Accidental Chicken Mom
Songster
- Aug 18, 2023
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Update - thanks to the generous tips and articles and guidance, we're going to keep Henny Penny (described in detail below) and work with him to not be so defensive around us. And rehome our sweet new Spanish White Faced cockerel. The breeder says they'll help us find a good place for Conchita... needs to happen pretty quickly. We have the two of them separated but the situation is tense. So if any of you fit our ideal adoptive parents, please say the word soon. (See last 3 pics of "Conchita.") He's about 5 months old.
Hi – I’m Cynthia, a newbie backyard chicken parent. Henny Penny showed up in July 2022 and stayed. We thought we’d like a few hens once we retired, but that little stray accelerated the process. As the name (which stuck) implies, we mistook Henny for a “she” but crowing and beautiful saddle & hackle feathers later explained why the shiny new nesting box wasn’t used. Henny Penny ate treats from our hands and pecked at the door for more. He’s grown into a magnificent big boy. Best guess 15 or so months? We thought perhaps BCM, but open to other ID's - as an abandoned bird we adopted, not so sure.
We added 3 mixed pullets in November to give him company (one each RIR, Barred Plymouth Rock & Welsummer) and Henny takes his roostering seriously, to the point of wearing off some back feathers. So, we recently added 4 more to the flock to boost the rooster-to-hen ratio up to 1 rooster to 7 hens (one each Black Copper Marans, Olive Egger, Americauna and White Face Black Spanish.) Henny tidbits, feeds his favs beak-to-beak, always gives the gals first dibs on treats, vigilantly warns of hawks or other threats, and gallantly stands guard while girls are laying. Recently, when a hawk was circling overhead, he shepherded the gals to safety, marched to the middle of the yard, and stood bravely looking up at the sky. He’s become so protective now he won’t let us get close to the ladies anymore – at least so far during this first mating season.
Annnnnd… one of our new “pullets” has morphed into a cockerel. That’s not going down well at all and puts us back to the same rooster-to-hen ratio with only 3 hens for each rooster. Today Henny tried to kill Conchita - the cockerel.
It's heartbreaking, but we urgently need to rehome Henny. We'd love to find a situation where he’ll have lots of ladies to care for and won’t be confined to a cage or small run. During the day, Henny and our gals free-range a large, fenced area with trees, shrubs and flowerbeds for dust-bathing. He’s had organic feed.
I know there are so many unwanted roosters - that's how we accidentally got into all this, because of an abandoned rooster. But I'm hoping someone has a larger flock that would appreciate Henny’s protection and attentions? If so, Henny’s your fella. We're in Travelers Rest, SC area in the Upstate not far from Western NC.
Hi – I’m Cynthia, a newbie backyard chicken parent. Henny Penny showed up in July 2022 and stayed. We thought we’d like a few hens once we retired, but that little stray accelerated the process. As the name (which stuck) implies, we mistook Henny for a “she” but crowing and beautiful saddle & hackle feathers later explained why the shiny new nesting box wasn’t used. Henny Penny ate treats from our hands and pecked at the door for more. He’s grown into a magnificent big boy. Best guess 15 or so months? We thought perhaps BCM, but open to other ID's - as an abandoned bird we adopted, not so sure.
We added 3 mixed pullets in November to give him company (one each RIR, Barred Plymouth Rock & Welsummer) and Henny takes his roostering seriously, to the point of wearing off some back feathers. So, we recently added 4 more to the flock to boost the rooster-to-hen ratio up to 1 rooster to 7 hens (one each Black Copper Marans, Olive Egger, Americauna and White Face Black Spanish.) Henny tidbits, feeds his favs beak-to-beak, always gives the gals first dibs on treats, vigilantly warns of hawks or other threats, and gallantly stands guard while girls are laying. Recently, when a hawk was circling overhead, he shepherded the gals to safety, marched to the middle of the yard, and stood bravely looking up at the sky. He’s become so protective now he won’t let us get close to the ladies anymore – at least so far during this first mating season.
Annnnnd… one of our new “pullets” has morphed into a cockerel. That’s not going down well at all and puts us back to the same rooster-to-hen ratio with only 3 hens for each rooster. Today Henny tried to kill Conchita - the cockerel.
It's heartbreaking, but we urgently need to rehome Henny. We'd love to find a situation where he’ll have lots of ladies to care for and won’t be confined to a cage or small run. During the day, Henny and our gals free-range a large, fenced area with trees, shrubs and flowerbeds for dust-bathing. He’s had organic feed.
I know there are so many unwanted roosters - that's how we accidentally got into all this, because of an abandoned rooster. But I'm hoping someone has a larger flock that would appreciate Henny’s protection and attentions? If so, Henny’s your fella. We're in Travelers Rest, SC area in the Upstate not far from Western NC.
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