Well, the 'kids' aren't really kids anymore. They're 11 wks old now and only the chanteclers are still peeping - the sussexes and campines have moved on to bawk- bagawk style things to say. And they are basically big chickens now, just a little more growing/broadening/maturing to do.
The campines turned out to be 5 males out of 6 chicks -- 4 were sold a month ago, and the other one (thought at the time to be a girl, but started crowing and sprouting a manly comb and wattles just 2 days after the other boys left) was sold yesterday to a guy who just wants a purty rooster to join his other coupla purty banty roosters to decorate his lawn. So now I'm down to the ones I'm keeping -- mostly *really* keeping, but I'm still not sure of the sexes on all of them and there may well be a few that get eaten as the months go by.
I feel like the kids have all grown up and gotten jobs and started having lives of their own. I miss the fluffy chick stage
OTOH it is nice to see them entering "the beginning of the rest of their lives", starting to sort out who's who and what's what and how to be a chicken. The sussexes are still highly suspicious of their run, but, they will figure it out in time. And the chanteclers (plus the one campine female) really need me to BUILD them a run for them to be highly suspicious of
Yeah yeah, I'm working on it
BTW, I was surprised how un-difficult it was to find takers for the 5 campine cockerels. I think I was right in my calculation that if you don't wanna eat the extra roos then it is wise to have them be of a breed that is both rare-breed and purty
I look forward to seeing how the remaining 14 (plus my preexisting 2 hens, currently off in the front yard in the tractor) will sort themselves out as they grow up. Chicken society is interesting
Pat
The campines turned out to be 5 males out of 6 chicks -- 4 were sold a month ago, and the other one (thought at the time to be a girl, but started crowing and sprouting a manly comb and wattles just 2 days after the other boys left) was sold yesterday to a guy who just wants a purty rooster to join his other coupla purty banty roosters to decorate his lawn. So now I'm down to the ones I'm keeping -- mostly *really* keeping, but I'm still not sure of the sexes on all of them and there may well be a few that get eaten as the months go by.
I feel like the kids have all grown up and gotten jobs and started having lives of their own. I miss the fluffy chick stage
OTOH it is nice to see them entering "the beginning of the rest of their lives", starting to sort out who's who and what's what and how to be a chicken. The sussexes are still highly suspicious of their run, but, they will figure it out in time. And the chanteclers (plus the one campine female) really need me to BUILD them a run for them to be highly suspicious of
BTW, I was surprised how un-difficult it was to find takers for the 5 campine cockerels. I think I was right in my calculation that if you don't wanna eat the extra roos then it is wise to have them be of a breed that is both rare-breed and purty
I look forward to seeing how the remaining 14 (plus my preexisting 2 hens, currently off in the front yard in the tractor) will sort themselves out as they grow up. Chicken society is interesting
Pat
