Cherished Chickens Photo Competition Results!

What was it all about?

"Win a beautiful hand drawn portrait of your favourite chicken!"

The two winners of this very special competition will receive a hand drawn head and neck portrait of  their very favourite chicken. 

Three other runners-up will each receive a copy of the Extraordinary Chickens calendar for 2024 (while stocks last!).

The two top prizes: about artist Carol Leather.

The two main prizes are face and neck portraits of the chosen "Cherished Chicken", drawn by renowned artist Carol Leather.

Featured in magazines, exhibitions and a beautiful book called "Colored Portrait Treasures: Masterworks From Around the Globe", Carol's amazing attention to detail and ability to capture the very essence of a whole variety of animals and birds is breathtaking.

You can see Carol's work on her portrait website, here.

• The grand prize is a stunning hand-drawn head and neck study of your cherished chicken, created in vibrant coloured pencil and presented on high quality paper, ready for framing.

• The runner up will receive a smaller head only portrait, in the same professional coloured pencil.

The competition.

This was, not surprisingly, the most popular competition I have run! There were over 100 entries, all of them wonderful portraits of very special chickens, together with the story about why they are so special.

In a world where there are so many problems, it was wonderful to read through such positive entries, which glowed with pride and care.

Thank you to everyone who entered. You are all amazing!

And now, without further ado, let's look at the winnners!

The Grand Prize winner... Rachel, with Kevin the Rooster!

Huge Congratulations, Rachel and Kevin! What a lovely rooster Kevin is – and good to his ladies, as all roos should be. I'm sure Kevin will be getting a few extra treats today!

Rachel tells Kevin's story:

"This is Kevin, my first rooster. He has been the most special of all the 11 chicks we hatched. He deserves to have a professional portrait because he is a great leader and protector of our hens.

He is the top chicken of the coop and he shows it. He has even tried to show that he has the best of us, his humans, but is willing to let us woo him with a few treats instead!"

Carol, our portrait artist, explains what it was about Kevin's picture that made her choose him as the overall winner.

"When I first saw this photograph, I was delighted by the sheer detail it offered. I could almost feel the softness of those beige feathers around its neck. The comb and wattle stand out, creating contrast against the softer colors of the feathers.

But what truly brings this image to life is the chicken's eye. It's alert, focused, and adds a sense of character that's hard to ignore. It's definitely got something on its mind!

And then there's the lighting. It's natural, and casts soft shadows and highlights, giving the image a 3-dimensional form. When I translate this into a drawing, I aim to capture those subtle nuances. They add a layer of realism and vitality".

Second prize goes to Nina, with Skynrd the rooster and proud daddy!

More Congratulations to Nina and Skynrd. What a great story of why roosters can be an amazing addition to the flock! Thanks for taking the time to tell such a fun story, Skynrd!

Nina tells Skynrd's story.

Hello everyone my name is Skynyrd, I have a brother named Lynyrd like Lynyrd Skynyrd the rock band dating back to the 1970’s . So their debut song being “Free Bird” could not have made our names more appropriate. I have lived with a group of womhens but due to the fact this lucky guy named Rusty got to rule their roost, I am a back up rooster.

I have stayed polite, minded my manners and yelled through out the day to just remind those womhen I’m still here. I was in a bachelors' pad with two other brothers who also were back up roosters and we all got along pretty good.

One day my brothers were removed from the bachelors' pad, and I could not believe my eyes. The most beautiful, outstandingly perfect womhen entered my once bachelor pad – and in a split second it became my womhen’s sanctuary. I ran back and forth in my now sanctuary not really knowing how to greet her. I wasn’t sure if my tail looked good, or did my feet stink? And yet her beauty made me lose my mind.

Over time my womhen and I loved each other so much that my womhen wanted to have my babies. So it was a long, long time watching her sit on these eggs. I would make her get up when treats like spaghetti was brought in, but her favorite was black soldier fly larva. 

Two little chicks from the three eggs were my Pride & Joy and these were the names they took on. As my babies grew I watched my womhen take care of them, but didn’t know why at first she would not let me real real close to them. I mean, I am their daddy.

Well my caretaker brought her favorite black soldier fly larva inside and so I picked one up and dropped it several times. This was a cherished moment as my babies ran over to me and right below my eyes picked up the larva, and were trying to mimic what their mom had taught them.

Once my womhen had seen I was easy with the twins, she allowed them to come close and visit me as they wished.

I am a proud and protective new dad and have been so thankful to have my womhen given to me.

Carol explains why was a very worthy runner-up!

"The feathers grabbed my attention here. That rich auburn shading into golden tones will allow me to use a varied colour palette. I see glossy and fluffy textures and love the wind-blown look. Capturing those textures in pencil will be fun.

The contrast due to the lighting helps to give a 3 dimensional effect which I can heighten in the portrait.

I loved the expression which seems dignified, despite the ruffled feathers".

Three other winners of the 2024 Extraordinary Chicken Calendar are...

Kathy, with Lucy, who is no longer lowest in the pecking order! Here's Lucy's story...

"Lucy was one of nine hens. She was getting pecked on by three of her roomies which ended up being big bullies.

She was in the chicken hospital three times, but when put back she just kept being bullied, so she ended up in her own co-op.

I introduced four other hens to her and she became the queen bee to those hens. She is now a happy hen!"

Cindy, with Dolores – who loves goats! Here's her story...

"Dolores is named after my mom who passed away in 2002, and is a mix of orange and gold with black speckles and border on her feathers.

Dolores is a Serenity Cross, which is a breed that the farm where we got her sells. I started raising chickens in September 2021. I got six of them pullets from a local farm.

Dolores is the only one that survived an illness that took the rest. She lays beautiful blue eggs and is the leader of the coop.

She loves to eat bugs, cluck at the others and sit on top of the goats".

Eileen and Frank, with Epu the shy hen. Here's her story...

This is one of my chickens named Epu. She is very shy but she is so beautiful. I love watching her. 

We just had a racoon get in the pen and kill her friend, so now she is even more scared.  She is also our disappearing chicken, who finds a quiet hiding spot in the tomatoes or in a bush. We search the neighborhood and she is always there in the yard, camouflaged and watching us act like crazy chicken parents. 

Epu will always be remembered for the rest of our lives because of her beauty and her antics.  

What happens now?

• Winners will be informed by email and the details given to Carol so she can start work!

• Please bear in mind that portraits as incredibly detailed as those Carol creates take an enormous amount of time, as well as skill. Yours will be sent to you as soon as it's ready – but it won't be finished overnight!

• Winning photos may be used to illustrate some of my chicken-keeping articles, always giving due credit to the winners. 

• Carol may also use the images on her website, again giving credit (imagine having your chicken featured on a real artist's website!).

Once again, a HUGE "thank you"...

To everyone who entered, everyone who voted, and above all to Carol for doing such an amazing job in making the final choice of two wonderful Cherished Chickens – who will now have their portraits professionally drawn for all to see!

More pages for chicken lovers!