What did you do with your flock today?

[Shetland lover]

@Shetland lover here you goView attachment 4237596View attachment 4237591View attachment 4237592View attachment 4237593 View attachment 4237595
Definitely cockerels in the first 2 pictures, right?

Looks very much like cockerels to me! They'll be lovely looking boys when fully grown. Don't feel too bad about having cockerels, the boys have been some of my favourites.
They're all such pretty birds.

 

[PopoMyers]

Looks very much like cockerels to me! They'll be lovely looking boys when fully grown. Don't feel too bad about having cockerels, the boys have been some of my favourites.
They're all such pretty birds.

Thanks! Our zoning does not permit boys, although neighbors didn't complain (of noise) in the past. I'll have to see how they act, but will probably rehome them. They are already large!
Everyone got treats of kale, BSF and birdseed. The boys are still quite jumpy and leary of Alfa and Kogasa,#1 & 2.

 

[PopoMyers]

Found Caramel this morning, who had died in the coop under the roosting bars. She was one of the 5 EEs I got last year.
Meanwhile, keeping my radar on for badly behaving cockerels. My DIL is experienced in prepping a bird for roasting.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hi, new to this thread. At the moment I have 30 birds, 15 OG hens all 1 to 2 yo, and 15 pullets/cockerels, hatched July 1, purchased from Cackle. I had ordered 7 Ameraucana pullets and a cockerel, all black, and 7 Dominique pullets. But the Doms didn't hatch so I FOOLISHLY lol accepted 7 BA pullets instead. They gave me extras so I ended up with 21 black chicks which I gave to two broody hens to raise.

Only later did I realize what I had done. A coyote got 3 of them, but I now had 18 lively, active ALL BLACK youngsters racing around the property that I could not tell apart, except eventually I was able to identify 3 BA cockerels (recently processed). I know I have at least 2 Am cockerels, maybe as many as 4, which I can spot as they go racing by, by their cute curved tails. But when DH and I crept out to the coop the other night to band the cockerels, all tails looked pretty much the same. I think I've marked at least two pullets as cockerels, lol.

Did you know BA and Ams have the same color legs??? Yeah neither did I.

Last night we went out and tried again. This time I looked closely at their legs, though they didn't want to stand up and let me look. Sure enough, I found one that hadn't been banded! And he's a big, handsome fella, too. Very manly. He may be my keeper.

But what I really enjoyed doing was handling the ones that insist on roosting in the poop trays. The first night I picked them up, they squawked and screamed in terror and at least two threw themselves head first out of my hands, flapping hysterically until I was able to football them and fold their wings against my body. Tonight I was able to pick them all up without the hysterics and gentle them, soothing them with voice and hands, and place them where I wanted them on the roost. I'm hoping one more night of this will teach them to roost on, not under, the roost bars, while at the same time teach them not to fear me handling them. I think it's going to be a great adventure!

Now if they all just didn't seem to have floofy faces! I know there have to be at least a few Aussies in the bunch!