Meet the Staff
Get to know the birds who rule the roost.
We call our chicken village Wattlesford. It currently consists of eleven coops, five roosters, a whole lot of hens, two geese, and Renji, our beagle.
They’re the reason I spend most of my time building things, cleaning things, researching strange chicken problems, or trying to figure out what on earth somebody is doing now.
Come meet everyone.
The Production Managers
Levy is the head rooster and takes the job seriously. He keeps his own flock in order, somehow manages to break up hen fights happening outside his fenced area, and puts himself between his girls and anything that looks like trouble.
Lucky is my husband Gary’s rooster and makes no secret of the fact that he prefers him. He’s protective of his hens to a fault and would do anything for them, which is impressive for a chicken who trips over his own feet on a regular basis.
Noel is permanently on high alert. Every shadow, sound, and slight change in the wind is a potential emergency. He’s not wrong often enough to ignore, but he’s definitely not right as often as he thinks he is.
Ted is Junior’s dad and an absolute doofus. He has maybe three brain cells and two of them are confused. He doesn’t crow. He screams like a pterodactyl. He also has a warning sound we’ve started calling “Tedding,” which he makes repeatedly whenever anything is even slightly out of place. He’s sweet as pie, loves sitting on my lap, and wouldn’t hurt a fly, unless that fly happens to be another rooster (then all bets are off).
Junior is Ted’s son and inherited his dad’s personality, thankfully without the pterodactyl scream. He has a completely normal crow, plenty of energy, and more dance moves than any rooster reasonably needs.
Eleven “Levy”
Breed: Rhode Island Red x Barred Rock
Siblings: Hazel, Ruby, Noelan
Lucky
Breed: Marans Mix
Siblings: Juniper
Theodore “Ted”
Breed: Golden Laced Wyandotte
Siblings: Marigold, Poppy
Children: Junior, Kleio
Noelan “Noel”
Breed: Rhode Island Red x Ameraucana
Siblings: Levy, Ruby, Hazel
Ted Jr “Junior”
Breed: Golden Laced Wyandotte x Easter Egger
Parents: Ted & Lola
Siblings: Kleio
The Egg Department
The hens do most of the actual producing around here, although some have retired and now contribute mainly through supervision.
Between them, they lay just about every colour of egg you could hope to find in a basket, including brown, blue, green, dark speckled brown, and the occasional purple-bloomed egg from Hazel.
Their cards below cover the basics. You can get to know their personalities properly through the Wattlesford Collector Cards. A few residents are still missing, but I’ll get back to making their cards when outdoor chicken season settles down and I have time for indoor chicken projects again.
Ginger (Ted’s Flock)
Breed: Columbian Rock x Mystery Red Rooster
Egg Color: Beige
*Ginger is retired and no longer laying.
Hazel (Levy’s Flock)
Breed: Rhode Island Red x Barred Rock
Egg Color: Brown
Siblings: Levy, Noelan, Ruby
Lola (Ted’s Flock)
Breed: Easter Egger
Egg Color: Blue
Children: Junior
Juniper (Levy’s Flock)
Breed: Marans Mix
Egg Color: Dark Brown (with speckles)
Siblings: Lucky
Kleio (Junior’s Flock)
Breed: Golden Laced Wyandotte x Easter Egger
Egg Color: Green
Parents: Ted & Chica
Siblings: Junior
Edith “Edie” (Junior’s Flock)
Breed: Crested Cream Legbar
Egg Color: Blue
Siblings: Matilda, Bryonny, Willow
Marigold (Levy’s Flock)
Breed: Golden Laced Wyandotte
Egg Color: Pink
Siblings: Ted, Poppy
Roxanne “Roxy” (Lucky’s Flock)
Breed: Rhodebar
Egg Color: Brown
Siblings: Billie-Jean, Sandra, CeCe
Lexxie (Ted’s Flock)
Breed: Easter Egger
Egg Color: Bluish Green
CeCe (Lucky’s Flock)
Breed: Rhodebar
Egg Color: Brown
Siblings: Roxanne, Billie-Jean, Sandra
Bryonny “Bree” (Junior’s Flock)
Breed: Crested Cream Legbar
Egg Color: Blue
Siblings: Matilda, Edith, Willow
Nyx (Noel’s Flock)
Breed: Ameraucana x Barred Rock
Egg Color: Bluish Green
Siblings: Nemesis, Poseidon, Artemis
Artemis “Artie” (Noel’s Flock)
Breed: Ameraucana x Barred Rock
Egg Color: Light Green
Siblings: Nyx, Nemesis, Poseidon
Billie-Jean “Billie” (Lucky’s Flock)
Breed: Rhodebar
Egg Color: Brown
Siblings: Roxanne, Sandra, CeCe
*Billie is retired and no longer laying.
