The ladies (and I’m about 90% sure they’re all ladies now) are starting to act a little weird. Today, as I was out doing my Mr. Greenjeans routine in the farm, I stopped in to check the food can and get the ladies some fresh water. I stooped down to pester them a little, and Margaret not only didn’t run away, she dropped down in this come hither pose against the ground with her big ol’ chicken booty stuck up in the air. COME AND GET IT!
Never one to leave the ladies disappointed, I scratched her back a little. She stood up fluffed herself and preened her feathers looking like she felt much better. I’m not sure, but I think she might have smoked a cigarette. The other girls all came over and looked at her like “what in the hell are you DOING?!”
Still, you could tell that they were a little bi-species-curious. All of the sudden, they’re all gathering around me when I go in there. Don’t touch us, big boy! We’ll scream… maybe… ‘No’ means ‘ask me later’…
Margaret and Dottie both have pretty serious combs. They’re red and dangly. The others are about the same size, but their combs are small and the same color as their feathers.
It’s funny to watch these little dinosaurs walking around, looking sort of confused… I imagine if I had a Grade AA Organic Brown Free-Range Egg in my shoot for the first time, I’d be confused, too. Betcha that first one’s quite an experience.
Yeah, I’ve heard about the girls starting to do this. They see you as their rooster. How cute. I saw both my 15-week-old roos climbing onto various girls throughout the day yesterday. Not a pretty sight. It looks like it hurts, too – something about claws tearing into their backs and a sharp beak biting their necks must cause all that shrieking. So, I’m betting Miss Margaret really appreciated your gentlenss.
How old are your hens?
Oh yeah, I’m like the Barry White of urban chicken husbandry.
The ladies will be five months in July. No roosters (luckily). That’s a no-no in town, although if you listen carefully in my neighborhood, you can hear one crowing periodically.
I think it’d be entertaining, but knowing the way city stress manifests, I’m sure someone would call the feds on me just for the sheer pleasure of it.
Just switched the girlies over to layer pellets today. They were out of chick crumbles, and so I made my pilgrimage over to Concentrates and loaded up on layer pellets and cracked corn. We’ve yet to see egg #1, but judging by the way Maggie’s multi-purpose opening is swelling, she’s either gonna lay an egg or grow another head out her ass any day now.
It’ll be exciting either way.
Ah, don’t give up on the rooster idea so quickly. Do you belong to the PDX Backyard Chix yahoo group? There’s currently a movement afoot to petition the city of Ptld to allow roosters (good luck, right?). You can read about it here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PDXBackyardChix/message/7596
And anyway, I may have a rooster needing a new home. You’d love him, really!
You certainly have a way with words. I’m truly hoping t’is an egg a comin’ down that chute because if it’s the other thing you mentioned, you’ve possibly been feeding the gals pesticide ridden feed rather than that expensive organic stuff I know Concentrates specializes in….