E-mail: funkchic@alltel.net

One of our busiest hobbies is our collection of chickens and pheasants. Their plumage is so beautiful that we have them on display in chicken pens alongside our sculpture garden behind the gallery. Guests enjoy them, especially if they are unaware of the "world of chickens".

Our "Lady Amhearst Pheasant" is one of our most dramatic and beautiful birds. His tail feathers grow to be about 3 feet long each year before he molts right after breeding season.

This is the female "Lady Amhearst Pheasant".

The "Golden Phoenix" rooster has an ancient history from the orient where they were treasured for their tail feathers, said to have grown to 20 feet long. Ours has grown tail feathers just over 4 feet long. He knows he's beautiful too.

The "black and white Polish tophat" is not a very bright bird, but lots of fun. He can't see very well with all those feathers on his head.

The "yellow gold pheasant" has a bright yellow belly and a golden helmet. During breeding season, he shows off by posing and chirping or screeching to get attention.

These are some of my favorite chickens. The "Buff Brahmas" are very soft to touch as well as very gentle. The hen is an excellent mother, and she makes a terrific suroget mother to other breeds as shown in the picture.

This is another Polish tophat, but this one is a "buff laced".

"Saipan Junglefowl" is a large bird. This rooster stands about 30 inches tall. They are very primitive and aggressive birds. Bugs are not all that they hunt.

These are dear little chickens that make little growling noises. "Mille Fleurs" (thousand flowers) are very attentive, gentle, and comical to have. The booted feet add to their charm.

These are also tiny little chickens, but they don't seem to know that. The hen was playing Mom to whoever's egg we put under her.

Golden Seabrights look like pen and ink drawings with spunk. Our rooster, pictured here, died after our long treatment of an eye infection failed to make him well. You would be surprised how attached you can be to a fiesty little rooster who would draw blood whenever you had to go into his pen. We called him the "devil chicken", and we miss him.

This is a very poor picture of our male RED GOLD PHEASANT in the shade.

This is our very shy JAVA GREEN PEAFOWL. It is only one year old, and we suspect that it is a male.

The pictures will be improved as I get the cooperation of the chickens and good lighting for photographs. I shouldn't have tried to photograph them without someone there to help get them into the sunshine.