The Omega Rocks: The Last & Ultimate Barred Plymouth Rock Flock

[1muttsfan]

 

[speckledhen]

Folks should read through this thread because there is so much valuable information here, so many experienced participants!

Ready for the frustration of the day? I let the four sale cockerels out at the end of the day for awhile. I swear, some days I think that three of these males (floppy comb guy is not one, he's smart) have stunted brain cells. It was impossible to get them inside again, a huge contrast from my chosen three who are the easiest to herd. Finally, I got in little Man, but the split point guy made me walk around and around cajoling and encouraging, and later calling him names. Same with Brother. I already had Little Man inside, which is no small feat. Finally I just let the Dirty Dozen flock out and eventually, split point guy ran inside into their open pen. I had shut the door of the one he was supposed to go into so the two boys that were in there couldn't come back outside.
So, when he realized where he was, he attempted an escape and I grabbed him by the tail feathers as he was trying to sneak past me. I had my hand around his throat and I was so tempted, but I threw him in the door and he had to avoid The Bouncer's discipline. That left Little Man's brother. He messed around and evaded me until he ran up on Gunnar who jumped into his face and he ran back down the hill. It started to rain. Oh, fun. So, I told the Dirty Dozen to go home and they did. Once they were inside, I shut the back rollup door leaving him one way inside. We played Ring Around the Rosie with me trying to be calm and saying the usual command "INSIDE! GO HOME" over and over. He finally goes halfway into the door and doubles back running around like the less-than-intelligent guy he is. Eventually, he went all the way in and I shut the front door behind him. When he realized his pen door was shut, he tried to come past me and once again, I had my hand around the neck of one of my worst challenges with this group. I am so done with those three males. Anyone want some chicken stew? My husband can barely walk so he can't come down to the barn to do the deed right now.
Tomorrow is going to be another scorcher and those four will likely not be allowed outside. I can't do this every time I let them out to get exercise and fresh air and dust bathe! And I have this crazy cough and it feels like I can't get any air so that made it worse. I am just over those three morons.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I'd be tempted to just leave them outside and hope something takes them. I can't chase birds around like that anymore. Maybe take them to the house and let your husband throttle them there.

 

[speckledhen]

I'd be tempted to just leave them outside and hope something takes them. I can't chase birds around like that anymore. Maybe take them to the house and let your husband throttle them there.

Oh, that thought did cross my mind, believe me, and I am not kidding! If he had not gone inside, I would have shut the door and went back to the house, leaving him out there to fend for himself in the rain.
The weird thing is that I let them out to free range during their outside time and, every time, when I go back, they have put themselves back in the pen and I only have to close the gate. That's where their intelligence ends. When the gate shuts behind them, they get stupid... except for The Bouncer. He actually tried to help me herd them a couple of times this afternoon.
Bringing them to the house one by one for execution seems to be the next step. I have broken both my ankle and that same leg if you recall and I do not want these idiots to be the cause of another injury.

 

[speckledhen]

I have an update. You could see that I didn't trust Duncan in the last video about these guys. He bit the back of my knee the other day, I thought because he was going after scratch I had in the jar and I was leaning over the tray where I was putting it out for them and it was accidental, that he just was trying to reach through my legs and grab the scratch from me. Yesterday morning I felt a tap on the side of my ankle, very gentle, saw it was Duncan and thought he was examining my surgical scar there. I see now that it was ramping up to actual aggression.
Tonight, we heard a huge commotion over the baby monitor and I went out to see what was causing the ruckus. I only saw that the feeder in the back pen with the sale cockerels was overturned, but also, the males in the other pen were looking out the window and sounding off, no idea what caused the blowup. So, I went to the door of the pen and Duncan had come forward with his shoulder dropped and head down in a threatening manner. It wasn't dark yet so he could very well see who it was. I said, " Are we going to have a problem?" and he backed off a little, but I was watching him, walking around to check stuff, checked the girls, etc. As I was walking back to the door to leave, Duncan was in front of it. I told him to move, reached for the door and he went after my feet. That did it. I pushed him to the ground, picked him up with my hand around his throat, manhandled him some and he was yelling the whole time because now, he was scared (and he should have been). I then dumped him on the ground and he ran under the roost. He's too old to really call this boundary testing since his hormones are already in full swing. He's not a baby anymore and his behavior was inexcusable. He will have to go in the sale pen, but you know how I feel about passing on problems. I could give him away with full disclosure, but really, I don't want his tendencies passed down. Such a shame because he is so gorgeous. I can see if tonight's beat down he got does any good in curbing his bad attitude, but I have never seen it get better after they do that. He's now crossed a line with me.
Nathaniel, bless his heart, was upset and pacing around, doing his "oh, ohhhh, my" Olive Oyl imitation and I was talking to him and trying to calm him down. It was then that I turned my attention to Angus, who never once left the roost. I stroked his side, told him he was a good boy, and when he saw I wasn't made at him, he sat down on the very top roost bar, backwards as if saying, "I have nothing to do with any of this! It wasn't me!", LOL. Good boy to stay out of the fray! I guess my hunch was right, that Angus wins and Duncan is the loser. But that just means I have five males to rehome, not four. (if they're even rehomed at all)

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I never tolerate any aggression. It means they are too stupid to realize I'm not a chicken. Sounds like he needs to go in the stew pot Cynthia. Keep an eye on him. I'd hate for him to try to flog you. Next time shove him down with a broomstick on his neck and give his feet a good yank. I read that's the easiest way to take care of them. I haven't culled a chicken yet, but that would make me angry enough to get it done.

 

[speckledhen]

I never tolerate any aggression. It means they are too stupid to realize I'm not a chicken. Sounds like he needs to go in the stew pot Cynthia. Keep an eye on him. I'd hate for him to try to flog you. Next time shove him down with a broomstick on his neck and give his feet a good yank. I read that's the easiest way to take care of them. I haven't culled a chicken yet, but that would make me angry enough to get it done.

I am livid, to tell the truth. Thankfully, I was already on alert because of those few incidents and the way his posture changed around me. He can go with Little Man and Brother to that Great Roost in the Sky as far as I'm concerned. Well, we can add the split point guy to that crowd. That really leaves only the floppy comb guy plus Nathaniel and Angus. This size male is too big to take a chance on, really. A Belgian D'anver is an annoyance with they get all puffed up and decide to flog you, but a male the size of these is dangerous, even without spurs yet. My stew pot is going to be very full. And my husband loves chicken.