The Biggest Little Rooster -- grandchickies on the way!!

[LilBizzy]

It was a dark and stormy night...
Oh, wait, wrong story. hee hee

From a young chickens point of view, it was the time of day when the sun started to sink to the ground. When the sun was just above the trees, the biggest little rooster's kids would start running in and out of the coop. Just before the sun fell all the way to the ground, it would be brighter outside than it was inside the coop.
The kids had no problems admitting to each other that they didn't like the dark. They would take turns running to the little door and peeking in, as if by magic it might suddenly get less dark in there. Some days, the sun would suddenly drop like an anvil in a roadrunner cartoon, and the kids would be left in darkness. They would huddle together and wait.
Mamma D. babied them, whether she admitted it or not. Almost every night before it got as dark outside as it was inside, Mamma D. would plug in the light, and leave it on long enough for them to get a before bed snack, and settle themselves on the roosts. The kids sure loved Mamma D.
In the mornings, they would watch out the window, and as soon as they saw Mamma D. coming out, they would jump down off the roosts and go huddle by the little door. When the door opened, they would come piling out like clowns out of a little car.
If there was treats, the kids would run to the treat bowl first. If there was no treats, they would just run around in circles, jumping and flapping their wings.
The daily routine was pretty simple. Run, flap, jump, scratch, peck. Jump, roost, jump and fly, run, flap, jump, scratch, peck. Then there was preening, then nap time. After nap, it was a repeat of the same, until it was time for the second nap.
For fun, they chased each other around, and played "sumo wrestling". BB didn't like playing Sumo Wrestler. She was too much a girly girl.
Another thing they liked to do was to tease the Girls and the Ladies. The Kids would line up at the fence and pretend they were scratching and finding bugs and worms. The Girls and Ladies would line up on the other side of the fence, trying to get at the bugs on the other side. When they realized they had been tricked, they all scolded the kids at once.
For anyone wandering by, it would be quite a sight- 10 chickens lined up on one side of a fence making a huge ruckus squawking at 5 little chickens on the other side of the fence. Even a non-chickenlover would have to stop and laugh at that.
Hardy had the Girls and the Ladies wrapped around his little crooked toe. They loved him. Everyone thought of Hardy as the Biggest Little Rooster, Jr. And he truly was- not only because he acted like his dad, but because he was the largest of the little flock.
McScreamy was a little jealous of Hardy. He felt left out and ignored. Every once in a while, he was tempted to throw a temper tantrum. He should be getting a lot more attention. Not only was he the baby of the flock, but he was pure white, and should have been very noticable in a flock of reddish gold. Mamma D. would tell him he was handsome, and call him her little guy, but that didn't count for much. Mamma D. wasn't a chicken. It's nice to be loved by the humans, but that had no pull in the flock dynamics.
For now, it was fine, because there was no established leader because of their age.( Even though they all knew Hardy would be leader) But they were now two and a half months old. It was almost time to start acting like a man. McScreamy would have to come up with an idea, and fast.

 

[StrawberryHouseMouse]

lol I got a kick out of that story XD

 

[sred98]

I am just now getting back online, and doing my catch-up reading!

Glad to know everything is going well. Thanks for the updates!

Shelly

 

[LilBizzy]

Updated pictures....

Our girl Laurel...

McScreamy and BB sharing a post:

Closeup of BB, in back on the left is SS, Hardy in the center, and McScreamy on the right.

And here is SS on the Left, and Hardy on the right

 

[LilBizzy]

It's been a while, and I apologize. My work schedule changed, and I now get home a little after 8pm. After taking care of the big girls, the BLR kids, the Texans and the babies- and the doggieGoAWAY, and the kittenGetOFFMe, and the talking chickens...well, you get the idea.
I started a chapter last night, but have to redo it a little- I was tired and it didn't stand up to the quality I expect LOL
So , anyway, here is a mini-story while waiting for the real one:

We made some changes- had to make room for the Texas babies to get out of the brooder so the frizzles, silkies and marans could get into the brooder. The changes we made have to be explained in a picture. I just couldn't find a way to explain it in the story in a way that would help you visualize. So here it is:

The coop you see is the original Ladies coop ( the kids in the picture are the Ladies last year).We added on to the left side, and made a new run(area in purple)The left side is where the Ladies and Girls are now. The BLR kids are in this coop and run.
I divided the run - as indicated by the thin blue line. The Texans are in the left side- the BR kids on the right. Since I divided the run, I decided to add on to it- as indicated by yellow lines.
Lastly, I removed the chicken wire from part of original fence- the section where the arrow points. Now, this is important. I only removed that one section of chicken wire. I didn't remove that cross board. The back wall that I removed is only half the width of the run. Remember all that- it becomes important in the next chapter of the story that will hopefulle be added tonight

Ok, so here is the little story. It reminded so much of the Biggest Little Rooster I had to share...

