Let me share a secret: I find chicken behavior fascinating. I go out to do morning chores that ought to take only a few minutes and end up spending an hour or more just watching what my flock is up to. It's like watching a chicken soap opera.
Right now I have one batch of six week old bantam chicks that just got "kicked out of the nest" by their hen. She laid her first egg after brooding yesterday, so now I understand her behavior toward her chicks better. Nature is making her move on.
Out of the six chicks, I can tell that three are little roos. Two of the roos seem to have a very close relationship. When the chicks are resting, these two will be together, one laying his head on the other. When there are the inevitible pecking order tussles among the chicks, these two will back each other up against any of the others. This morning, when "Fowler" was being challenged by another chick, "Rocky" came running from the other side of the run. Together, they make a formidible team. It reminds me of the behavior of male lion sibling alliances.
All these chicks are crossbreeds. Fowler is part d'Uccle, part Serama and part OEGB. Rocky is part Serama and OEGB. I know that the roosters of these breeds frequently can get along with other roosters if they have enough space. I wonder if the alliance formed by Rocky and Fowler will last past puberty and into adulthood.
Sadly, I can't keep them, though. Roosters are illegal where we live, so I'll have to rehome them. I am going to try to find someone who will take them both together.
Right now I have one batch of six week old bantam chicks that just got "kicked out of the nest" by their hen. She laid her first egg after brooding yesterday, so now I understand her behavior toward her chicks better. Nature is making her move on.
Out of the six chicks, I can tell that three are little roos. Two of the roos seem to have a very close relationship. When the chicks are resting, these two will be together, one laying his head on the other. When there are the inevitible pecking order tussles among the chicks, these two will back each other up against any of the others. This morning, when "Fowler" was being challenged by another chick, "Rocky" came running from the other side of the run. Together, they make a formidible team. It reminds me of the behavior of male lion sibling alliances.
All these chicks are crossbreeds. Fowler is part d'Uccle, part Serama and part OEGB. Rocky is part Serama and OEGB. I know that the roosters of these breeds frequently can get along with other roosters if they have enough space. I wonder if the alliance formed by Rocky and Fowler will last past puberty and into adulthood.
Sadly, I can't keep them, though. Roosters are illegal where we live, so I'll have to rehome them. I am going to try to find someone who will take them both together.
