New Brahma Group: Blue Partridge x Partridge, Plus Dark

[speckledhen]

We're going to be in Pigeon Forge in April ...

Oh, so you'll be going past me, then. I'm about 2 hours south of there. You think you might be interested in taking a fuzzy legged hitchhiker back home with you, Janice? I've discussed Bruno with Andrew recently and if he decides he doesn't want him, we might be able to work something out.

 

[Sjisty]

He would make beautiful music with some of my ladies.

 

[speckledhen]

He would make beautiful music with some of my ladies.

He sure would. Today, I wormed all the adults except the Brahmas and Hector's group, being as young as they are, but since Bruno and Bash are living separately and have had to spend more time inside, plus are nearing a year old, I decided to worm them, too. I went in, plucked Bruno off the nests where he was standing. He was surprised and began to struggle, but as soon as I whispered in his ear and stroked his wattles, he stopped struggling and let me adore him. I'd never done that since he's been grown up and I don't think he knew how to react, LOL. But he didn't even nip me.

 

[1muttsfan]

The best of all worlds, someone else keeps a fine roster and you get lovely eggs.

 

[speckledhen]

The best of all worlds, someone else keeps a fine roster and you get lovely eggs.

Exactly right. And it makes it easier for me to have fertile eggs if one male can be in with the five pullets all the time. Two is really too much, I think, much as I'd like to see Bruno's handsome mug every day.

 

[speckledhen]

Andrew says he's very interested in having Bruno if I'm sure I want to let him go. He has a blue Partridge rooster with too much brown/gold on his chest and Bruno is a superior specimen. Plus, with a straight partridge male rather than a blue pt, he'd get no splash partridge out of the breeding group. I'm not overly fond of those myself. I think eventually, Bruno and I would be good buddies, more than we are now. But, I remind myself that when I let go a friendly, easygoing rooster, someone else gets the benefit of my "therapy program". So, it's just a matter of when he can come get him, I guess.



ETA: Today, I was doing something with my 9 year old ailing Blue Orp hen in the hospital wall cage just inside the barn door. Bash and Bruno had been outside but they were back in the barn aisle messing around, probably because it was very windy outside. I felt something on the top of my foot, looked down and Bruno had just bitten my shoelaces where they were tied and was backing up. He looked up at me like, "Well, what are ya gonna do about it?". I rushed them back down the aisle to their pen, fussing him out all the way. Pushing my buttons there, buddy! He's never flogged me and I think he did this once before weeks and weeks ago when he was younger, but not since. Silly thing acted like he was jealous of the attention I was giving Dusty, or maybe he was just taking advantage of me being distracted.

 

[1muttsfan]

Or he wanted your shoelaces

 

[speckledhen]

Or he wanted your shoelaces

Maybe. He's a big lumbering baby.

 

[speckledhen]

I think Bonnie is going broody, if you can believe it. She's been on the nest half of yesterday and this a.m., she was on two eggs and screamed at me when I reached for her. She did that yesterday, too, but she doesn't peck at me and does the squat when I do touch her, so it's hard to tell. If she's a sweet broody like I've had before, may take me a bit to really figure it out. I have no reliably fertile eggs to give her since the boys have only been with the girls off and on, and one at a time, since Bailey was injured. The BR pullet eggs are really small, too, smaller than the Brahmas and the other adult BRs are really not laying much, so what the heck could I even give her?

@Sjisty do you get many broodies in your Brahmas? @brahmapapa ?

 

[Sjisty]

I think Bonnie is going broody, if you can believe it. She's been on the nest half of yesterday and this a.m., she was on two eggs and screamed at me when I reached for her. She did that yesterday, too, but she doesn't peck at me and does the squat when I do touch her, so it's hard to tell. If she's a sweet broody like I've had before, may take me a bit to really figure it out. I have no reliably fertile eggs to give her since the boys have only been with the girls off and on, and one at a time, since Bailey was injured. The BR pullet eggs are really small, too, smaller than the Brahmas and the other adult BRs are really not laying much, so what the heck could I even give her?

@Sjisty
   do you get many broodies in your Brahmas? @brahmapapa
?

I have three Brahma girls who are born mothers. It's almost like they look for a reason to become broody. I have others that never go broody. Frack, for instance, was broody just once in ten years. Daffy, who's around five years old, has abandoned her chicks early to sit on some eggs she found once.