poultry: the name game

From left to right: My Hamburgh, Spangles, Lulu the Langshan and Spare Spangles, another Hamburgh. Buffy the Silkie is hiding at the back.

THE NAME GAME

Calling your chook Meryl Cheep, or Yolko Ono might be going too far for some, but there is plenty of fun and nostalgia to be had when naming your chooks, writes Jessamy Miller.

There’s one minor warning I’d give when it comes to naming your chooks – think of the neighbours! It can be embarrassing calling out to your chooks at the top of your voice if you’ve given them particularly silly names.

Having said that, naming your chooks can be a lot of fun and create lasting amusement.

A good name suits their nature, vibes with the rest of the flock, and reflects your approach to life, be that artistic, practical or humorous (or all of these options!).

I have kept so many chooks, coming up with new names is challenging, so I consulted my chookkeeping friends for advice.

Fiona Scott-Norman, from Footscray, Victoria, is the author of This Chicken Life. “This is a big decision,” she says. “I wait for their personalities to emerge before deciding on a name. If you choose too early, and based on a physical trait, it might not suit later.”

In contrast, our horticultural editor Penny Woodward goes for the literary touch and hopes her chooks grow into their characters.

“I always name my chooks after book characters,” Penny says.

“My current girls are Lizzie and Jane (Pride and Prejudice), Anne (of Green Gables) and Galadriel (Lord of the Rings).”

Personally I like names ending in ‘y’ that roll off my tongue well, especially when I find the fowls pecking at my new seedlings: “Dolly, get out of there now!”

The fam-bam

Old-fashioned names suit chooks particularly well. Emma Weller from Yarragon South, Victoria, is an archivist, and fond of vintage appellations.

“I started naming the girls after my great-aunts, Gloria, Bertha and Lorna,” Emma says.

“If you have done the family tree, it’s fun to memorialise ancestors in the poultry flock. I ran out of relatives eventually and just went with a nana vibe. Don’t get too carried away with syllables though, or make sure there’s a handy nickname. You don’t want to be taking all day to call the chooks home.”

Gender bending is more than acceptable so do think outside the binary; the girls really won’t care if you call them Henry or Hilda.

We’d love to see a photo of your chooks along with their names. Send them in and we’ll send out a book to the winner! To enter the competition go to the ‘Win’ section of our website at: organicgardener.com.au.

A pair of Lavender Araucanas called Ultra and Violet. Left: My neighbour Clare and Pooper.

Nom nom nom

If you are prepared to admit the connection between those cute chooks in the backyard and the tasty roast dinner inside, you could go with a foodie name, such as Chicken Nugget, Ayam Goreng or Burrito. The more specific the name, the higher chance your kids will turn vegan.

Fiona Scott-Norman named her Rosecomb bantams Fatty and Salty. She swears these are reflective of their personalities, not their finger-licking goodness.

“I went with Fatty as this one is the most food oriented of the girls. As for Salty, she is top chook and has a lot of opinions.”

Purebred benefits

When you keep purebreds, you open up a world of opportunity; avian alliteration.

“I have Annie Ancona, Susie Sussex and Fifi Faverolles,” says breeder Margaret White from Newcastle, NSW. “I like a theme, it helps me keep track. I’ll often reflect the breed’s heritage by choosing names from its country of origin; my Dutch Bantams are Lotte and Heidi, while my White Faced Spanish hens answer to Lucia and Sofia.”

Too punny

Chooks are funny creatures, so consider a pun name. You could go political with Margaret Hatcher, scientific with Albert Eggstein, or rock and roll with Yolko Ono and Chick Jagger. The chook that chases the kids is probably an Attila the Hen or Tyrannosaurus Pecks, while your backyard celebs might be Hennifer Annison, Meryl Cheep or Russell Crow. Shall I just stop now?

The descriptive

Call me basic, but I can’t tell you how many chooks I’ve had named Fluffy, Buffy, Spotty, Dotty or Ginger. A descriptive name nails it every time. Clare Luehman is a CFO and my neighbour in Northcote, Victoria. She keeps a flock of four hybrids in her suburban backyard. “I might have gone too far calling this one Pooper,” she says. “But really, it is what she does all day. Like droppings on the deck, the name just stuck.”

