Ended Wattle I Do Without You?—2025 Valentine's Day Contest Series

[TwoCrows]

Two summers ago I decided to get into seramas. When I went to go pick out my foundation breeding stock out of a batch of a few dozen 8-10 week old chicks, a particular little guy caught my eye. He held is head high, and was not afraid to stare right at me.

The same day, he came home with me along with three little pullets. Very quickly, he established himself as quite the character. Crowing for the first time at an extremely early (for someone used to LFs) age, willingly flying to my hand and shoulder, even assuming a somewhat leading position in the group. At this point, this blossoming young cockerel was given the name “Lady Gaga”.

As the summer came to an end, Lady Gaga was placed with two older bantams. He spent most of the winter and spring in with them, forming a particularly close attachment to one of them, and even siring her second brood. At 6 months, he assumed the role of a father and head male with shocking maturity. By the time the next summer rolled around and passed, Lady Gaga was a father to quite a few birds. At this point, his group had become the most structured and self-sustaining group here. Throughout all of this, he never stopped being friendly with me. He enjoyed a good wattle scratch, a pedicure, and would gladly pose for photos. Still, his priority was always his hens and offspring. He simply would not settle if he could not see them at all times.

By the end of this summer, I made the decision to transition his group to a 24/7 free ranging life, as the group was more than capable of tree roosting, and foraging. Unfortunately, a fox attack proved that to be a grave mistake for the little guy. While I was not there to witness the attack, merely the aftermath, I am confident that Lady Gaga sacrificed himself for the sake of his group, which suffered no more casualties, but was deeply shaken for weeks and months to come.

It’s been a few months since then, and I miss that tiny bird a lot. He was tiny, but he was mighty. I’ve had a lot of males here, but none have had the balance and maturity Lady Gaga had. I’m glad to still have offspring of his to remember him byView attachment 4051652

 

[casportpony]

final-countdown.mp3

• casportpony
• Jun 24, 2023

Just a friendly reminder to get those last-minute entries in! This contest ends tonight, February 17th, 2025, at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.​

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Two summers ago I decided to get into seramas. When I went to go pick out my foundation breeding stock out of a batch of a few dozen 8-10 week old chicks, a particular little guy caught my eye. He held is head high, and was not afraid to stare right at me.

The same day, he came home with me along with three little pullets. Very quickly, he established himself as quite the character. Crowing for the first time at an extremely early (for someone used to LFs) age, willingly flying to my hand and shoulder, even assuming a somewhat leading position in the group. At this point, this blossoming young cockerel was given the name “Lady Gaga”.

As the summer came to an end, Lady Gaga was placed with two older bantams. He spent most of the winter and spring in with them, forming a particularly close attachment to one of them, and even siring her second brood. At 6 months, he assumed the role of a father and head male with shocking maturity. By the time the next summer rolled around and passed, Lady Gaga was a father to quite a few birds. At this point, his group had become the most structured and self-sustaining group here. Throughout all of this, he never stopped being friendly with me. He enjoyed a good wattle scratch, a pedicure, and would gladly pose for photos. Still, his priority was always his hens and offspring. He simply would not settle if he could not see them at all times.

By the end of this summer, I made the decision to transition his group to a 24/7 free ranging life, as the group was more than capable of tree roosting, and foraging. Unfortunately, a fox attack proved that to be a grave mistake for the little guy. While I was not there to witness the attack, merely the aftermath, I am confident that Lady Gaga sacrificed himself for the sake of his group, which suffered no more casualties, but was deeply shaken for weeks and months to come.

It’s been a few months since then, and I miss that tiny bird a lot. He was tiny, but he was mighty. I’ve had a lot of males here, but none have had the balance and maturity Lady Gaga had. I’m glad to still have offspring of his to remember him byView attachment 4051652

Wow, what an amazing story. Thank you so much for taking the time to write that all out. He was definitely an amazing rooster and surely missed.

 

[NewChickenmama06]

This is Yuri. She is my sweet house hen. She stay in her coop at night, but pecks at the door for snacks during the day! She loves sitting next to me or on my lap for cuddles.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

This is Yuri. She is my sweet house hen. She stay in her coop at night, but pecks at the door for snacks during the day! She loves sitting next to me or on my lap for cuddles.

Aww. She's a pretty girl too. What breed is she?

 

[NewChickenmama06]

Aww. She's a pretty girl too. What breed is she?

She is an Australorp and Black Star mix. She is the sweetest girl. She is best friends with my daughters dog lol!

 

[Addicted To Chickens]

This is Celestia, my Buff Orpington. Her calm and peaceful nature always brightens my day.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

This is Celestia, my Buff Orpington. Her calm and peaceful nature always brightens my day.
View attachment 4052551

She's a beautiful hen! She reminds me of some of the Buff Orpingtons I used to have. Thanks for entering!

 

[Addicted To Chickens]

This is Debbie, my Silver Partridge Silkie. She is so cute and hilarious in her own way, and very special to me.

 

[NewChickenmama06]

This is Celestia, my Buff Orpington. Her calm and peaceful nature always brightens my day.
View attachment 4052551

She is adorable!