One hen was showing some wear and tear on her back. I decided to despur "Handsome Dude" -
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First time he was despurred, I believe. He was in someone else's care for about 9-12 months. He behaved like a perfect gentleman, only squawked once when I was causing him pain in my process.
So while being handled, it's a good time to deworm. I use Cydectin pour on for cattle and put 1-drop per pound of bird on that bald spot where the wing attaches to the body. That spot has no feathers to interfere.
So, I weighed him, and the hens, and subsequently the juvenile boys.
He weighed in at 7-pounds exactly.
One female was 5-pounds exactly and one was about 4 pounds 6 ounces.
The juvie boys were 3 pounds 2oz, two of them right on 3 pounds and one smaller coming in at about 2 pounds and a half.
Not only are the boys getting better at crowing, their 'red' is beginning to show up in their plumage.
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You can see the colors on this cockerel's back.
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The above shot shows the juvie's full range of colors. A phone shot --and my arm wasn't quite long enough to get beak to tip-of-tail in he shot.
One thing I like that is really a selection factor for me in both males and females is a contrast where the body color and the hackle color are different shades.
This close up shows a bit more of what I mean.
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Maybe it's the way the barring expresses on the neck hackles, or maybe there really is a lighter shade in the neck hackles than the feathering on this little guy's body. It's more definite in some of the females. I'll work on getting some of those pics later.
So while despurring and deworming - I found some feather mites on the rear of the rooster. So everyone who's been wormed has had their butt dusted with DE, and their coop cleaned and they should be OK. The juvie girls are in a different pen -- and that is something on the TO do list. It really is insect season in South East TX. Everything is out in swarms now. Ticks, mosquitos, ants - I've got ants in the dog biscuits - ugh! -- You name it they are starting to do their creepy crawly stuff, and -- this is just the beginning of 'bug season' here. This is when It would be nice to have a chicken wrangler to assist with getting good picts.