Speckledhen, speckledhen....

[thndrdancr]

I have a very special rooster, altho I worry about him, as he hurt his leg as a youngun, slipped tendon and no amount of taping, strapping, etc could fix it. He gets around great tho thus far. He is only about six months old tho. I was so proud to see him knock a big ol orp roo off one of his girls yesterday, he came FLYING out of his pen when he heard her hollering for him.

I never posted that I had my hubby put Lily down last fall. It was just too very painful, I know you know what I mean. She was just was such a character and she never let any of the roosters breed her until she got to where she didnt feel well anymore. Then stopped laying altogether. I had Chookschick in Kansas send me her young splash orp and in the end they became the best of buds. He always treated her kindly but she never came out of the coop anymore and I knew it was time. He never mated her, he treated her like a kindly grandmother that had to be taken care of.

I incubated some eggs last summer, and I was sorry I had a mean old rooster that just was horrid to all the hens and grabbed them whenever he could, but he ended up giving me a present from Lily that I will always treasure. He was BigDaddy's son, who was a sweetheart, so it was hard for me to get rid of him as soon as I should have.

Anyhow, this is grandson of your Lexie and Hawkeye, and great great grandson of Suede. What a gorgeous mix he is as well. The only only child of Lily so I treasure him til his legs go out completely and perhaps get a few children from him. His comb got frostbite just a few weeks ago, but he is a beautful creature. He looks mostly barred rock, but has three fantastic blue/black large tail feathers that you can only see in certain vantage points. So he is barred Rock/Black Orp mix, but from some very special birds, hmm?

I dont have a name for him yet, he is pretty shy so only managed to get one good picture out of him today before he herded his ladies back to pecking. Never mind my ducks, they follow me everywhere and want to get in my face.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

He is a handsome fella

And the duck is adorable.

 

[speckledhen]

Jill, I am so very sorry to hear about Lily! She was a real character, that one, and I think Lexie's very first chick with Hawkeye. You were the first person I sent eggs to years ago. Wow, progeny of Hawkeye and Suede--he certainly is a special guy, then. Suede is still with me, though fertility goes in and out, mostly out. Thanks for posting pictures of that handsome guy. I love seeing these lines continue.


Lexie is five years old now, has arthritis in her feet and hasn't laid an egg in about a year. I fear she won't be with me much longer. Lost Ivy a few months ago, but I do have Ivy's daugher, Fern, and her granddaughter, Barbara. They gave me my love of BRs and I'll never forget them, especially Hawkeye, Ivy and Lexie.

 

[Cetawin]

What a handsome boy .... and what a family tree he has!

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Gorgeous rooster, and pretty duck!!

Is the duck an Ancona?

 

[FeatheredFeline]

That is quite the handsome rooster And the duck is great too. I know how they follow one around, I grew up with two of them.

 

[thndrdancr]

All I know of the duck is that she is a mix of runner and something else. I have her sister as well. They grew up with the rooster so think he is their "drake" and follow him for the most part! And my peacock mates with her frequently too, at least last fall he did. She invites it then squeals to beat the band when he takes her up on her invite. The sister then gets upset and beaks and beaks the poor pea. I cant blame them, they are bonded now but it took forever. I made the mistake of raising one of them with the guineas as they were hatched at way different times. Guineas were the only babies I had so I threw her in with them, so she thought she was a guinea for the longest time. Never raise a duck with guineas, it will break your heart watching them try to keep up with the noisy flighty lil boogers.


I worry about the roo as when I let him freerange, his leg gets so much much but he just loves it. I hope to have him father some babies before it gets too bad. It just breaks my heart that it never healed up right. If you look closely you can see its a lot more swollen than the other. He had a horrid case of bumblefoot too when a youngster. He is only late summer hatch so not all that old.

Yes, he has quite a lineage. Cyn, yea, Lily was one of the first with someone else that hatched a hen about a month before I hatched Lily, I do believe. I am so glad to hear Lexie is still hanging on. Lily would have hung on to the end, but that hernia was getting really horrid and I felt it gentler to let her go swiftly than to find it had burst in the night and the resulting trauma that it would have caused.
That caused me nightmares, so I was checking on her frequently. When she stopped being queen of the flock and running all the roo's off, it rather broke my heart as I knew she wasnt feeling her cheerios any more.

I still miss her. Keenly miss all my first babies, its just never the same as the first ones. Only one left from my original babies I had in town is Fancy and Boo, the last ones hatched.

But Lily and DAsh, and Red an Fussy are all gone now.

I had Dash out here as a housechook and gosh I miss those lil feetsteps in the morning, pulling on my blanket when she thought I had slept long enuff. What a character they all were. Going out to the coop just isnt the same.