Thursday, November 19, 2009

Usher, This is Your Life

For the proud new owner of this roo, here is his life to date in photos:
11-11-2009 4-39-53 PM
The parents:
Kerfluffle, a bantam frizzle cochin hen. She is really small and pretty with yellow feet. She is black but not dark black, and her front frizzle feathers have somewhat of a dark brownish lacing pattern. Usher's the little black chick with her.
4-12-2009 4-52-29 PM and
'Lil Jerry, a bantam white sultan. Sultans have every fancy trait a chicken can have -- crest, muffs, beard, feather feet, vulture hocks, and 5 toes.
3-7-2009 11-07-03 AM
I don't see the resemblance! He is so much bigger than the parents. Not as large as a standard, but definitely towered over all our other bantams.
His baby photos:
Just hatched on 3/28/2009:
3-28-2009 9-17-8
Stretching its wings:
4-4-2009 3-31-11 PM
As an awkward young lad:
- 5-31-2009 12-32-33 PM
His age:


He seemed to have received the minimum of fancy-ness, but he is still quite striking. I love his black beard and the green sheen of his feathers. He has a mini-crest, a little muff and partially-feathered feet.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Overly Restrictive

Glad I live in the urban fringe outside the city limits...proposed City of Tallahassee ordinance revision bans all types of fowl, including all roosters and limits hens to 6 (in a predator-proof enclosure) inside city limits and under 5 acres (previously 1 acre). -- No chicks, free-ranging would be illegal on your property, and no sustain...ability. And why change the exemption from 1 to 5 acres?? 1-5 acres is PLENTY for a sustainable flock. The 6 chicken limit is appropriate, but the rest is too restrictive.

Proposed Ordinance Revision

Friday, November 13, 2009

Big Birds


11-11-2009 4-40-42 PM, originally uploaded by KKerfluffle.

Laverne and Shirley, our standard buff-laced Polish hens, are just soooo cool! We may try to hatch some of these next.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Too Many Roosters

It's inevitable that a small flock gets too many roosters. Fortunately our roos are bantams and gentle, but I think some of the more popular hens are getting a little worn out from all the attention. So we'll probably post a couple of them for free on Craigslist in the near future. Our little sultan who was part of the original half-dozen flock is a keeper, as is his lemon-blue d'Uccle offspring. One of the frizzle chicks may also be a roo...it's bigger than the other two and it's already growing a comb.

For giveaway:
11-11-2009 4-39-53 PM
While his parents are small, he is big for a bantam, but not as large as a standard. His momma is Kerfluffle the frizzle, so I wonder if he could pass that gene along.

11-11-2009 4-40-11 PM
This bearded gentleman is small and very much d'Uccle, except for the tiny bit of fluff behind his comb. Friendly with lovely feather feet.

Keepers:
11-11-2009 4-43-36 PM
I was really hoping this was a pullet, because I just love this lemon blue coloring. But he's just as beautiful as a little d'Uccle roo, and I just can't see parting with him.

3-7-2009 11-06-40 AM
Fancy Little Jerry will be with us as long as he's able. I picked him out as the runtiest of a straight-run dozen hoping to get a girl, but I got a really little roo with an effeminate crow.

Frizzle Babies!

I am in love with our little frizzle chicks born September 11.


11-11-2009 4-36-29 PM
It took a week or so to look frizzle. They looked pretty normal at hatching.


9-11-2009 9-42-50 AM 9-11-2009 9-39-08 AM

Lisa Marie mommied the two white ones, while the real momma Kerfluffle (below) looked after the black one.
Kerfluffle
We got her on Craigslist for $5!
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Sunday, November 1, 2009

Attack!



We'll miss this little silkie/sultan mix, the smallest roo. He was a cute chick, but he was kinda weird looking as a young cockerel. His deformed walnut comb seemed to take over his face. It was Halloween eve and I took the girls to my sister-in-law's church for trunk treating while Lee went to practice. It was dark by the time we got home and I forgot to close the gate. I hadn't needed to close the gate in a very long time since Lee usually does that before I get home from work.

This was the first time we've lost chickens with a mess of feathers left behind. Every other time it's just clean gone missing, picked off by a bird of prey, most likely. The next day the poor flock wouldn't even venture out of the coop for hours...they were so traumatized and their branch perches had fallen in a jumble. Whatever it was really freaked them out. Also missing is the black and white speckled d'Uccle pullet born in June. It was so skittish I never got a good picture of it except when I first posted about her and this one below that I took in August. She was pretty low on the pecking order, so I think she was probably closest to the ground when whatever attacked.


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