Desertvalleychickens
Spurred by a Cactus Spine
Happy Valentines Day!Happy Valentine’s Day to all my friends on BYC.
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Happy Valentines Day!Happy Valentine’s Day to all my friends on BYC.
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You can’t stop a rooster from attempting mating with his ladies. Unless you lock them away from their hens!Cockerel Ranch: Where Every Day is Valentine's Day.
This is Cockerel. Noticethe white powder from the chicken feed he bashed his dumb head in to impress the ladieshis beautiful, spotless back feathers:
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(FYI, I am using my knee to make sure he doesn't run off. He doesn't hold for me at all. He'll just take off running and I won't get a photo).
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This is Petra.
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This is Appalonia.
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And this is Beetov-hen.
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Notice how they all have craters from Cockerel's feet. Is there something I should do to help their feathers? It seems to be the Wyandottes are the only ones getting their feathers like this.
This is Cockerel (Cypriano). He has no shame. (He was also crowing. On my lap. Almost in my ear).
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What about preventing all that feather loss on the hens?You can’t stop a rooster from attempting mating with his ladies. Unless you lock them away from their hens!![]()
They make saddles for the hens to limit rooster damage while mating.What about preventing all that feather loss on the hens?
I'm so proud of Perry. It is not easy to integrate as a lone hen. I sure hope she has found a friend in Quincy.Incidentally, since I’ve been spending all this time w the chickens in their run (as opposed to out and about in the yard), I got to see how Perry was progressing. It’s marvelous! She is still dead last (#7) in the hierarchy (duh), and Albert (#6) still bugs her- but the integration is about complete!
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She learned to use the treadle feeder (sure, she’s never /allowed/ to use it, but at least now she knows how, and does so when nobody is looking!).
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Depending on the company, she is welcome to stand in the sand box (pictured here w Quincy (#2) and Fez (#3)). I haven’t actually seen her dust bathe, but it’ll happen.
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And I am certain she is friends with Quincy. They are often in each other’s company, and I have seen them grooming each other. I wonder if this alliance will help her rise in social ranking?
We’ll see what other changes will happen when she starts laying next week![]()