Chica (Ted’s Flock)
Breed: Easter Egger
Egg Color: Green
Children: Kleio
Willow (Junior’s Flock)
Breed: Crested Cream Legbar
Egg Color: Blue
Siblings: Matilda, Edith, Bryonny
Violet (Ted’s Flock)
Breed: Easter Egger
Egg Color: Light Olive
Poseidon “Posie” (Noel’s Flock)
Breed: Ameraucana x Barred Rock
Egg Color: Bluish Green
Adopted Children: Junior, Kleio
Siblings: Nyx, Nemesis, Artemis
Matilda “Tilly” (Junior’s Flock)
Breed: Crested Cream Legbar
Egg Color: Blue
Siblings: Willow, Bryonny, Edith
Sandra “Sandy” (Lucky’s Flock)
Breed: Rhodebar
Egg Color: Light Brown
Siblings: Roxanne, CeCe, Billie-Jean
The Independent Contractors
Not every hen lives in one of the main rooster-led flocks. Some are too small to live safely with the larger birds. Others were removed from their original flocks for one reason or another and decided they were perfectly happy not going back. Penny and Mia are still relatively new and haven’t chosen where they want to settle yet.
Together, they make up the less formally managed side of Wattlesford.
Our Free Rangers
Poppy and Nem found each other after both were removed from their original flocks, and they have been inseparable ever since. For a long time, they wanted very little to do with anyone else. Lately, Poppy has started spending time with Ruby, Pippa, and Laurel, and even Nem has mellowed a little. Only a little.
Ruby and Pippa are an unlikely pair. Ruby is half Brahma and built like a tank. Pippa is tiny and acts like she owns everything. Laurel has made herself at home with them, and Tansy is currently figuring out where she fits within the group.
Ruby
Breed: Brahma x Rhode Island Red
Egg Color: Brown
Siblings: Levy, Hazel, Noel
Pippa
Breed: Bovans Brown
Egg Color: Brown (with speckles)
Laurel
Breed: Rhode Island Red x Barred Rock
Egg Color: Light Brown
Siblings: Tansy
Tansy
Breed: Rhode Island Red x Barred Rock
Egg Color: Light Brown
Siblings: Laurel
Poppy
Breed: Golden Laced Wyandotte x Blue Sapphire
Egg Color: Off-White
Siblings: Ted, Marigold
Nemesis “Nem”
Breed: Ameraucana x Barred Rock
Egg Color: Blue
Siblings: Nyx, Artemis, Poseidon
The New Girls
Penny and Mia joined us in the summer of 2026. Eventually, they may choose to join Noel’s flock. For now, they are part of the girls-only club with the rest of the independent hens.
They both lay beautiful brown eggs. Mia’s are a warm terracotta color, while Penny’s are dark brown with speckles.
Penny
Breed: Welsummer x Marans
Egg Color: Dark Brown (with speckles)
Mia
Breed: Welsummer
Egg Color: Terracotta
Beef, Nori & Pepper
Beef is the founding member of this little group. The bantam flock came together around her over time for reasons that are a bit of a long story. The short version is that bantams need bantam-sized company, and now there are three of them.
Nori is the friendliest and usually the first to come see what I’m doing, with Beef close behind. Pepper took longer to come around. I repeatedly hauled her out of the nest box during her broody spells until she eventually decided I probably wasn’t a threat.
They are small, they are loud, and at least one of them is broody at any given time. Usually all three.
Beef
Breed: Bantam Easter Egger
Egg Color: Light Blue
Nori
Breed: Bantam Easter Egger
Egg Color: Blue
Siblings: Pepper
Pepper
Breed: Bantam Easter Egger
Egg Color: Blue
Siblings: Nori
Chief Mischief Officers
Baxter is a fluffy, mop-shaped menace. He bites my husband and son, challenges the roosters through their fences, picks fights with the dog, and torments anyone who comes near his territory, which he considers to be the entire yard. I am normally safe from his antics unless I’m wearing my “Every Roost Needs a Roo” shirt. Apparently, he finds that offensive. He’s my boy, though, and I love him despite his commitment to being a jerk.
Sam never stops talking and wouldn’t hurt a fly. She yells at trucks, motorcycles, and anything flying overhead. At least once a day, she tries her hardest to fly. So far, she has not been successful.
Sam
Breed: Sebastopol x Buff Toulouse
Egg Color: White
Baxter
Breed: Sebastopol
Head of Security
Renji is a loud, goofy beagle who decided that protecting chickens made more sense than hunting them.
He takes his self-appointed job seriously, especially when there are babies around. He patrols the yard, alerts us to anything suspicious, and generally keeps an eye on village business.
His protection does have limits. He does not like Nem and will chase or bark at her if he thinks she’s about to be mean to another chicken. In fairness to Renji, he is often correct.
