Answer to the Delaware Dilemma

[joletabey]

Anyone got a picture of a correct Delaware hen butt? I am still amazed at how far they fan out when you pick them up.

Amy- mutts are adorable and FUN. I love my three chicks, and wouldn't trade them for the world. If Boo or Ivan the Terrible turn into nasty roos, though, I will be crushed!

 

[Serrin]

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Just keep lavishing them with love and attention Beth, and they'll grow up thinking that being a sweetheart is the only way a rooster should be! I'm firmly convinced of that now. I've never hurt so much as a feather on their silly butts, even when they've pushed me beyond my limit.

I've had to learn a great deal of patience in working with young cockerels. Their "teenage" mind set is completely different than at any other age. Lay a good foundation of love and respect for them now, and you'll have a very enjoyable future with both of them. When they make mistakes, and they invariably will, you have to redirect their energies, rather than dish out punishment. That only causes resentment on the cockerels part. Remember, just like the pullets, these little guys have feelings.....and an ego to go with it. It's real easy to bruise that ego too. Avoid doing that, and you should do just fine.

I still have a great deal to learn about cockerels and roosters, and I learn something new about my boys every day. I'm more than happy to pass on my simple observations of my boys, but I make no claims that my methods are the right, or for that matter, the only way to go about creating a sweet rooster. I'd talk to Cetawin too.

Thor wasn't just a fluke. He was the result of a great upbringing by a woman who wanted him to be extra special. And he was that in spades! Cetawin can likely give you a great deal of insight into keeping your boys the sweet little guys they are now well into the future.

Good luck on both of them, and be sure to post an update from time to time about them. You know how much I have a weakness for the boys!

 

[joletabey]

Egad, it sound like dating all over again.

 

[Cindiloohoo]

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Guess I'll just have some meanie roos...I don't have the time or the money to court them properly

 

[mama24]

You can always do it the easy way and bop them on the heads when they get fresh Don't hurt them, just let them know you're bigger and stronger and aren't going to take any crap from them.) I've never heard of courting a rooster. lol. I know too many people who ruined good dogs with those sentiments. These animals have different social structures than we do, you aren't doing them any favors treating them like people and expecting them to have the same emotional response a person would.

 

[Serrin]

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No, I don't expect them to be human, nor to have the same emotional responses as a human for any given situation. But I do know how my boys will react to certain situations and what the underlying sentiment will be. I know what upsets them, and what makes them happy. I do the best I can to avoid those situations that stress them out and upset them, just as I do whatever I can to bring a bit of joy to their lives. I know what it will take to make them completely happy, content and satisfied. And that will come in time. I just don't have the time nor the resources at this very moment to give each of them what they really want and need: A small flock for each of them. That will require the construction of three smallish coops and three secure covered runs. Unfortunately, construction on our human house has to come first! Winter is rapidly closing in, and unless I get the boys their own covered run going, this is going to be a very long winter!

I've tried negative responses to negative actions on the part of the boys. And guess what I got in return? Yup! An equally negative response! I've found I've gotten much further along with these boys with honey than I have with vinegar. I did say from the get go that my methods are by no means the only methods to raising a sweet roo. They're simply what works for me and my boys. What others do with their roosters is there concern, but I'll still be happy to relate my experiences in the hope that a better way can be found. To my mind, one of the saddest things is having a rooster that you don't dare turn your back on for fear he'll attack. All because he didn't get a good upbringing when he was young and it would have made a difference.

They're far smarter and sensitive than most people give them credit for. At least, that has been my experience.

ETA: Apologies for hijacking this thread once again. I swear upon my #1 rooster's head, it won't happen again!

 

[joletabey]

OK, here is my sweet Emma at 8 weeks- I know they can change a lot, but do you see anything really good at this point?

 

[Serrin]

Wow! She's only 8 weeks? Oh Beth! She's darling! Her tail color is really nice from what I can see. She has the nice white edging so far. Could it be the fact that she was photographed each time in the shade, or does she have just a slight green cast to her legs? Maybe I'm picking up a color feedback from the blue tarps overhead?

I'm just curious: Who did you get her from? She's a cutie!

 

[joletabey]

Amy, no green, it's either the shade or the tarps, her legs are as yellow as they come. She is the only child of my dear departed Luke and one of my girls. I was at Cynthia's that day, came home to find Harriet still broody and grabbed eggs to put under her without knowing who's was who's, since I never got to watch who laid what where. Heaven's, that's a lot of W's in a row. Anyway, if she keeps going on as nicely as she has started, and turns out to be excellent, I am going to be even MORE disturbed about losing Luke. I just wish I knew which hen. Alas!

 

[fowlman01]

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She looks like the start of a good female. Time will tell, but she has a lot going for her.

Walt