Sunshine Flock
Crowing
I'm noticing with Henry's boys that if I don't handle them and stroke their chest feathers for a day, they are more excitable and less relaxed when I hold them the next day. It takes more effort calming them so that they can perch on my wrist and spend some time with me.
Pick them up or let them fly up to my wrist on their own, talk to them and stroke their feathers, and the next time I do this they're more accepting.
Their personalities are beginning to really emerge. I can see a difference between the three of them. One is gentler and more docile, one is stronger and quicker to jump off my wrist and go about his baby rooster business (can't bring myself to say cock), and the third is kind of in between the two. Henry was more like the third one, and I love how he turned out.
Also, something worth noting is the group dynamic of chicks raised by a chicken mama, versus bringing home chickens and raising them without one. It would take some very careful and lengthy observations to determine how this may affect a rooster's development, and there may not be any significance or consequence at all.
But this little flock functions more cohesively and seems much more engaged and aware of each other than Henry and his flock I raised last year. I can't quite put my finger on what I'm seeing, but there's definitely a difference. They take shelter much more quickly when they hear a nearby threat and clump together tightly in a shelter hideout, compared to Henry's flock. There's also more chest bumping, but that could be due to the three boys, versus one last year. And different personalities.
It's interesting, though, to see some differences when I interact with the boys and how the whole group functions under the care of a hen.
Pick them up or let them fly up to my wrist on their own, talk to them and stroke their feathers, and the next time I do this they're more accepting.
Their personalities are beginning to really emerge. I can see a difference between the three of them. One is gentler and more docile, one is stronger and quicker to jump off my wrist and go about his baby rooster business (can't bring myself to say cock), and the third is kind of in between the two. Henry was more like the third one, and I love how he turned out.
Also, something worth noting is the group dynamic of chicks raised by a chicken mama, versus bringing home chickens and raising them without one. It would take some very careful and lengthy observations to determine how this may affect a rooster's development, and there may not be any significance or consequence at all.
But this little flock functions more cohesively and seems much more engaged and aware of each other than Henry and his flock I raised last year. I can't quite put my finger on what I'm seeing, but there's definitely a difference. They take shelter much more quickly when they hear a nearby threat and clump together tightly in a shelter hideout, compared to Henry's flock. There's also more chest bumping, but that could be due to the three boys, versus one last year. And different personalities.
It's interesting, though, to see some differences when I interact with the boys and how the whole group functions under the care of a hen.