Pairs

The real challenge is naming multiples: when you buy birds together, and they are similar looking, they all suit the same name. I’ve had Spangles the Hamburgh and her sister Spare Spangles, while my two Langshans are Lulu and Other Lulu.

Therese Grinter runs an upcycling business, Chooktopia, and named her current twosome Sars and Parilla. “My Lavender Araucanas were Ultra and Violet. Fun names are always good for chickens, otherwise the kids choose something cute like Fern and Acorn.”

Maybe that’s how to lift my game; pass the job off to my kids!

CHOOK LOVERS

The beach chicks

Jessamy Miller discovers a chook lover who takes her girls to the park, beach and cafe, and has even taught a rooster to ride a skateboard!

While many people keep chickens simply for eggs, they also make entertaining and intelligent companions. Chooks aren’t as bird brained as you may think! Take Elaine Janes’ chickens as an example: she has taught them to swim, skate, surf and go out for a babycino.

Elaine lives in Ocean Grove, Victoria, by the Southern Ocean. Now in her mid-seventies, she loves a challenge and keeps active though weightlifting, ballet, creative writing, and training her talented chickens.

Elaine has a mixed flock of fowls in her backyard, including three roosters who are good friends. She accepts rescue chooks, and sometimes they arrive with bad habits. Elaine could see that her Frizzle rooster Squiggles (Squigs for short) was intelligent and felt his naughtiness was because he was not being stimulated.

“I decided to harness his energy and teach him to skateboard,” she says.

“I did this very gradually. I removed all distractions from the environment then placed him on the skateboard for no more than five minutes each day. Once he was used to this, I let him practise skating down the sloping driveway.

“I now take him to the skatepark and he loves the speed. He has a cheer squad of kids, who enjoy skating with him and give him a go on their boards. Afterwards he gets grapes as a reward. I throw them and he has learnt to catch them.”

Far left: Watching the surf. Left: Elaine’s chooks patiently wait while she has her morning coffee. Below: So much exploring to do! Bottom: Elaine’s Frizzle, Squiggles, has learned how to skateboard.

A trip to the park is a regular outing for Elaine’s chooks. She reckons this benefits their mental health, and will take a couple round the park in her arms.

“I encourage people to introduce their dogs, they take one look at the chook’s beady eyes and get scared. Chook stare is powerful.”

A highlight of Elaine’s morning is a café latte at the local cafe, with the chooks of course. The fowls sit quietly on the bench seat while Elaine has a coffee and reads the newspaper. Her Plymouth Rock hen quite fancies a bubbacino.

“I’m well known in there, everyone loves to see the chickens.”

Astonishingly, Elaine discovered her Plymouth Rock hen (Mrs Chook) likes to swim in the ocean.

“I take them down to the beach often, and they sit and watch the surf. However, Mrs Chook was keen to go down and play in the waves.

“Under close supervision, I let her enjoy herself in the water, she likes the motion. She has a swim regularly; none of the other chooks are interested or have sleek enough feathers. A local surfer gave her a ride on his board and she thought that was pretty good, too.”

Elaine lets herself be guided by the interests of each of the chooks, doesn’t overdo it, and is careful of their welfare. Chickens don’t usually take to the water and can get chilled.

“When we get out I wrap her in a towel like a baby and you can see the pure contentment on her face. She dries out quickly in the warm car.”

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While Elaine has fun with her chooks, most of the time they live a conventional life in an attractive fox-proof henhouse under a tree in a corner of the yard. They are fed mixed grains, get plenty of shell grit, and she grows silverbeet for them.

“l love to cook, and since I live alone, I’ll cook dinner for all of us sometimes. They like scrambled eggs and occasionally I give them the cooked soup bones to pick at. Then the fight is on!”

Elaine loves her chooks’ individual personalities and the companionship they provide. Close observation of what sparks their interest has allowed her to build on this to develop their special skills. Perhaps given the chance our own backyard birds might be capable of so much more.

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Top: Elaine (left) and Squigs enjoy catching up with friends. Above: Once they’ve been out on an adventure, the chooks head home to their spacious run.