I got my first rooster today!!!

[FedUpWithIt All]

Today was my birthday and i have been planning to go to a local chicken swap as a birthday gift to myself. I made plans to pick up two breeds i have been wanting for a while. I missed out on the stock of those two breeds. I did manage to find a young Buckeye cockerel. He is a really easy to handle bird and i am super excited. Buckeyes are pretty rare and a little tough to come by. I am super psyched to see one running around our yard. He is lovely.



:7

[Poll_Blind]

1. Don't get cocky, kid!

:silly:

Couldn't resist. Very cool, btw!

PB

[FedUpWithIt All]

2. Thanks!!

I am like a kid at Christmas. :bounce:

[virgogal]

3. As a very urban person I am impressed. Good luck !

[FedUpWithIt All]

8. Thanks virgogal

:hi:

I had no idea i would love chickens this much when we got our first. They are so entertaining.

[xchrom]

4. Have you thought of a name yet? And congrats! Nt

[FedUpWithIt All]

9. He is Basil

He joins our three Buff Orpingtons...Maisy, Clementine and Pollito. We also have an older red sex link(?) we call Mother Clucker. She runs things.

[xchrom]

11. Welcome home Basil. Nt

[foxfeet]

5. A Buckeye? Don't let the Wolverines get him! nt

[Fire1]

6. HA! Good one! GO BLUE!!! LOL!!! n/t

[Booster]

7. Awww. That's just so very cool. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

[FedUpWithIt All]

10. Thanks Booster!!!

:party:

It's been a good day.

[Arctic Dave]

12. Rec just for the title.

LOL.

Happy B-Day and congrats.

[FedUpWithIt All]

20. Thanks Arctic Dave

:bounce:

[Warpy]

13. Now you need to find a thrift shop and get a dozen pairs of old shoes

to heave at him when he insists on waking you up at 4:30 AM. I've never seen one yet who knew enough to wait until sunrise.

The hens should be pleased, though.

[FedUpWithIt All]

18. We have him near the hens and he is trying to act big around the Orps

but the old sex link is not having any of it!!!

She has him quite intimidated and she is my smallest bird by far. :-)

Thank the stars that he is not crowing yet. We have him where we are renting and we need to move them all to our property before he starts making too much noise.

[cilla4progress]

14. We love our hens

AND our 2 roosters. Tell me...do you suppose our newer rooster quit crowing out of deference to (or fear of) old Mr. Rusty - he of the very large talons (our 1st rooster - now 7 years old!)?

We share your joy. For years I wanted chickens - we live on acreage in eastern Washington - it's a pinch me moment when I see them ranging around the place. We've had to fence ourselves IN (e.g., veg. gardens, berries), in order to give THEM free range! And when those golden globes pop and sizzle in the fry pan - MMM-MMM-MPPP! - nothing better on a weekend morning!

[FedUpWithIt All]

19. I feel the same way!!

They (this life) make me really deeply happy.

[bvar22]

15. Congrats!

We LOVE our birds.
They have proved to be the most cost effective year round producers of healthy food!
They are much smarter and engaging than we had anticipated, and are a part of our daily delight.

Buckeyes are gorgeous, and we looked at them for expanding our flock during the Spring, but like you said, they are hard to find.

[FedUpWithIt All]

17. Thanks bvar22

We're so happy with him.

I never realized how much i would LOVE raising chickens. They thrill us regularly and it is such a joy to provide for their needs and in return collect the eggs. We're very happy.

[FedUpWithIt All]

16. Isn't he a pretty boy!!!!

He is still so young that his feathers haven't smoothed out completely.

[FedUpWithIt All]

21. Adding two goats, cloth TP and a homemade incubator to our increasingly self sufficient world.

:crazy:

We are collecting a beautiful white (Saanen(?)/pygmy) nanny and her young kid (Saanen(?)/Pygmy/Boer)this weekend.



Hatching eggs (Black Copper Maran, Welsummer, and black/splash EEs) arrived yesterday and are going into the newly built wooden incubator.



Little cloth squares of flannel are sewn and in a basket in the bathroom (TMI perhaps but a legitimate and surprisingly tolerable way to be more green, self sufficient and frugal.)

[bvar22]

22. We "hatched" Copper Marans and Welsummers over the Summer.

Our results were disappointing.
Initially, we bought 12 fertile Blue Copper Marans eggs (E-Bay), and incubated them.
Out of the 12, only 3 hatched...and two of those were Roosters.

We then bought 12 fertile Welsummer eggs.....only 3 hatched, and 2 of those were also Roosters.

We finally ordered 8 sexed (hens) live Welsummer chicks....and one of THOSE was a rooster.

We had to cull 4 roosters from our little flock. :(

We still have one Blue Copper Maran hen, and she is GORGEOUS.
She has started laying small, dark brown eggs.
We're expecting the Welsummers to start laying any day.
Since the majority of our flock is now Welsummers, we kept one Welsummer Rooster that was hatched from the first batch of eggs we incubated (for genetic diversity).

These are joining our old flock of 7 assorted hens (Barred Rock, RI Red, Australorpe, Brown Leghorn) and Elvis (our original Rooster).

Good Luck with your hatching,
and please let us know how it turns out.
:hi: