The New Flock 2021: Back to Basics

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Rats are terrible. I had one eat the head off a duckling last year. We always have to resort to poison. Haven't seen any since last fall. We have a bunch of cats now and they like to hunt. So maybe we won't see them now.

Sorry Mina and Bonnie aren't doing well. Are you planning to hatch anything this year?

 

[speckledhen]

Rats are terrible. I had one eat the head off a duckling last year. We always have to resort to poison. Haven't seen any since last fall. We have a bunch of cats now and they like to hunt. So maybe we won't see them now.

Sorry Mina and Bonnie aren't doing well. Are you planning to hatch anything this year?

No, I'm not adding to these flocks. I wish I could convince the broodies of that. Wren, Iris, Dove, Cricket, are all the broody type. When some of my older birds are gone and I can free up another pen and we need more eggs, maybe we'll hatch some nice Barred Rocks, but I can't say for sure at this point. I told my husband we needed a real barn cat, not a lap dog that hates going into the barn. Poor old Finn is so blind, he can't hunt anymore.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I've already have some broody cochins. They are easier to break currently, but it will become harder and harder. My Bantam flock is quite full, so I can only hatch a few. Hopefully I can control myself.

The cats I have come from good hunting stock. They keep busy. If I could squeeze a few more in I would get a couple more, but cats are fickled about adding in new ones, and I don't think we can fit anymore currently.

You did have gorgeous barred rocks.

 

[speckledhen]

Finn was over a year and a half old, according to the vet's guess, when he arrived so he was already mature and set in his ways. I'd get a kitten to raise up around the chickens, but Finn is very territorial and with him being blind, it might not be so good for the new one. Maybe when he's gone. The vet says he won't live past 15, if he even gets there, and he's already 11 years old by the original estimate. He insists on going out and across the road to visit his cat girlfriend (I guess it's female; they never fight), even though he can't really see more than shadows. I won't curtail him and make him miserable though it's much more dangerous for him to wander now. He was a wanderer when he got here and a wanderer he will stay until he's gone. He yowls his head off it no one will let him outside and he will use a litter box, but it's never his first choice.
It's weird not having a BR rooster in my barn after both Hector and then, Atlas, passed on, first time since my first year of keeping chickens 19 years ago. When Bash is gone, there won't even be a large fowl rooster in there.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Finn sounds like he's living his best life. Glad he found you.

I don't have any large fowl roosters anymore. Just one that's half barred rock, half Cochin. Otherwise they are all bantams. They are easier on the hens, but tend to scrap more.

Your barred rock boys were always so gorgeous.

 

[speckledhen]

Finn sounds like he's living his best life. Glad he found you.

I don't have any large fowl roosters anymore. Just one that's half barred rock, half Cochin. Otherwise they are all bantams. They are easier on the hens, but tend to scrap more.

Your barred rock boys were always so gorgeous.

Thank you. I always thought they were eye candy.

 

[speckledhen]

After numerous battles between Axel and every other rooster (even head rooster, Bodie, didn't want to engage him), he finally got his tail feathers handed to him by his own mild-mannered brother, Dane. He was on his back, not even fighting with Dane pounding him in the head, a bloody mess. I have no idea how he didn't lose an eye. The stupid closure on the the main flock's pen had let loose and they got out when Axel and Wren were out alone that time. But, now, he and Wren are BACK in the flock! Here is a video of how that happened and Axel has learned he's not all that:

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

The good roosters are often the quiet ones. Hopefully Axel will respect his brother going forward.

 

[getaclue]

Just because kids, and animals are not stupid, and may even know better, doesn't mean they won't get a brain fart, and do something stupid.

You mentioned that you had been giving a verbal command, on a daily basis, to the roosters, so they wouldn't fight. Maybe you forgot to say it that day.

I had a Poodle named Pepper, for 14 years. Pepper was obedience trained, and could do several tricks. He knew what "heel" meant, and never needed a leash. We moved several times, because of dad's job, so even if the yard was not fenced, we would walk Pepper in his yard, around the perimeter a couple times, telling him "stay in your yard". After that, when we'd let him out, all we had to say was "stay in your yard" when we'd let him out, and he would not leave his own yard.

When we moved back to Florida, the house my parents bought was next to a big cow pasture. The fence wasn't up yet. We walked him around the perimeter a couple times, told him to stay in his yard, and he did. One day, whoever let him out, forgot to tell him "stay in your yard". Pepper didn't forget. He bolted to the cow pasture, found the stinkiest cow pie he could find, and rolled all over in it. He was covered in stinky cow pie. When his name was called, he came running back, and couldn't be let into the house without being bathed first. What a mess.

I don't care if you said "stay in your yard" for a couple years, and he stayed in his yard just fine. IF you forgot to say it, it was guaranteed that he had not forgotten, and would come back covered in stinky cow pie. It happened less than 5 times throughout his lifetime, but he taught us that you didn't want to be the one to let him out, and forget to say "stay in your yard", or you were going to be the one dealing with the mess, and giving him a bath.

Lesson: Don't forget to tell the roosters, every single day, not to fight. LOL

 

[speckledhen]

I don't say anything if they're being good, only if they start up again. The day the groups accidentally were out together, I wasn't around, just heard thumping in the barn and found Dane getting his revenge, LOL. Axel is the most hard-headed of the entire bunch, but maybe he realized that getting along in the group would mean he could stay in the group. And he doesn't want to risk the wrath of Mom most of the time, LOL. They're all sweet boys, not a mean one in the bunch, but Axel had that ambition to climb to the top and it almost put me down by one persnickety Cochin boy. Their hormones sure get them in some deep chicken poop, though! Lisa knows that, don't you, Lisa?