Rooster Tales and Questions

meriruka

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Oh boy, here I go clogging up the thread........
Dwayne:
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Bill:
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Spikey:
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Sancho & Quixote (afraid to come out in the snow:
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Blackbird

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Very pretty roos. I like that blue Orp!

I have pictures of some of our roosters, but none have names except Big White. He is a big old white rock. Very much the grandfather of the flock. Dunno if I have a picture of him though.
 

Ohioann

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Reminds of the woman who called the extension office and asked, "I just bought a rooster, how long before I get fertile eggs?". The extension agent needed to look the information up so he said, "Just a moment!". The lady said "Thank you" and hung up.!:ep


meriruka said:
A week at least for the fertile eggs to all come out. I usually wait two to be sure.
 

framing fowl

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Here's Cedric so named because he acts like an English Lord. He's an aristocrat for sure! He's pretty mild mannered and still getting the hang of being a rooster. He's 1/2 Barnevelder, 1/2 BLRW.

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bibliophile birds

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i just went to look for pics to post and realized i haven't taken any in WEEKS and the most recent pics i have are of little baby 9 week olds (they are now 17 weeks- i'm a bad momma)! i'll have to go get some pics of them pronto!

all my birds have literary names, which explains my username!

Ernest is my favorite roo. he is a buff Brahma with the most beautiful foot feathers and the sexiest manchicken legs. he used to be a big cuddler, but now he doesn't want to be picked up. he does shadow me constantly when i'm out with them though. his name is from The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde. the importance of being Ernest, in his case, is that he's not headed for freezer camp like his brother.

Hansel is my Silkie roo (his lady-friend is Gretel). he's spoiled and wants to be carried all the time. if i go to pet him he turns in circles so i don't miss any spots. it's hilarious.

Gulliver is my buff Orp roo. his name comes from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift because he's an adventurer. when they were first free ranging in the yard, he always went the furthest and got into the most mischief.

and then there is the problem area. out of my 5 Easter Eggers, 3 were particularly beautiful and 2 of those were special favorites of mine, Amelia and Jane.... well, i'm pretty sure that all 3 of the pretty ones are boys! i hadn't planned on keeping ANY EE roos and now i have 3 that i almost can't stand to part with. Amelia and Jane need new names and i need to make some hard decisions. i know i can't make myself give up all 3 but i really don't need more than 1... i just don't know what to do. out of the 3, the prettiest is the one i like least, so i have to decide between sentimentality and smart breeding sense.

i know lots of people don't like roos, but it really does seem that all my favorites are my boys.... they are just so dashing!
 

ORChick

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Up until last Spring I had a very handsome rooster - a Silver Spangled Hamburg, black and white, and not very big. Unfortunately the neighbour's dog got him before either I or the neighbour realized that that might be a problem. I got him purely because I thought the breed is so good looking, and fancied having a handsome, strutting rooster about the place. He also would make that particular call, and the girls would run under the hen house. When one of the hens would sing her egg song he would come running from whatever spot he was in - wings extended to help him run faster :D - to share her excitement. Since he died I noticed that the hens tend to scatter more now when free ranging; he kept them together. And they also don't seem to be all that wary - while foraging they aren't thinking much about predators. I thought he was just a handsome accessory, but he really was very useful and helpful. I have new chicks on order for this Spring, and one of them is a cockerel.

Bibliophile birds, my boy and his SSH wife were/are also Hansel and Gretel, but in the dialect of the part of Germany my DH comes from - Jan and Griet.

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big brown horse

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I love all the photos and the stories behind the names!

ORChick, that totally makes sense. Last year my girls did just wander about by themselves. Now they seem to stick together. I never put that together. I'll bet they get more foraging done too with big Tex keeping an eye on the sky.

I'm glad you are getting another roo. :)
 

bibliophile birds

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well, just came in from closing them up for the night (and taking some pics- now i can't find the camera cord...) and it's becoming quite apparent that it's time for a couple of the spare boys to make their way to freezer camp... there isn't any outright aggressiveness but lots and lots of posturing and chasing each other. luckily the 2 worst offenders have been marked for the freezer since the moment it was obvious they were boys so i won't be sad to see them go.

i've currently got 11 roos and i need to get down to 4 (maybe 5). this is going to be my first time processing chickens (ok, processing anything really) so i'm more than a little freaked out, but i'm seriously looking forward to homegrown, organic, pasture raised chicken dinner!

the chicken yard is going to seem so empty when they are gone.... good thing i've got more ordered!
 
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