Princess Nikita is something of a chicken expert. In a recent poultry show of some note, three of the four birds she submitted came home with firsts, none of them were disqualified (mark this up to trial and error) and every class had multiple entries (ie: they all had competition). Although we Homesteaders were in awe of her success, she simply shrugged it off because the Princess has high standards. Her dream is to, by knowledge, skill, careful monitoring, and trial and error, breed the perfect chicken. Her idea of chicken perfection is simple: a barnevelder/campine cross.
Now, you chickeny types out there please hold your questions. My eyes tend to glaze over when she starts on the whys and wherefores of her decision. Our input into this whole venture is simply to ooh and aah over her successes and happily accept our fair share (and maybe a few more) of the ones-that-didn’t-quite-work-out-as-hoped. The blokes, in the fullness of time, meet a swift, respectful end courtesy of The Bean Counter and his lovely assistant, Farm Girl, and the ladies, population willing, become members of the Homestead eclectic poultry flock. The ladies are always wonderful layers and our repertoire of chicken-based dishes is growing exponentially.
We call that win-win.
So, with that in mind, we would like to introduce you to our latest coop residents:
Violet (left) and Wendy.
Apparently their markings are too indistinct, but we think they’re beautiful.
Union Homestead 
Would have thought the perfect chicken comes complete with stuffing and gravy … But well done anyway. 😀
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that 🙂
Congratulations to the competition winner, well done.
I think the ladies are glamorous and perfect. Charley says they still have feathers and are not in a pan…xo Johanna
Winning when there are other entrants is most commendable. I tend to chose my competitions very carefully.
It would be lovely (for those chicken lovers amongst us) to her from the Princess about her chosen goal… perhaps she could write a little post? Niche I know, but some of us are strange that way!
I’ll sound her out…watch this space 😊
Those new ladies in the coop are beautiful and if they also provide you with eggs they are full members of the homestead family too!
Our sentiments exactly 😊
My idea of a perfect hen is one that lays, scratches and helps to keep slugs and bugs at bay and makes comforting ‘chook, chook’ sounds.
Yes we’ve a coopful of those type of perfect 😊
I’ve seen Barnvelders around – beautiful birds, but never heard of Campines so had to look them up. I guess a few people over the last few hundred years have been aiming for the same goal as Princess N; why else would we have so many breeds, hybrids and varieties? Good thing we all see “perfect” differently. Still and all, I agree that a prolific egg layer with the beauty and temperament of a Barnvelder would be a lovely bird.
When the Princess starts talking poultry husbandry, I get a little lost. My criteria for “perfect” is one that lays lots of eggs and doesn’t bale Farm Girl up in a corner 🙂