I could not have planned it any better myself!
My Father LOVES Dominiques, loves them. So with some hush hush planning and the excited approval of my Mother... I tracked down a Rooster and three pretty hens for him yesterday in Georgia. The Rooster is lacking some of his dignity, missing most of his tail feathers and some injury to his comb, but I wasn't surprised given he was paired up with about 10-12 other Roosters (two other Doms and the rest were Buff Orps). Friendly fellow though, seemed to fair better than others in the pecking order and has shown himself to be a charmer thus far with the hens he has been placed with.
They made the long trip home to Florida swimmingly. And our dog didn't even make a fuss about them not only taking over his puppy crate, but traveling next to him in the car. He didn't even make any attempt to harass them at all during the trip. Promising for when we add our own.
They were tucked into a temporary pen in my shed once we got here, along with a present for my sister that was supposed to be picked up tomorrow. And the plan was to present them to him on Christmas. But Dad insisted it had to be picked up this evening and Mother contacted me in a panic, so I said we'd put a bow on the pen and surprise him when he came for the other present and just let him know about them a bit early.
Not only was he shocked and excited, but two of the hens chose that moment, right after he meets them, to LAY TWO EGGS! My Mother and I were pretty stunned ourselves, not expecting them to lay until after they settled a bit. But I guess the day scratching in the yard was adjustment enough. XD
So now my Father is giddy as can be, talking about how he they have to build an amazing coop for them (he was already planning to build a small coop for my mother to have a few hens, but now that he has Dominiques he wants something big and fancy for them. Go figure, lol ) and how no one had better dare try and name them. They're settled for now in their temporary pen, so on the 26th we're going to start the coop and have a bit of a "Coop Raising" party.
On top of that going over so well, we have gotten great, hopeful news on my Mother's condition; Had a wonderful weekend with my in-laws. Its a good start to the holidays!
And I hope everyone else is having a wonderful, joyful Holiday with friends and family and... Chickens!
Feel free to share other Holiday Hoorays here!
My Father LOVES Dominiques, loves them. So with some hush hush planning and the excited approval of my Mother... I tracked down a Rooster and three pretty hens for him yesterday in Georgia. The Rooster is lacking some of his dignity, missing most of his tail feathers and some injury to his comb, but I wasn't surprised given he was paired up with about 10-12 other Roosters (two other Doms and the rest were Buff Orps). Friendly fellow though, seemed to fair better than others in the pecking order and has shown himself to be a charmer thus far with the hens he has been placed with.
They made the long trip home to Florida swimmingly. And our dog didn't even make a fuss about them not only taking over his puppy crate, but traveling next to him in the car. He didn't even make any attempt to harass them at all during the trip. Promising for when we add our own.
They were tucked into a temporary pen in my shed once we got here, along with a present for my sister that was supposed to be picked up tomorrow. And the plan was to present them to him on Christmas. But Dad insisted it had to be picked up this evening and Mother contacted me in a panic, so I said we'd put a bow on the pen and surprise him when he came for the other present and just let him know about them a bit early.
Not only was he shocked and excited, but two of the hens chose that moment, right after he meets them, to LAY TWO EGGS! My Mother and I were pretty stunned ourselves, not expecting them to lay until after they settled a bit. But I guess the day scratching in the yard was adjustment enough. XD
So now my Father is giddy as can be, talking about how he they have to build an amazing coop for them (he was already planning to build a small coop for my mother to have a few hens, but now that he has Dominiques he wants something big and fancy for them. Go figure, lol ) and how no one had better dare try and name them. They're settled for now in their temporary pen, so on the 26th we're going to start the coop and have a bit of a "Coop Raising" party.
On top of that going over so well, we have gotten great, hopeful news on my Mother's condition; Had a wonderful weekend with my in-laws. Its a good start to the holidays!
And I hope everyone else is having a wonderful, joyful Holiday with friends and family and... Chickens!
Feel free to share other Holiday Hoorays here!
