Spring Chicken

Here is one of those healthy Spring Chickens. This guy was one of the first to hatch, in late May, so he is about 5 months old. He has his dad's comb, the "rose comb" typical of Wyandottes, which is much more resistant to frostbite than a big single comb. Otherwise he looks a lot like his mama, a Brahma. Look how tall he his--his shoulder comes halfway up the neck of the chicken standing next to him! He is also broad--broader than he looks in this photo. But Brahmas are "slow to mature," so he may be 6 months old or more when he attains his full size. (By contrast, industrial meat production birds reach 'slaughtering size' between 6 and 8 weeks (WEEKS!) of age. Such rapid growth is quite injurious to the chickens in question...see below for our 6 week old chicks, who are healthy and happy but not too substantial yet. A couple mouthfuls, tops.)

A lot of this guy's height comes from his giant legs. Click on the photo to get a better look at those honkers. He looks almost like he's got stilts when he stands erect. I call him "Legs." He's big and handsome, and I feel affectionate towards his Brahma half. I feel hopeful that he will display all the watchful and generous qualities of a good roo, without being a jerk. I'd love to keep him in the flock. We will know pretty soon, as he is quickly becoming a man. He just got his crow last week. His crow was awful at first--it sounded like a chicken being deflated--but it is getting better with practice. C'mon Legs! Be a good rooster!

Splish Splash, I was takin a dirt bath

This weekend, we let Mama Chicken and her six chickies (four of her own and two fosters) out into a grassy pen for the first time.

At first, Mama followed her by-then standard procedure of scratching and pecking the ground, to find food for the chickies. There was great peeping and excited pecking. Foraging was thrilling--and much more successful in the grassy pen than it had been in their brooder box.

A big plastic-wrapped board was lying on the ground; it had been lying there in the pen since the previous spring. I lifted it up and rested it against the fence, hoping that the moist earth underneath would contain lots of good bugs for the chicken family. It was surprisingly dry under there, though, and no bugs were to be seen. "Too bad" I thought.

But it turned out I had given Mama the best present someone who hasn't left the nest for 4 weeks could want. "DIRT BATH!!!" she all but shouted, rushing over to the barren ground and elaborately proceeding to toss dirt all over. She hunkered down and scratched the dirt up with her feet; flapped it under, over, and all around her with her wings; rolled on her sides and rubbed her neck in the dirt; shook her tailfeathers and snuggled down into her dirt bath hole before starting the whole routine again. She kept it up while I went to get my camera, and by the time I came back was alternating between "DIRT BATH!!" and more foraging for the chicks from her comfortable position in the "bathtub." Keep an eye on the yellow and gray chick in the upper right--by the time I returned with my camera it had already learned to copy her. The whole scene was a big hit for the human "chickies" who were observing the scene closely.

Who's the Boom King?

This Lace Wyandotte has always looked like a rooster. From the time he was nugget-sized, he was heftier than his friends and had a bright red comb. We dubbed him "rooster boy." And now he is a rooster MAN. In this picture he invites you to check out his handsomeness.
He keeps a beady eye on us when we handle his hens; he looks out for hawks; he is not rough on the hens. When it comes to his duties as Boom King, however...he is not so skilled. (Sorry to air your business on the internet, Rooster Boy.)