These are laying hens in the evening setting sun.
Very pastural, yes?
This is not.
"What? Me? Not pastural?"
No, in fact, this morning I discovered that creature right here, that I was told may be part Buff Orpington and, therefore, called Buffy (do I have a way with names or what?) is NOT a hen.
I normally get up, shower, have coffee, then walk out to the chicken coop (heaven help me, still in my bathrobe!) and let the "girls" out of the coop and into their fenced run, then finish getting ready for work. This morning at about 7:00 a.m., I heard Buffy let loose an awkward crow. Then another crow. Then three more crows.
Yes, Buffy is now just Buff. I was hoping, against hope, that this was a hen. I was looking forward to seeing the eggs she would lay. I was looking forward to having a hen that was a little different from my standard brown laying hens. Now I have a rooster.
Ahhhhh, but I don't have just one rooster. Observe if you will, Bruce.
This hunk of husky-legged, glossy black/green developing tail feathers is Bruce. Bruce hasn't crowed yet, but I wouldn't be shocked to hear him answer Buff in the next few days. He will be a very handsome fellow when he is fully mature.
Aaaannnnndddd……
… may I present Nugget. Nugget was hatched out the same time as the deceased Raven. Nugget is younger than Buff and Bruce. Nugget has a big set of legs, too. You know where I'm going with this. I have a feeling that the only little hen that I bought when I got those four young birds was Raven. But what the heck do I know? Maybe she would have grown up to be a gorgeous black rooster. NOBODY needs that many roosters.
Life with chickens. Husband did crack a double yolker today, so at least there's that.
No shortage of testosterone in that coop.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you're going to be rising and shining early these days with three roosters to get you going. So, one hen, three roosters? Sounds like an FBI investigation is needed.
ReplyDeleteIt’s going to be looooooud at your house in the a.m.
ReplyDeleteThose legs are awesome. Please tell them I said so. I am sure they don’t get many compliments from strangers.
I'll tell them this morning.
DeleteYay! 😂
DeleteOh my. Apparently the sales person was new at this? But they are cute. You could neuter them and then you would have three capons and one hen. At least the culinary options would be widened.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you do with a surplus of roosters?
ReplyDeleteOh dear! I have no doubt about what my farmer husband would say was the answer but I don't think you want to hear that!
ReplyDeleteyou'll have to choose the best one and get more hens!!
ReplyDeleteOh no!
ReplyDeleteSadly, one of the pitfalls of poultry shopping. :(
Hope you can find some girls for the flock soon!
Oh I have lived these same joys in the years we have had chickens. I am sad to say that something has killed most of ours this past month or so. We finally removed them from the coop as they were getting killed in there and maybe nesting in the trees of a night will help keep them from whatever predator is out there.
ReplyDeleteTo explain further, I purchased the four young birds (3 likely roosters, one now dead), but I had also purchased 6 laying hens (now down to 5). So I do have hens, five of them. I will wait until I see who is the "nicest" rooster, as they grow up a little, and then I shall sell / give away the others. I cannot eat things to which I have given names! (I couldn't kill them either for that matter). If they don't fight each other (which they probably will), I'd keep them all just because they are so pretty. -Jenn
ReplyDeleteWow...all of those roosters! Good luck with them, they kind of scare me a little, don't know why lol...
ReplyDeleteAll I know about chickens is that roosters pester hens. Seems to be a common problem. Haha.
ReplyDeleteGood luck sorting the boys out ... maybe you were meant only to have the 4 original girls & this is The Universe telling you boy bans are so past, it's all girl power now.
ReplyDelete...Mary-Lou =^..^=
Oh oh, I heard this story last year from my friends. They bought 18 chickens and 16 of them turned out to be roosters. The farmer, all the way down near KINGSTON, who supplied them assured them they were hens! MY partner and our friend Paul spent an afternoon filling gaps in our freezers with chicken. They replenished the flock from local suppliers.
ReplyDeleteHow sad, hope you find homes for the roosters.
ReplyDeleteOH my three roosters and only one hen. You will be having more chickens for sure. Do three rooster get along. I always thought you could only have one rooster per coop? I am not a chicken person so what do I know. I think I had just heard that.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Kris
Oh, no!! Life has funny twists and turns.....even for chickens, eh?
ReplyDeleteHAHAHA! This made me smile, Jenn. They were probably chuckling the whole time you assumed they were hen :) SURPRISE LOL But those legs. They sure are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteWho is going to "rule the roost" is the question!
ReplyDeleteWell, drat and blast, what bum luck! You're gonna have to make two decisions: Where to get a couple more hens, and exactly what to do with the very extra roosters!
ReplyDeleteI pass several houses on my walk that have chickens and hens. Now I will look at them with a whole new eye. I will wonder if they have names and their own little personalities! Enjoyed this post, Jenn. Have a wonderful week!!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! That must have been funny, later, at least.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with all this!
Oy. My neighbor got chicks from a very reputable hatchery and ordered all hens. She ended with four roosters! It gets a little noisy there in the morning. I'm facing the unknown with my quail. They say you can tell by the colors on their breast feathers but I have two blondes...I guess I will tell by the noise level.
ReplyDeletegreat photos!
ReplyDeleteFun visiting your blog today, thanks for the turkey tip, and I see what you mean about that pastry. We try to make things easier but it is not always so.
ReplyDelete