This post was created in partnership withĀ PurinaĀ® Organic Poultry Feed.
When we lived in our old houseĀ with the tiny backyard, we got two little Barred Rock chicks and named them Phil and Lil. We loved Phil and Lil, and loved having them in our backyard, until the HOA sent us one of those dreaded letters. Even though the city allows home owners to keep two hens in their yard, our home owners association had a rule against livestock. After futile attemptsĀ to argue that our sweetĀ chickiesĀ were pets, we tearfully sent them off to live with friends. I think one of the reasons we wanted to move out to the country was to raise a little flock of backyard chickens, and we were really excited when the feed store down the street put their big “We have chicks!” sign up last Spring.
We now have eight beautiful chickens in our flock! We’ve only managed to get a fewĀ of them named in the past year, but they are a delight to watch, andĀ they lay the most lovely eggs, which taste a million times better than any store-bought eggs ever could. We have a Silver-Laced and a Gold-Laced Wyandotte whoĀ I think of as sisters.Ā I couldn’t resist giving them sister names, so they are Miss Jane Bennet and Miss Elizabeth Bennet.
We have a pretty Speckled Sussex.Ā She is dark brown with spots of black and white on the tips of her feathers.
We have an Ameraucana who lays those gorgeous, minty blue eggs. She has fluffy cheeks and looks like a lioness. I’m thinking we should name her Leona.
We have a Welsummer who lays really lovely, big, dark brown eggs. She has beautiful, pheasant-like coloring.
Some friends who live in our old neighborhood gave us a Black Austrolorp named Roxy late last year. She is fatĀ and glossy black, and I’m pretty sure she rules the roost and pecks the tail feathers of everyone else.
They also gave us a Red Star named Ellie. She looks almost identical to our Rhode Island Red, but if they’re standing next to each other, you can tell them apart by their tail feathers:Ā Ellie has white tail feathers that look like a petticoat peeking out from under her russet coat.
Our chickiesĀ got a big, new coop last summer that sits right next to our garden. When the weather is nice, we let them roam all over the yard, eating bugs and taking dust baths. When the weather is cold or rainy,Ā they have a big, covered chicken run attached to their hen house that they can spread out in. Instead of eating bugs and weeds, we feed themĀ vegetarian kitchen scraps and PurinaĀ® Organic Layer Poultry Feed. We love that Purina’s organic feeds contain no GMO’s, animal products, fillers, artificial preservatives, or growth hormones. Besides loving them and thinking they’re super cute, one of the reasons we wanted to have a flock of backyardĀ chickens was because we like knowing where our food comes from and what is going into it. We love knowing that our chickens are eating good things like this organic feed, and our chickens love it too! If you’d like to try out one of Purina’s organic chicken feed products, today is your lucky day: I have two options for you! For Option 1, enter you email address in the Rafflecopter widget belowĀ and get a $5 coupon good towards any of the products in the NewĀ PurinaĀ® Organic ChickenĀ Feed line, available at your local Purina retailer. For Option 2, use the other options in the Rafflecopter widget to enter to win a free bag of your choice ofĀ PurinaĀ® Organic ChickenĀ Feed!
If you’d like to know more aboutĀ PurinaĀ® Organic ChickenĀ Feed, visitĀ Purina’s website, or connect with them on Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube.
This post has been sponsored by Purina Animal Nutrition, as such I received free product from Purina to share my opinion with my readers. However, my opinions are based on my individual and unique experience. Based on my experience in 2016 I believe this line of feed has been amazing for my flock and I encourage you to try it too!
Awww they’re so sweet! I would love to have chicks one day – especially ones that lay blue eggs…
You should check and see what your city ordinances allow!
We’re definitely allowed, but it’s a matter of space and practicalities. One day!
I love our girls! I love seeing others that raise chickens and have only the best for them, and you definitely have happy, healthy hens! I have Silver Laced Wyandottes, New Hampshire Reds, Barred Rocks, Cochins, and several little mixed breed bantams. I’m also working on raising Blue Laced Red Wyandottes; and I’m so excited to get these! I’m fixing to build a new coop to house all of my “girls and boys”. š I’ve fed Purina for years too and have been very pleased with the results. Good luck to all.
Lol, I forgot to mention that we have 1 Ameraucana as well. š
I love the eggs our Ameraucana lays—they are such a pretty, minty blue!
I would love to have me some laying hens!
They’re the sweetest pets! You should definitely get some!
They’re all so pretty! I’d love to have a backyard coop one day — maybe with my own lil speckled Sussex!
Lindsay, there are so many pretty varieties! It’s definitely an easy rabbit hole to fall down, lol!
They are so cute! How fun to have your own chickens.
When we got our first ones, I was worried that it’d be so much work and I wouldn’t enjoy them, but they are so easy to take care of and so fun!
I would so, so love to have some chickens of my own some day!
You should totally do it!
Your gals are beautiful! We love our backyard chickens, too. Pets that give you food are the best kind of pets, right? We doubled our flock to 16 this year so we will see how that goes! Thanks for sharing.
16!! I can’t even imagine. We have eggs coming out our ears as it is, lol.
Your hens are so gorgeous! I am a total fan of small farms and your little chickies are clearly happy pecking around in your yard! It must be so lovely to wake up to fresh eggs every morning!
It is! Whenever we have store-bought eggs, we’re like, “WHAT are these?”
So fun!!! Wynodettes are great! We love or black australorp. My kids love the green eggs from our Americana too. Silky Bantams are really fun to have as kefir pet chickens, they like to be held and aren’t intimidating to kids. So excited for you and your new flock and the coop is beautiful!!
Thank you, Sheryl!
We too have a mixture of large and small. Our Wyandottes and Bantams have been raised up together, and the bantams think they are just as “big” as the others. They all run up to us when we go outside because they’ve been spoiled with mealworms haha. We went to purchase more worms the other day, only to be told that there is a shortage? If you really want to have chickens all over you when you sit down outside, go get some mealworms. š
What beautiful pets, Melissa! Until recently we had 2 chicken pets… a Rhode Island Red called Pobrecita (‘poor little thing’) and a Silky cross called Cheepy. Unfortunately Pobrecita died last week so we are looking for a new one. Your beautiful photos and story have inspired me to get a companion for Cheepy asap!
How sad that Pobrecita died! Losing a pet is always hard. And how ironic that she was named “Pobrecita”!!