I am so very happy to share the life of my very first hatched and raised chicken with you!
His name is "Pew Pew". Don't laugh.lol.
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. My sister kept trying to imitate his voice and one day came out with, Pew Pew so that became his name and has stuck ever since.

I won't speak to much but will post and explain a BUNCH pictures.... and there will be A LOT!

Well it all started out on the 28th day of the 10th month 2012. I drove half an hour to pick up 1 dozen fertile White Leghorn eggs. I was so excited as these were my very first hatching eggs and I even go to hatch them under my first broody hen as well
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. So it was a 1st for everything really!!
I set my eggs under my broody hen who was a Red Sex-Link called Molly.

I was so excited to hatch some of my very own chickies! But when the eggs were in incubation we had a massive storm, I think it actually happened 5 days before they were due to hatch. There were heavy rains, lightning and thunder. I was told that thunder and lightning could kill an unhatched chick and also that if lightning hit the ground it could send a pulse through the ground and kill the chicks inside the eggs. Well how many time did lightning hit the ground that night?lol. Well...A LOT!!

I kept hoping that I could get some chicks. Well on the morning of the expected hatch....I came racing into the nest shed. Only to find one dead chick on the floor
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. She had fallen out of the nest and couldn't get back in. Later that day I found the horrible broody hen eating another chick
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I was so disappointed, why was the broody mum doing this!?!? The next morning I came down to find, yet another chick all curled up on the floor dead
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( I think broody mum was doing this ). Nothing happened the rest of that day. There were still 9 eggs to hatch but I wasn't to sure anything would happen, It had been almost 2 days when I walked down in the morning of the second morning after the first chick had died.
I was just about to walk into the nest shed when....cheap, cheap cheap. I stood still making no noise, I thought it was just one of the native birds but then, cheap, cheap cheap. I ran into the nest shed, I was so excited!!! and there he was, my very first fully fluffed up little chick.
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!!!!

I was so HAPPY!!

Here is Pew Pew getting his first glimpse of the world!

What is he looking at.lol.

Finding his mum.

En captured by the world.

He was so keen on getting out for a run and a scratch about, also mum wanted a nice big dust bath after her very long incubation.

Getting comfy!

Piggy backs.

More pictures you ask? O.K then!.lol.

Having a good scrub up!

Pew Pew wondering what mum is up to.

After this picture of Pew Pew, we were going to call him Coconut but as I said before that changed
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These pictures are of him at about 5 days ago.

Pew Pew was the only chick from 12 eggs to successfully hatch and be accepted by his mother. I was still very new to all this so just thought that those other chicks must have been ill and mum knew. But I now know, she was just a terrible broody. Non the less Pew Pew loved her and followed her around EVERYWHERE.

I set up a little area away from the rest of the flock once Pew Pew was ready to go outside.

But there was always someone who managed to get in.
Pew Pew getting to cover under mum asap.

Between 1 week old and 4 weeks old I didn't manage to get any pictures and not a lot happened.

Molly ( Pew Pew's mum ) kept leaving Pew Pew behind and wasn't taking a lot of interest in him.
At the age of 3 weeks old, Molly had no interest left in him. He had to find his own food and I was sure that at night Molly would make the extra effort to get a way from him in the roost. It was sad because Pew Pew loved his mum so much but he was getting rejected all the time.
For the next 2 weeks I became good friends with Pew Pew, I fed him in my hands, so the others couldn't take his food. I lifted him onto his favorite spot in the coop every night and defended him from the pecks of the pecking order when things got to much.

This is Pew Pew at 4 weeks old looking I think his worst.lol. Don't tell him this!



This was a really cold and rainy day so he was all huddled up in the nesting shed.

Pew Pew grew and grew. His comb was already visible at the age of 1 week and I was getting worried I had a rooster on my hands and I had just gotten rid of a rooster because of complaints from the neighbors.
So it was time for a sex ID thread.
Here are the pictures I showed BYC and the wonderful members said HE was a SHE.

I was trilled to know my Pew Pew was a girl!



He used to be the only one who could get on this post, clever Pew Pew!

Pew Pew was going great guns, he was soon accepted and respected into the flock and I think he wasn't even on the bottom of the pecking order, so all was good.

Here is Pew Pew at 9 weeks old. He is so friendly and will just let me pick him up when ever.


Having a scratch about in the leaf litter. This is the reason I love chickening, just a lovely afternoon in the warm sun, while the flock scratches about for bugs.

I love this photo, he is posing. Mid the leg in the back ground.lol.

Close up.

