Oooh that's neat, I never would've thought of that, thanks. He's a lucky boy, he had a 66% chance of going to freezer camp but in the last few weeks he ended up bigger and quieter than the other 2 cockerels we hadHe's still on probation though because he's getting pretty rough with Red and DH doesn't like his chicken getting her feathers ruffled
Thanks everybody, it's very eggciting. Although a week ago I got a preview of what it would feel like to find our first egg. One morning, I told my daughter to put a few golf balls in the next boxes and then I forgot all about it and when I checked the coop that night I saw a golf ball and thought it was an egg and almost jumped for joy; boy did I feel dumb. I never thought I'd see the first egg being laid though.
about the rooster, my understanding is that it can take a year for them to calm down, get their dance right, and get their girls to love em. I am very lucky, as I have said... I have a 7-8 month old cockerel, Rod Stewart, and he is turning into a lovely boy. He's got great temperament, he's got his dance going on for him, and he's got several girls now that follow him around. Yes, he was a bit rough at first, but that's just teenage normalcy. He's also good at helping his girls find good nest boxes. He'll get in a nest box, dig around, make a nest, clucking the whole time, while one of his ladies will stand on the outside of the box and wait for him to finish. Then he will stand on the outside of the box and kinda HUURRRRRRRRR at her. Its so lovely. LOL. My mom got to see what I mean by "calling the girls" for treats. She had put out cat food, the cat ate her fill then took off for parts unknown, and then Rod found the food. He started calling excitedly for the girls to come look what he had found. She said, "Oh is that what that is?" LOL. Well anyway.
Tell your hubby to have some patience. It might seem rough, but given a bit more time, he'll have it down and the girls will not be so objectionable.