able to return the favour a tiny bit! xx
I love the care you put into naming your hens, especially NQL!
Saucy, it takes a couple of weeks to figure out who’s who! But we knew NQL right from the moment she arrived! :)
They’re all beautiful! Henopause.. I love it!
Welcome to the family girls!
Thanks love! It’s so nice to be able to share them with all of you! x
Dear Celia, I am looking every day on my p.c. if there is another divine story of you !!!!! You make my day !!!! Every time I send your story to my daughter in Australia to cheer her day too.
Much dear greetings from Hannie Poll – The Netherlands
Hannie, so nice to hear from you! Thanks for sharing my blog with your daughter! Hope you enjoyed reading about our new chickens, they’ve just been so much fun! :)
This is just gorgeous. I just wish there was a video. And how wonderful is your Pete sitting there like he’s one of those guards outside Buckingham Palace. And I love how all your girls have regal names befitting of their looks and personalities – but you might get a bit of trouble out of NQL! xx
Hahaha…NQL is already such an interesting chook! Can’t wait to see how she grows up!
OMG keep writing this post. I hated that it had to end. :) Pete in the dome is clever and Not Quite Lorraine does have a fluffy bottom. LOL And henopause? stop already because I’m cracking up.
Aaahhh my fellow chicken fancier! I wish you lived closer and could come and visit them – as you know, they’re very therapeutic! xx
Pete I applaud you for being a chook whisperer!
He’s a treasure, isn’t he? :)
Lovely post Celia, they’ve clearly all got great (and very different) personalities which you’ve captured beautifully in your words and pics.
Andrea, thank you! They’re all adorable – it’s just so fabulous to have fresh eggs again!
Loved meeting your new chooks Celia. So fun to read how each one got their name for certain qualities, habits they exhibit. They do have beautiful fluffy bottoms! Would have enjoyed watching Pete sit in the chook dome disciplining the older ones:) What a trooper!!
Mel, he’s such a star. I think HE was happy to let the girls fight it out, but he knew I couldn’t bear it… ;-)
Such beautiful chooks Celia and I just love Pete playing referee in the hen house – he could have handed out yellow or red cards and sent them off for fowl behaviour!
Jan, you made a dad joke!!! :D
Gorgeous girls – it can be hard on the newcomers learning the pecking order. Its a jungle out there :) I loved how your hubby kept an eye on them. Joy
Joy, everyone seems to come out of it relatively unscathed – no bald heads yet! :)
Celia, your hens look so healthy and gorgeous. I have such a soft spot for chickens, they’re such fabulous punks, and it sounds like you have a very entertaining little flock :)
They’re such mad things, Jas, we can lose hours watching them! :)
Pete’s a keeper Celia!! He’s like a new dad, protective of his newborns!
Yep, he’s a keeper alright – I’ve kept him for 30 years and I’m not giving him up.. :D
I love the way everything is done with enthusiasm in your family!
Pete sitting guard to spare your feelings and the young hens-
Naming the girls according to looks and personality-
and of course, sharing the experience with us!
Thanks for this post, Celia, you have made my morning bright with laughter!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Heidi! I’ll try and take some video for you all soon.. x
Lovely chooks, lovely shots, Celia. They are beautiful, I am sure you and Pete will be good parents.
Not parents, they’re not really pets (she says), but it IS so nice having them in the backyard!
Great one Celia – Henopause! I have got to find a way to use that one myself. I don’t think I would have been able to stand the bullying either but it’s good that they don’t take that long to work things out. They all have such interesting coloration but I do have to say NQL is stunning – hope it doesn’t go to her head. I love how you’ve figured out their personalities so quickly.
I hope you keep up updated on how the girls are all doing.
Diane, it’s part of the house vernacular now! :) NQL is gorgeous, although she’s one of the youngest, so the others are keeping her humble! :D
Lovely chickens. The oldies still look very nice too. Nice names. They seem to name themselves, don’t they? Even chickens have their own personalities! Lol.
Manuela, the old ones don’t move much any more and they’re getting fat. We’re not feeding them too many carby scraps any more, but they’ve turned into grumpy old women nonetheless – it’s so funny to watch!