It was the middle of the day, and time for the Biggest Little Rooster's kids to take a nap- one of three or four naps they take each day. Because they were big kids now, they napped on the roosts.
Everyone was standing around, wanting to nap, but wondering why Mamma D. was in the doorway taling to them. Eventually, BB went up the ramp and settled on the roost. Hardy was considering it:

McScreamy got tired of waiting for Hardy to make up his mind, and jumped up on the roost and got settled. Laurel, who doesn't use the ramp, also jumped up.
Hardy was still deciding:

He wanted to go up and nap- he was certainly tired. But that ramp was awful high. Hardy looked at the ramp, and looked at the kids roosting, and looked at the ramp. It really WAS high.
At this point, Sweetie was also up there roosting, gaving jumped up with the rest of them. Hardy was really trying to get up the courage to jump up on that ramp. While he gathered up his courage, he looked away, pretending to be paying attention to Mamma D., who was ensuring him that he could do it.

He knew he had to not look like a chicken to the little flock. He took a deeeeeeeep breath, counted to three......

and stepped on to the ramp.

 

[sred98]

awwww! I've been wanting an update! Thanks for posting!

Shelly

 

[Chirpy]

Oh poor Hardy! He is SO brave to go up that ramp... you can just see his little mind a workin in those pictures.

It's ABOUT time for an update.... I've been having Biggest Little Rooster story withdrawals!

 

[WriterofWords]

Ok Hardy,, here's a lesson from your NM siblings on how to roost on a higher roost:

McSneaky and GTS decided they want to be tree chickens with Duchess and LaRoo so they roost about 15 feet up in the air!

 

[LilBizzy]

I dont know what chapter we are on, so we will call this Chapter 5: Chicken Teens



In the chicken world, especialy in the first months, changes take place daily. The Biggest Little Rooster's kids were still growing and changing.
The girls- Laurel, BB and Sweetie voices were changing. The high pitched peeps were slowly lowering in pitch and becoming little squawks.
The boy's voices were changing also. Since that day 3 weeks ago, the humans had not heard Hardy crow, but he was still practicing. McScreamy was not worried about crowing- he had more important things to worry about.
McScreamy wanted to be the big man of the coop. He was constantly challenging Hardy. The two of them would stand face to face, staring. Hardy always backed down first, which is usually a sign of being number 2. In Hardy's case it had nothing to do with who was the leader. He just thought it was quite silly to stand and stare all day. Hardy had better things to do.
The girls weren't impressed with the stare-downs. They really did not care who was number one- they were born a group, and would always be a group. They were all number one. But boys will be boys, no matter if they are human or chicken. And McScreamy wanted the number one spot. He decided he was going to get all the girls to be in love with him.
Being teenage chickens isn't much different than being teenage humans. The boys want to be tough and cool, and the girls want to be noticed, and loved. Sometimes they would do things to try to impress, but for the most part would end up looking silly and being embarassed.
McScreamy had a lot to learn about girls. He thought they would automatically be attracted to him because he was more handsome than Hardy. Truth be told, Hardy was nowhere as handsome as his father. In fact, he looked more like his Uncle WeeMan. Mamma D. was hoping that he grew into his looks. McScreamy was too plain to be considered handsome.In the end,though,it really didn't matter who was better looking. Sometimes the plainest looking turn out to have the biggest hearts and best personalities. Attraction is based on behavior, but not always so in the teen world.
Hardy was fairly confident. He didn't care if he wasn't as handsome as his daddy. Everyone loved the Biggest Little Rooster for who he was, not for what he looked like. Hardy was using his personality to his advantage.

McScreamy started trying to "snuggle" with the girls. In all his teen awkwardness, he really didn't have the hang of it. The girls ran screaming from him when he tried to hug them. Sometimes they even chased him. He just didn't understand. Hardy, while still a bit awkward, managed to "snuggle" the girls without them running and screaming. They did walk away and scold Hardy, but at least with Hardy, they didn't scream. McScreamy just didn't get it.


