On the naming of chickens

Seven days ago, I brought home four baby chicks. This is exciting for plenty of reasons, not least because I've been reading about chickens, planning, and so on since last summer.

So far, keeping chickens has been fantastically enjoyable. Baby chicks are cute and fun to watch, and their space and infrastructure needs are pretty minimal. The degree of day-to-day attention needed won't really ramp up that significantly when they get older, either from what I can tell. Leeping a small flock just isn't particularly intense. These are, after all, recreational chickens of the "pets with benefits" variety. I'm in it for the eggs.

One thing I was particularly stubborn about, though, was refusing to name them before I met them. I didn't want to impose something on them unfairly without getting to know them first. Great in theory, but in practice? I'm stumped. I'm probably overthinking, and too attached to the idea that I need to do theme names. They are, after all, a flock.

(The roommate has suggested BBQ, Ranch, Honey Mustard, and Sweet & Sour. He's helpful like that. Because I am a terrible person -- I refer to them in the collective as "The Nuggets" -- I even kind of know which ones those names should go with.)

So far, the two ideas that seem to have stuck are a) giving them full Roman names, and b) naming them after female Doctor Who companions. The latter is easy -- Susan, Barbara, Vicki (I could sneakily refer to her as Cressida!), and Katarina -- while the former is a little more complex. Still, I've worked it out: praenomens Prima, Secunda, Tertia, and Quarta, I can use Gallina for the gens, and I've even picked out some descriptive cognomens.

While the girls don't seem to have a strong opinion either way -- when I asked, they seemed more interested in pecking at the grocery ad on the newsprint I'd just laid down in the brooder -- I'm not sure I'm quite ready to settle. I mean, what about "little old lady" names like Esther, Gertrude, Dora, and Mildred? Those could be fun! Or maybe chicken-edible herbs and wildflowers? Henbit, Violet, Chickweed, and Dandelion could be very nice indeed...

I am apparently an indecisive chicken-namer.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Amusing Commentary? Gentle mockery?

This post has been mirrored from Christian A. Young's Dimlight Archive. To see it in its original format, visit dimlightarchive.com