This is such a fun post, thanks for sharing your girls. Love to read about how each has her own distinctive looks and personality. Looking forward to future posts.
Norma, thank you, so glad you enjoyed it! (PS. Self-sown snake bean seedlings have started coming up!)
How nice, now you can just sit back and wait for harvest. Your weather is so much milder than mine, I would never get self-sown beans of any kind.
What a lovely intro to the brood. And ‘henopause’ – what a giggle!!
We all have to go through it at some time, Misky.. ;-)
LOL! Love this post, Celia. Sent it to my friend, The Dog, who is in DC now, but they had chooks in Australia and would like to read this, I’m sure. ‘Henopause’ = hilarious!
Lizzy, thanks for doing that, hope The Dog enjoys reading it as much as I did writing it. New chooks! They’re so much fun!
Oh.. how very very exciting it must be around there! I can just see Pete now, “break it up girl, break it up”.. I feel for your little Francesca and her “henopause”.. I hope I don’t give up my dust baths one day, lol! I would have my nose, er, beak out of joint if some fluffy bottomed youngsters showed up around here one day:D xx
Barb, poor old Frannie really has gone a bit bonkers – she used to be so finicky and quirky! She still seems to be enjoying herself though! :)
You Figjams are adorable. When Matt and I move to the country (that’s the/ a plan, anyway), I shall name our mother hen Ceels and our rooster Uncle Pete.
That’s a very exciting plan, hope it comes to fruition! Esme is seriously cute, Beej! xx
Your chooks look perfectly contented Celia! They are amazing animals aren’t they? Happy days with your chooks x
Thanks darling Jane, I KNOW you understand! They’re so much fun to watch!
What a beautiful article – thank you! I recently added new girls too – always a terse time!
Jacqui, thankfully it went ok – I was very apprehensive! But it was largely over within a couple of days, and they’re all wandering about reasonably peacefully now.
I just love your naming process, and slipped back over to read about Rosemary and the early times of the old girls. I’m not so sure as you have acquired simply chooks, but rather family… such goings on ;)
ED, you know that thing about not anthropomorphising animals? We’re really bad at that.. :)
Henopause… you made me cackle out loud. ;) Wonderful post, Celia!
I feel great empathy for them, Kim! I keep telling Pete that all the girls in the house are going through henopause together! :)
This should take the title of ‘blog of the year’: how you have let your imagination roam and what a darling husband your Pete is being willing to play ‘chook police’ in such a manner . . . hope I have time tomorrow to share :) !
So glad you enjoyed it, Eha! :)
I didn’t know the rooster was there to keep the peace – I’ve been awake since 4.30am from our local rooster disturbing mine :) love the names and they look adorable!
Tandy, he’s there to keep the peace, but not for you and me. :)
I love that you give them all names. Ours have boring names like The Brown Hen or The Hen with the Crooked Back End. Ruth used to name her hens – the most memorable being PeckerSmith and Cuddles – no guesses for the names.
“The Hen with the Crooked Back End”? LOL…you crack me up, Anne! :)
My admiration for Pete grows each time you mention him, Celia. Playing rooster for the new hens? Incredible. How many would do that? Love the new girls and the names you’ve chosen. May they live many long, productive days. :)
He’s pretty special and I love him to bits, John! :)
what a handsome rooster you have there! x
Jane, he IS a looker, isn’t he? I won’t tell him though, or he’ll be preening.. :D
What a sweet man, gotta love a man that is sweet and protects his flock.
Thanks Lury, he IS a sweetheart..
They are beautiful. Hugs, Maz
Maz, I wish you could see them in person! :)
Me too! I’d sit and draw them all day, pretty ladies that they are.
Oh, bless Pete indeed. What a wonderful rooster! ;) Your chicken family is looking wonderful and I’m glad the new additions are settling in.
Thanks Kari! So far so good! :)
Hehehe, this post gave me a giggle, I love how you named one Amber! I want chickens desperately, but can’t at the moment because we above adopted a Siberian husky, somehow they won’t mix ! Love the photos!!
Thanks Andrea! I can see how chooks and a husky wouldn’t work together! :)
They’re lovely!
What lucky chooks they are to have arrived at your place. Pete makes a fine rooster.