Growing my little flock

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Oo I think little Vanilla Bean might actually be a boy! About 3 weeks old now and that comb got tall pretty fast. Also itsy bitsy teeny weeny wattles. I'm still quite inexperienced at the guess-the-gender game but the sudden comb popping up and tiny red wattles were the first signs I got with Junior.
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I still got nothin' guessing Monster's gender. Comb and wattles seem to have stopped growing. They're bigger than I thought would be the case for a pullet, but monster is also just massive and has looked like a much older chick for some time. The red is not nearly as red as on Junior. No pointy Monster saddle feathers still - they all fuzzed out to a round shape so far. No red earlobes. No crowing. Meanwhile Junior's got a nice set of pointy saddles showing already and his wattles are now long enough to clap together when he shakes his head lol.
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Junior is finally reaching that age I guess. He is increasingly obsessed with Chungus and also...

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This morning he ended up outside with Chungus, but without any of The Enforcers (Dimple/Dingus/Buddy) out there to keep him acting like a little gentleman. He tried to woo Chungus with some very fine yodeling, but she went "ew no, go away stinky boy" and ran off. Junior responded by chasing her around like "OMG PRETTY LADY COME BACK ASDLKJDSFJK"
 
Bean time! Here is Vanilla Bean and his big anime eyes. That comb keeps growing!
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And here is a perfectly normal Coco Bean pose - both of these chicks just hop over and flop.
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It was warm enough to take the chicks outside again today. Little Dimple was very happy to see them. I think she kind of wants to adopt them. Her mama tendencies are strong -she still tries to get one of her tiny wings over the enormous 12-week-olds at roosting time. Only problem with her and these two chicks is that Vanilla Bean thinks that Dimple is a trampoline, and she's not too fond of that.
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Junior showing off his tail and saddle feathers with Monster in the back. Monster is definitely a boy. You can kind of see two little white-ish saddle feathers poking out...he actually has quite a few coming in but they're well hidden compared to Junior's.
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Junior and Monster are very attached to each other right now and go around as a duo all the time. I've read that brother roosters can be like this sometimes although I also know not to get my hopes up for the relationship staying like this as they mature. Despite being pretty glued to each other all day, they are personality opposites.

Junior is very gregarious and wants to be the center of attention, and he loves hugs but wants to be messed with the whole time. He likes to be wrapped around my chin like a fake beard. He's so desperate for hugs it's been really easy to train him so far.

Monster is quiet, shy, and doesn't like it when things get crazy; he wants to sit on laps and be petted like a cat for ages. Monster is also wicked smart. He unties shoes. If a latch can be opened with just a couple fingers, then he can get it open.

So, with Vanilla Bean that gives me three cockerels. Exactly 50% of what I hatched! Not a bad number for me actually. If Junior and Monster magically co-manage their current flock like they're currently trying to do, then I can just give Vanilla Bean some of his own ladies my shed conversion is done, and if it doesn't work out that way then I can pick one boy to have all the ladies and the other two can start a small bachelor flock.
 
Holy smokes...no pictures to share today, but I've learned that little Vanilla Bean can be quite a beast! He is very sweet to Coco Bean and very sweet to humans, but he just will not back down to other chickens trying to put him in his place - particularly if they peck Coco Bean in his presence. He's become very defensive of her, which is not what I was expecting for how young he is. He will not continue to beat on anyone who backs down, so he's just very dominant not a total jerk; he just won't settle for any position but the top rung of the ladder - which is absurd given his current diminutive size.

I've been doing see-but-no-touch with the beans outside with the main flock for a while. I thought it was time to try having some in together with some adult hens. My thinking was that mature hens really helped to shape Monster and Junior's behavior, so I wanted to do the same thing with Vanilla Bean between his stages of feathering out enough for the cold weather and maturing to the point that compatibility with my bigger boys would be an issue, even though I planned to have 2 flocks of some sort after that. However, I had not planned for the first same-space introductions to go about like "hello, my name is Vanilla Bean, you pecked my sister, prepare to die."

So much for that grand plan I had lol. Unfortunately I don't have my shed converted yet...guess I will be slapping together an outdoor Bean Hut this week since it will be a while yet before I get my big shed converted. I need to get them outside 24/7 one way or another so they'll be ready for winter.
 
Got a small coop in place for the beans this morning. The beans only get to use it during the day for a bit. I need to do additional predator-proofing (HWC skirt, better locks, etc).
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And yeah...it's another prefab that I will work on modifying over time. It's a temporary solution since my original plan fell apart a few days ago. I know prefabs aren't generally loved here, but I just I do not have the carpentry skills necessary to do it both properly and as quickly as I need it (which is...right now).

Oh, and look at how gloriously wide this little dude is. 😂
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