One sunshiny day,Mamma D. came out and started digging and putting up fence. As she worked, she explained to the group that they would have to share their run with the Texans. A fence went down the center of the run, but the back fence was opened up, and there was a new area to explore.
The Girls and Ladies were quite jealous, because the kids now had green grass to play in. They lined themselves against the fence and complained to the kids how unfair it was that the kids had grass.
The chicken wire was removed from the one back section, but the one board going across was left in place. Almost all the kids liked running and sprinting over that board to get to the new section. Our Hardy Boy- he ducked under. He had to really bend down to go under, but to him, it was better than jumping.
Several times McScreamy tried running under the board, but unfortunately, he was trying in the area where the chicken wire was not removed. It took him a few days, and a number of bounces off the fence to learn to go around. The bounces off the fence seemed to have knocked some sense into him. He started calming down a little with the girls.
BB VonSneaky was starting to notice McScreamy, and she liked what she saw. She thought Hardy was a nice boy, but was attracted to the bad boy side of McScreamy. It totally thrilled her when McScreamy started noticing her. She liked to roost on the board that was left up from the fence. McScreamy started roosting next to her. They didn't talk, they just sat side by side quietly. BB was in love.


There is a side story, showing just how much BB is in love:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=173389

 

[LilBizzy]

I'm sorry I haven't been writing. I've been busy with life, and the baby silkies and frizzles, and I have been waiting, and hoping. And this weekend it happened!I have the official start of the Biggest Little Rooster's Legacy story.... It's been long awaited, but here it is!!!


Chapter 1: Like Father, Like Son
Technically, Hardy's story started on January 9, when his father, affectionaltey known as "The Biggest Little Rooster" was killed. Immediately there was the idea to incubate eggs, and everyone in the backyard chicken community was hoping for a Biggest Little Rooster, Jr.
This story begins now, when the first hatched chick of the Biggest Little Rooster is just over 4 months old. His story is amazingy like his dad's.. and so is he.
Hardy had his little tiny flock, consisting of the girls- Laurel, BB, and Sweety, and the gangly little rooster McScreamy. They were housed in what used to be the Ladies coop. Right next door, seperated by a thin sheet of plywood and some chickenwire was the Girls and the Ladies.
In the begining, they were all equal, but as time went on, it became apparent that Hardy was the little flock leader. McScreamy tried to challenge Hardy quite a few times, but Hardy just walked away with the attitude that McScreamy was just a kid.
Lately, Hardy was spending quite a bit of time chasing McScreamy, biting him on the back of the neck. He was also trying to get affectionate with the little girls. It was at a point where they would all run into the coop screaming, leaving Hardy outside by himself.
The humans wondered what had gotten in to Hardy. He wasn't mean natured. They couldn't understand why he would be so mean to McScreamy, who had definately taken his place below Laurel and Hardy. Then one day, it all made sense...
Hardy had been eyeing up the big girls and the Ladies. He noticed how beautiful they all were. He also noticed them checking him out. He tried to dance for them, but the fence that seperated him from the big girls somewhat ruined the mood.
Sometimes he would find bugs in the run, and he'd cluck to let everyone know there was something yummy. He really wished he could share with the big Girls.
He talked to them through the fence. They would tell him how much he reminded them of his father. Hardy took that as a great sign, because everyone loved the Biggest Little Rooster. Sometimes the big Girls would tell Hardy stories of his father, but other times, they just talked about different things. While he liked hearing about his dad, Hardy enjoyed the conversations on other topics even more.
He talked to the little Girls, also, but it just wasn't the same. The big Girls and Ladies were just more intriguing. Hardy liked the little Girls, but he loved the Big Girls.
Love was a funny thing. Sometimes, love made a person, or a rooster, act weird and do goofy things. In Hardy's case, it made him chase McScreamy all over. That was pretty much the only goofy thing Hardy did.
Spring was in the air, and there were a lot of changes happening. One of the big Girls had decided to go broody, and another died after being eggbound. There was a new coop going up. Luckily chickens aren't envious, because the new coop was NICE.
Then, the humanlady decided it was time. The day was sunny and warm, and the new frizzle coop was almost complete. The humanlady came into the run, and Hardy knew something was up.
She wasn't lunging at him, but Hardy knew she was trying to catch him. He was quite nervous. What was her plan? Was she going to throw him in the soup pot because he was being mean to McScreamy? Or was he going to be rehomed?
Hardy didn't want to seem scared in front of the big Girls, but he was quite nervous. He wasn't running because that would look cowardly, but he was sprinting. And then he felt himself being picked up. He really wanted to scream like a little girl, but that wouldn't be cool.
The humanlady held him close and whispered to him, and started walking. Hardy wasn't paying a lot of attention, but the big Girls and Ladies were. They were gathered at the gate. The gate opened a little, and Hardy felt himself being let down. He gave a little scream- and then he looked at where he was..
Hardy was in with the big Girls and Ladies.