To name, or not to name, that is the question…we will be attempting to answer today.

Naming is on the horizon for Chicken Derby and it is going to be one of the first major decision points for a holder. Coming up with the perfect name for each of your birds can range from exciting to daunting depending on the size of your coop.

The one piece of good news for those dreading having to name far too many birds is that according to the Developers naming is not going to be forced. In fact, you will be able to race and breed a bird without giving it a name. It initially seemed like naming would only be optional for beta racing but according to comments from Apex “naming will not be forced” even beyond that. Its not 100% clear yet if that means you can race and breed a bird without a name but my reading of the comments was that you will be able to. So fear not if you have too many birds to name.

(Personal aside: I am not actually a fan of this. I think being able to race of breed a bird should require naming but you should also be able to leave a bird unraced/unbred/unnamed in case your plan is to sell it down the road)

So that brings me back to the initial question of to name, or not to name.

There is a simple argument to be made for why you should name your bird. If you plan to use the bird in racing and breeding giving them a name will personalize the bird and make them feel more unique to you. The Chicken #### format is just far less fun than having your bird named Cluck Norris or some other clever monicker. If you plan to hold your bird long term and use it to fully participate in the game then my opinion is go ahead and name them with no hesitation.

At the holding end of the spectrum the choice is fairly simple as well. It is my belief that the lottery ticket of an unraced/unbred/unnamed chicken will hold more value than one that is named but stilll unraced/unbred. A potential buyer for such a bird will want the ability to name it themselves. So keeping your bird as pack fresh as possible should help to protect the value.

It is in the middle of these two ends of the spectrum where I think the choice is the most complex. If you are not fully sure what the future of the bird will be and plan to maybe do some racing and breeding with them but could also sell them for the right price. Here you have a few of different scenarios.

1 - a great name: I believe that if you are able to give your chicken a great name it could actually increase the value as people may be willing to pay for the best names in the game. Figuring out what names will add appeal in the market will of course be tricky but the best names should have a positive impact on value.

2 - no name: I again look at this as the broadest appealing option. People buying a chicken are probably going to pay a bit more for the ability to give it a name that they like rather than getting a second hand name.

3 - an average name: This path probably has no impact on the value. This is going to be the most common scenario as most birds are going to have names that are nothing special.

4 - a bad name: please don’t do this for a bird that you plan to sell. If you assign a name that will be unappealing to a broader audience you are just tossing money away by lowering the market for your bird. I’m not even sure what a bad name is but I am sure we could all brainstorm some names that would 100% make us not buy a bird.

Overall, I think it is going to be important to sit down and review your coop before you start naming. Having an idea of what your plan for each bird will be in the short, medium, and long terms will help to give direction on whether or not you should name a given bird.

In my opinion because naming is not going to be forced the only bird that you should really feel compelled to name is one that you plan to fully use in the game. If you have an eye towards flipping the bird down the road a strong case can be made for leaving it unnamed unless you believe you have a truly desirable name in mind.

And please, no terrible names.