Here we are, at the end of the alphabet.

Y is for Yokohama, perhaps the most unusual of the breeds in this series.

With a tail like that, it’s not a low-maintenance chicken! Obviously, this is an ornamental animal. You’ll need high roosts, dry bedding and a covered pen if you’re going to keep these birds. I have no first-hand experience with Yokohamas. Do you?

Z is for zest is for eggs in the nest. That I have experience with!

New to this alphabet series? It’s starts with A here.

I bet you were wondering what chicken would be on this card. I think that the illustrator’s solution was quite clever (albeit a tad realistic!)

Keep hens long enough and you’ll have an X, whether it is by a fox, a neighbor’s dog, a hawk, or a weasel, a raccoon or a bear. The list of animals that want a chicken dinner is long. I’ve written numerous times about predator protection. Here’s one blogpost, and I have more on this FAQ about coop design criteria. Although once in a long while, a predator needs to be removed from the premises (I had a serious problem with a fearless and aggressive raccoon) in most cases, good fencing and management is more effective than trying to eliminate the predators.

The Wyandotte is a popular hen. She’s a heavy, beautiful bird that lays brown eggs. This card shows the white plumage, but you can find them in so many pretty coats, including silver laced, partridge, penciled and splash. The Wyandotte has a rose comb, which is a pebbly-looking, low to the head affair, which makes her winter  hardy. No risk of frostbite.

In my experience, personality ranges from placid, to lethally dominant over meeker hens. It all depends on the breeder’s line.

Some go broody, some don’t. Tell me about your Wyandottes!

Themed alphabets get a bit challenging at the end. I think that what they did here is so creative. V is for vessel.

I know that I’ve gone through my fair share of vessels. A hanging feeder for their daily ration of pellets keeps everything a lot tidier than a ceramic bowl on the ground. But, whenever I have yogurt or something else that’s messy and wet, I use an old dog bowl. I also have a lovely, hand-thrown ceramic dispenser that I use for grit. Do you have an unusual feeder for your hens?

At one time most people kept utility birds. They were thrifty, hardy chickens that did well scratching around a barnyard. No one went to the expense of buying feed for them. They brooded their chicks so the farmer would always have a few new birds each year. They weren’t particularly productive – I’ve read accounts that they laid only 90 eggs per year – but they were inexpensive to get and to keep.

I think that the illustrated hen is beautiful, so I quite disagree with the poem!