Ahhh yes roosters. When we did have chickens we had gotten a bantam rooster from one of our friends as they had lots of them. He was OK for a few weeks. But once he got settled in I had to take a rake out into the chicken yard as he would try and attack me. Me who fed and watered them. He didn't mind if my hubby came into the chicken yard only me. He was not to smart to mess with mother nature. :-x One day I took my rake and pinned him to the ground. Picked him up with gloves on of course. Put him in a box and took him back to his previous home.
I'd really like to have a rooster, it seems more natural to have a flock with one. However, I will not put up with being attacked from behind, charged, and having my patio door kicked! Maybe if I let my mature ladies teach a young rooster who "rules the roost" in the coop, he will be friendlier. I had no idea Banty roosters were ferocious, also. What is it with roosters?
When i started my hens and ducks it was a disaster,..i ordered 6 Black Andalusians and 6 Rhode Island Reds,..the 6 Andalusians all turned out to be Roosters as you can see from the picture below. ( photo / image / picture from Philip Nulty's Garden ) I kept one,..and ate the others seeing they would not be tough meat,.. being young!,..in the end i had 24 hens and 24 Duck,..12 Moscovy and 12 Alsbury. The metal trays you see on the grass were for feeding the Duck and the pallets against the wall were where they laid eggs,..the hen feeders were hanging on the wall,..plastic containers with a hole in the bottom and a spring inserted,..hanging down,..as the hens picked at the food in the spring the grain would pop out. The hen house was at the opposite end of the paddock to the ducks,..where there was a water container for washing beaks and having a good splash. I always kept at least one rooster as protection for the hens,..plus of course for fertile eggs and therefore more free chicks. ( photo / image / picture from Philip Nulty's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from Philip Nulty's Garden )
OH, what a lovely flock! How did you keep them from flying over the wall? Did you have to clip their wings, or were they so happy with your accomodations that they just stayed put?
Hi Jane,..i had the hens for about six months before they started to get inquisitive and wanted to see what was on the other side of the paddock,..then i had to clip the wings,..but not the rooster,..if he spotted a rat or cat he was ready to fight to the end,..he never bothered me at all. Those hens wings grew pretty fast enough,..it was only when i found one outside the paddock that i knew i had to clip again,..or when a hen turned up with a dozen chicks in tow,..i knew also that someone was laying out,..it was interesting to put fertile hen eggs under a duck and see the hen chicks think they could follow mom in for a swim,..or the other way around see a hen hatch duck eggs and the hen trying to stop the chicks from swimming,..depending on what was broody i put the eggs under her. Alas when i moved house it was a hardship going back there every morning to release the fowl,..then at night lock them up,..so i had to sell the flock.
Mary, at this stage I can't tell them apart! When they start to feather out, some will have bigger combs, some will have a white feather here or there, and some are more inquisitive (nosy!) and others are more timid. By the time they are full-fledged their personalities are evident and I can tell them apart. Right now they are just anonymous fluff-balls !
Jane, I have yet to have a "mean" rooster. As it is the one I have now is nothing more than a hen with tail feathers and lays no eggs. Maya was out in the yard earlier today and ran a hen down (just to play) and he ran away. He didn't protect the girls. Stupid bird! He has never been aggressive. If he was I would "off with his head" in a heartbeat. Raising one from peep is a better fit for your flock, too.
Yes I charm in very cute.Seen Dh looking at Chicken houses.About this time we use to get of year use to get 1000 baby quail.But DNR paper work time---50 pages long
I cannot imagine dealing with 1000 baby quail (or any other bird, for that matter!). You must be very patient, very nice, and not need much sleep, Koszta! I agree about paperwork. We thought to have our farm registered as organic, but when we found out that filling out the forms would cut into our gardening time drastically, we decided to forego the pleasure. Everybody around here knows how we garden, so we don't really need the sign!