Nothing stopped Pew Pew, not even the rain.

The photo didn't come out to well but he was really soaked.

About 5 weeks after being told that Pew Pew was girl I started to think that he really wasn't, so another sex ID thread was made and it was confirmed Pew Pew was in fact a ROOSTER!
Here are the ID photo's.

Those sickle feathers.

He has the longest legs.

Looking at it now, it was pretty obvious, even at 9 weeks old he was a rooster.lol.
These pictures are of when he was 14 weeks old.

As I keep saying, Pew Pew kept on growing. He out grew all of my fully grown hens. At this age he hasn't filled out much but in height he towers over everyone in the flock...except the Runner ducks of course.


16 weeks old, this is when things started happening.lol.
At 16 weeks old Pew Pew really showed me his "manliness" coming in!

I was in the garden siting with the girls, when suddenly I saw Pew Pew. He, well this is what I think he did because he was so bad at it.lol.
He attempted to strut over to a fancy Wyandotte pullet ( way out of his league ) he came up to her side and grabbed the back of her head and then he tried ( with great trouble ) to jump on top of her... but he just fell over and ran off, I think in complete embarrassment
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. I couldn't help but laugh, poor Pew Pew.

I haven't seen him try that since. But he will get there in good time.

One morning I was coming down to let the flock out when I heard this almighty raspy squark. I stopped and thought, what the? I continued to walk down to the run and there it was again. A really loud schreech. Almost like.... A CROW!!!
I ran to the coop as fast a possible and there was Pew Pew standing up proud and tall on the highest roost bar. TRYING so very hard to crow. He still hasn't perfected it quite yet but he is getting there.
I don't hear him in morning any more since I have been putting him in the darker coop but I do hear him in the day when the flock are free ranging.
Here are some pictures of Pew Pew at 16 weeks old.

Posing in the afternoon sun!



Giving me the stink eye. Wasn't to pleased that I was taking pictures of him while he was preening.

Some wattle action.

PEW PEW!!!

Here....Have some more pictures!

He looks really small here.

I should add that he is really uncoordinated at the moment
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. Every time I pick him up then sort of chuck him back onto the ground he falls over.
Today I was feeding the chickens and noticed Pew Pew having a stand off with a hen. She pecked at his beak and stepped back over a log and some how ended up on his neck.lol. Then he just flopped to the ground and sat there quite stunned
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. Again I shouldn't laugh
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Pew Pew seeing to it that the dog stays on his side of the fence.


Today Pew Pew is 22 Weeks old, he is the largest ( height ) chicken in my flock, he is even bigger than the Runners now.
He is the best rooster ever and I could never get rid of him.

He is so friendly and definitely a lap rooster, although he won't jump straight onto your lap ( unless food in involved
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) but he will quite happily sit there for hours if you put him on your lap and pat him.

He isn't scared of our dog or any of my family and isn't aggressive to them either.
I have enjoyed so much in watching him grow and to know that he came all the way from a little embryo to the now handsome rooster he is now.
Here is a picture of Pew Pew today at 22 weeks of age.

Pew Pew The Smoke God.
He is having a smoke ceremony to celebrate him becoming a fully grown chicken
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. He still has some physical growth to come though.


Here are some funny photo's of Pew Pew as and end to this article. I have loved sharing Pew Pew's life with you all. Hope you like it as it took me almost one whole day to complete. I enjoyed every minute of it though. Now all I have to do is teach Pew Pew to read
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Pew Pew not sure if his hormones were telling him, boy? or girl?

You could always count on Pew Pew to make his way into the feed bin while you were not looking!

UPDATE: Here is Pew Pew today - 05/31/2013

I love is whole outfit these days, big sickle feathers and glossy saddle and hackle feathers.



His wattles are so BIG now!

ANOTHER UPDATE: Here is Pew Pew at what I think is his Prime, still yet not full maturity though.

His wattles are almost ridiculously big now.






Feather display.

Guarding his flock.



UPDATE: date - 30/03/14

I have lost track of his age now ( it is written down somewhere though ) but he must be over a year old by now. Maybe even 1 and half.
Any way here are some more pictures of him.

Feed time!



Shake those wattles.





Also, Pew Pew has now got 3 prince successors, a princes and a Frizzled Leghorn princess.
Unfortunately the princes will not be allowed to stay on. They must be moved on.

Here they are in the foreground.

Close up of the pullet and the two behind her are the young roosters.

They have all fortunately taken on Pew Pew 'friendly gene', it's going to be hard to tell the little roosters on, there just so friendly!!!








The Frizzled Leghorn.