Last updated: June 6, 2011 – Most of these pictures are updated now, though there are still a couple of chicks who seem to be elusive whenever I have the camera out. 
Gandalf and Kallie, Lavender Orpingtons
These two are the oldest of our chicks, and definitely the sweetest. They come to the brooder door when we open it and when out free ranging will follow us around. They have no problem with Meredith picking them up and holding them, and even tolerate Fiona (though we make sure to supervise her around them). I’ve heard really great things about Orpingtons. Meredith originally named Kallie (the first picture), but now we think that one might be a rooster so we’ve switched their names. We may rename Kallie to something a little more Tolkien-ish too, just to go with Gandalf. If Gandalf does end up being a rooster, we’ll almost definitely keep him as long as he doesn’t turn mean.
Bonnie and Chloe, Easter Eggers
Meredith named Bonnie (the second picture) too. The other Easter Egger was bossy and pushy, and we couldn’t think of a name for her. Until we started to suspect that “she” was almost definitely a rooster, and then Kris immediately dubbed him Clyde. A couple of months later, we discovered she was most definitely a hen when she became our first chicken to lay an egg, and so she has been renamed Chloe.
Raven, Dorking X
Raven is a “barnyard mutt”, but has 9 toes, so the lady we got her from said she is from her Dorking rooster. She was pretty flighty as a chick, but seems to have calmed down a lot as she grew and now will often follow me around the yard.
Splash-Laced-Blue Wyandotte
This little guy doesn’t really have a name yet, though we often call him Splash. He is Meredith’s favourite, because he is pretty mellow and will just sit in your arms and fall asleep. He’s also tiny compared to the rest. We were disappointed when he started developing wattles because of how sweet and pretty he is. I’ve since learned that Wyandottes can be pretty tricky and sometimes even pullets develop combs early, so we’ll see. Either way, if the Orpington isn’t a rooster and/or if this one gets along with the Orpington and stays sweet, we’ll likely keep him too.
Luna, Light Brahma
I had to go to a poultry swap to pick up a couple of chicks, and ended up coming home with a couple of extras. One of the extras was Luna. She was so pretty and the guy selling her told me his Brahmas lay all winter long and are very cold hardy. She is one of the more aggressive of the older crew. When we introduced the younger and older chicks together, her and Clyde were definitely the two that gave us the most problems.
Winnie, Partridge Chantecler
I wanted to avoid hatchery chicks if possible, but decided to make an exception when I found a breeder who had imported some Partridge Chanteclers from a hatchery. I really wanted one, and had been unable to find any locally. I’d like to add a white Chantecler eventually too. The partridge is very pretty. She also seems to be the smallest of the non-bantam chicks.
Barred Rock
Since I was getting the Chantecler anyway, I got two others from the same person who were also from a hatchery. They are two I hadn’t seen locally. This was one of them, a Barred Rock. She is definitely the boss of the little bunch, as well as the bravest. She was the first to come and try out anything new I put in their brooder, and would even stand up to my cats! Now that they’re outside, she still seems to be willing to try out new things.
Buffy, Buff Orpington
This is the third hatchery bird. Meredith named her Buffy. So far she seems very sweet. I hope she becomes as sweet as my other Orpingtons. She’s very curious and often jumped up to the top of the brooder when I took the lid off to say hi. She’s not quite that friendly anymore outside, but doesn’t run from me like some of the other littler chicks still do.
Ginger, Rhode Island Red
These are sort of what started it all. After a bunch of research, I had decided I wanted Rhode Island Reds (RIRs). I wanted non-hatchery ones if possible, as hatchery ones are bred to lay a lot of eggs in a short time and then tend to be spent. Non-hatchery ones might not lay quite as much the first year, but tend to lay for a longer period of time and remain healthier for longer. I managed to find a local breeder who had all non-hatchery RIRs. Her birds are actually show birds, and she imports varying bloodlines. I contacted her about the RIRs and ended up getting a few other breeds from her as well. One ended up being a cockerel, but we kept the pullet.
Welsummers
These guys are from the same breeder as the RIRs. They are apparently a very friendly bird and lay dark, speckled eggs. I want a good variety of eggs. I had read that the ones with very distinct triangle on their heads were more likely to be female, so picked out two distinct ones. Another early indicator (for most breeds) is rate of feathering. Cockerels tend to feather out slower than pullets. The one on the right feathered out much slower than the one on the left. I think they are both female though.
Willow & Jag, Ameraucanas
I didn’t know there were politics in chicken shows until I started reading about these guys. I originally wanted some Ameraucanas for the blue eggs. Most Ameraucanas sold in hatcheries and even by breeders are actually Easter Eggers, not Ameraucanas. As far as I can tell (and I asked on the BYC forums as well), these guys are purebred Ameraucanas, but they’re not standard colours. The breeder mixes the different colours to get a more colourful flock. None of which really matters to me. I just want pretty chickens and cool eggs. 
They are huge! I can’t wait to see what their adult colouring ends up being like. We’re pretty sure Jag (the darker one) is a pullet and Willow is a cockerel.
Silkies
I’ve always thought Silkies were a cool looking chicken, and they have a reputation for being pretty quiet and docile too. I really wanted some, but hadn’t seen any locally. I wondered if it was because they wouldn’t do well in our climate (I’ve heard they’re not very cold-hardy). Though we don’t get that cold here, so I put a wanted ad in our local classified and ended up finding three people who had them. All of them said they do just fine in the winter here. I ended up with three little day olds. Just based on feathering, I suspect I have one cockerel and two pullets, but we’ll see. I’ve been told that Silkies tend to be more vulnerable to predators because they won’t always take cover, and white ones doubly so because they’re easier to see. I’m hoping mine will be okay here. There are three of them, but they all look very similar still.