More Chicken Stories

Last night, I put two cockerels from the juvenile pen in the little henhouse at dark.  Confused, they froze just inside the door, but Muffy and Bitty, my two little pets, were still up, and I saw them approach the two boys.  I shut the door on them, I knew they would be okay. 

Sure enough, when I opened the pophole this morning, out rushed the Welsummer cockerel.  He took on the three roosters, and I was satisfied before I left for work that he would be able to protect himself.  I figured the partridge cochin would stay in the henhouse with the three hens who are setting, and the little black cochin who rarely comes out.  When I got home, he was still inside.

While I was doing chores, someone snuck in the door behind me:

Uh Huh.

I sat and watched him for a while, and he was not fighting or hurting anyone, so I left him for the time being.

Here are my two little pets with Handsome, the cochin, who finally came outside.  He's still very immature, and doesn't bother anyone.  You notice Bully is leaving them alone, he just checked them out.

This is Rocky, the partridge-colored Plymouth Rock cockerel.  He has not started crowing yet.  He is easily going to be the biggest of all the juveniles, but has been in the little henhouse for several months already.  He is going to be as big as Rambo, but is a gentle giant.  I ran out of space on my card in the camera, or would have gotten a picture of the Welsummer cockerel, who has this one cowed already.

Over the weekend, as we did an errand together, we saw a chicken tractor in a yard in Tonganoxie, full of what looked like bantam Buff Orpingtons.  They were merrily eating away in someone's front yard.  Keith commented tonight that he is going to build a couple of chicken tractors for us.  Butch and his girls have been in their pen for six weeks now, and it is nasty and the dirt is churned up and gets full of flies during the day.  I leave them in while I let Rambo and the others out during the day, and when I get home, I lock up the "big flock" (big and little birds) and then let Butch, Angel, Reddy and Eagle out for a couple of hours.  They go back to their doghouse when it starts to get dark.  Keith noticed how nasty their place is, though, and is going to make some tractors (probably two) so we can breed like to like if we want.  (welsummers, or rocks, etc. etc. ).  We can move the tractors so the ground beneath them doesn't get nasty from a static pen.  I think it's a super idea!

The porcelains had their gate down all day, but stayed in their pen til I got home, when they jumped down.  The rabbit hutch has about had it, so I am going to have to get them used to the little henhouse, and how to go up and down the ramp.

Here they are playing in the wet dirt of the little henyard.