RIRhubarb
Chirping
- Mar 3, 2019
- 20
- 113
- 62
Hi Everyone,
I bought 4 chickens, 2 RIR and 2 Buff Orpingtons (Rhubarb, Toe Jam, Custard and Wendle) about six months ago. These 4 were to test my new chickshaw coop and electric fence and to see how I enjoyed keeping chickens. I have to be honest, when I first decided to get chickens my intentions were to have some for eggs and to raise some as meat birds so that I didn't have to rely on the questionable store bought chicken for my protein source.
Needless to say I totally fell in love with these awesome creatures. I like most other people grew up brainwashed about eating chicken (and other animals) have always thought of chickens as merely farm animals and when I first saw this forum I thought it totally bizarre that so many people actually kept them as pets......I changed my mind! I couldn't possibly eat my precious little buddies, not only that, I can't even bring myself to buy nor eat chicken from the store.
So I ended up buying 4 light brahmas - Sumo, Snowball, Moon and Lizzy (short for Blizzard) and just recently a Barred Rock (Rocky) and a Blue Ameraucana rooster (Barney - he looks just like a barn owl).
I have a quick question - Barney has just started mating with the girls (when I say mating what I mean is he takes a flying leap from as far away as possible and then when he's done runs a mile before they even know what happened!) Today he also crowed for the first time (scared the life out of my 2 unsuspecting RIRs who were next to him at the time). The problem is he is afraid of his own shadow, true he is the youngest (5 months) of my chickens but he's just not part of the flock especially when it comes to food, he keeps a very respectable distance. My Barred Rock, who I brought home at the same time as him and is only 2 weeks older, has fit in just perfectly with rest of the girls. Do you think that he will eventually fit in and take on his duties as rooster, or will he always be bottom of the the pecking order and very literally hen-pecked?
Thanks in advance for your answers
I bought 4 chickens, 2 RIR and 2 Buff Orpingtons (Rhubarb, Toe Jam, Custard and Wendle) about six months ago. These 4 were to test my new chickshaw coop and electric fence and to see how I enjoyed keeping chickens. I have to be honest, when I first decided to get chickens my intentions were to have some for eggs and to raise some as meat birds so that I didn't have to rely on the questionable store bought chicken for my protein source.
Needless to say I totally fell in love with these awesome creatures. I like most other people grew up brainwashed about eating chicken (and other animals) have always thought of chickens as merely farm animals and when I first saw this forum I thought it totally bizarre that so many people actually kept them as pets......I changed my mind! I couldn't possibly eat my precious little buddies, not only that, I can't even bring myself to buy nor eat chicken from the store.
So I ended up buying 4 light brahmas - Sumo, Snowball, Moon and Lizzy (short for Blizzard) and just recently a Barred Rock (Rocky) and a Blue Ameraucana rooster (Barney - he looks just like a barn owl).
I have a quick question - Barney has just started mating with the girls (when I say mating what I mean is he takes a flying leap from as far away as possible and then when he's done runs a mile before they even know what happened!) Today he also crowed for the first time (scared the life out of my 2 unsuspecting RIRs who were next to him at the time). The problem is he is afraid of his own shadow, true he is the youngest (5 months) of my chickens but he's just not part of the flock especially when it comes to food, he keeps a very respectable distance. My Barred Rock, who I brought home at the same time as him and is only 2 weeks older, has fit in just perfectly with rest of the girls. Do you think that he will eventually fit in and take on his duties as rooster, or will he always be bottom of the the pecking order and very literally hen-pecked?
Thanks in advance for your answers
