What's in a name?

From left to right: Ginger, Ziggy, and Miss Peeps

When I started telling people that I was going to get into the business of raising chickens, I was frequently asked: "Are you going to name them?" The answer is, of course, YES! After all, they are now members of our family so they do need names. It took the better part of yesterday before the chicks were officially "christened." I spent a lot of time watching them and listening to them and holding them, so I could get to know them. As I mentioned yesterday, they do have very distinct personalities. The first to get a name was Miss Peeps. She is the bravest, most social, and noisiest of the group. Everytime I approached the brooder, she was the first to run to greet me, peeping loudly. Next came Ziggy. If you look closely at the picture, you can see the chipmunk-like stripes that run down her back. Ziggy is the smallest of the three, and the silliest. Finally, there's Ginger. Like the spice, she is a beautiful shade of orange-brown. Ginger is the largest, yet the most shy of the girls. She most often stands apart from her new sisters; however, during a couple of my visits she came to check me out, quickly pushing aside her smaller siblings, so she may show a more aggressive personality as she becomes acclimated. All in alll, so far so good. The peeps are eating, drinking, sleeping, and pooing - oh, my, are they pooing. I have to keep reminding myself about the value of the poo for the garden, as I continually try to keep the brooder tidy!