Bertie, strutting his awesome rooster-ness
I should have known, when, at about five weeks of age, one of my Dominique chicks had the beginnings of a pink comb, when nobody else did. If truth be told, I think I knew in my heart that he was a rooster back then, but I really didn't want to admit it, so I didn't. Then came the deep red color, more comb growth, and the addition of waddles. Not even a hint of these on any of his coop mates. Last week, his tail feathers started to take on a different appearance. Then, three days ago, the tell-tale call of the rooster...only Bertie prefers to leave out the "doodle" and calls out, "Cock-a-doo!".
We are quite heavy-hearted here on our little "imaginary" farm - - we just love Bertie. The boys and I chose to hand-raise our chicks, spending time holding each of them, feeding them by hand, etc., so that they would be tame, and tame they are. Oddly enough, Bertie is the most tame of them all, and is the one I usually pick up when I get the urge to go hug a chicken. I will be sad to see him go.
Go he must, because we live within city limits, and roosters are not allowed here. Furthermore, having a rooster on the premises will interfere with my end-goal of farm-fresh eggs, just a bit - - not interested in having someone in the coop who is trying to fertilize those eggs, if you catch my drift.
Now comes the fortunate part. My friend Alyce, who also happens to be my boss a the library, has a little farm nearby, beyond the city limits. She has offered to take Bertie in, as it just so happens that she was in the market for a new rooster to care for her flock of hens. Even better, she will be giving us a New Hampshire Red/Speckled Sussex cross pullet in exchange. Her pullets are about the same age as mine, so we are hoping we will be able to integrate her into my flock without much trouble.
We are going to enjoy our Bertie for the next couple of days, before he packs his teeny-tiny bags and flies the coop. I'm certain he will have a wonderful time on Alyce's farm, but we will miss him!
7 comments:
I'm so happy to have you back blogging, but sad that Bert has to pack his little bags and go. Glad you'll still be able to visit him at your friends house though. He's a handsome guy - the ladies at his new place will love him I'm sure.
Jen, Bertie will have 11 ladies to lord over at his new farm, and he will get to free-range, so he really lucked out. I can't wait to see what he looks like when he is full-grown - - he really is a handsome boy.
You have to keep us updated on how he's doing at his new farm with all his lovelyonclast 11A ladies.
That was supposed to be lovely ladies not lovelyonclast 11A ladies : )
Roosters can be sweet! I used to have one that liked to ride around on my shoulder while I was tending the birds. :) Glad that you were able to find him a good home!
Jen I will keep you posted. I do hope Bertie will fit in on his new farm. I don't think the ladies will be able to resist his charm.
Melissa, I love seeing your name here again. I have missed your blog! I can't even imagine how big the girls must be now!
Oh no! But I'm glad he gets a nice new home with someone you know - maybe you can all even visit from time to time :)
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