New baby photos at one week

One week old speckled sussex....named Pixie Jolene by Bambi!

Peach Chiclet, Pixie Jolene and Buffy (the buff orpington) at one week old

Eggs galore...sometimes

Well, the girls are doing fabulously at the whole egg laying part of their day. All except for one strange thing....someone keeps laying an egg so that it falls down onto the ladder and breaks!  We are trying to diagnose the problem.  Erin...to herself quietly as she stares at the nesting boxes she has so carefully created for the hens....if i was a hen, what would I need to help me not lay my egg on ladder?  how would I need to be informed that the best place for an egg is in that soft cushy box??

All those pretty brown eggs!!

New baby chicks!!

Around 9:30am we got a call from the post office that our 3 new baby chicks had arrived.  Erin rushed over to pick them up and was relieved to open the box and find all were peeping happily and doing well.  Here are their first photos as one-day old wee ones.

One of the two new speckled sussex chicks.....and

Our first buff orpington chick!

To Martin, formerly known as Marge

Dearest Martin,

I wanted to write to you and express both my sadness and dismay at your horrible predicament.  You were brought into this world a poor, small, defenseless chick, and immediately placed in a small walled in pen with several young ladies.  You were then fed and cared for by.....several woman.  You were then given a girls name, cooed at and held, and expected to act as a proper lady would.  This was just so unfair. 

Did anyone ever support you as all those "strange" changes came over your body?  Growing feathers in funny places?  Looking at those young ladies in your pen for just a little bit longer than you should?  Thinking that having an egg the size of an....egg, coming out of your body would be really freaky?  No, I don't think they did.  I totally feel for you. 

And when nature finally won out, and you crowed to the sky to declare that you would NOT be held to the standards of a woman, what do they do?  They forbid crowing!  What is up with that?!?!  Who else is going to warn them that an airplane is going by?  OK, the dogs do, but the dogs are not always outside, so you need to speak up.  I understand.  Every cock has to crow.

Martin, it has been a pleasure knowing you during your childhood.  Sorry about the holding and cooing thing when I came to visit.  I feel a little awkward about that now, but I was misinformed at the time.  Have fun in your new home.  You are starting fresh, with a new name, a new hen house, and a new harem. 

Regards,

Kurt

Further commentary on our rooster mishaps

A series of updates on Marge/Martin were sent around the other day.  They went something like this...


Erin wrote: 
       Good news!  A lady in the next county contacted us through Craig’s List.  Her father-in-law lost his rooster and needs one for protection of his hen flock.  We’ve emailed about it today and it sounds really perfect – a farm that won’t eat Martin or use him for cock-fights! And will allow him to rule the roost!

Bambi wrote with an ironic laugh:
     Um, er, how exactly did the father in law “lose” the chicken??!!


Sallie sent us into more giggles as she replied:
       Who cares???  Happy humping, Martin!

Holly then sent us into further hysteria by emailing: 
       Notice: I will be replacing all greetings, salutations, and best wishes with the words  "Happy humping".  Going on a cruise? No more "Bon voyage"! From now on, I wish you a cheerful "Happy humping!". 21st birthday? Happy humping! Just had hip replacement surgery? Well, "Happy humping" to you, too! Sallie, you are a jewel! 

What?! A rooster?!

Yes, friends, Marge is a boy!!

Fannie Mae (front left with white on chest), followed by Georgie with Marge/Martin the newly discovered rooster behind them.  Heading away from the camera are Faline and Little Red Hen.

The revelation part 2

Sallie writes:

Don't know about the rest of you, but what I'm most looking forward to is Natalie's version of this revelation.  It has no doubt offered an early opportunity for a 'bird & bee' talk.  Probably sounds something like this.....


Mom: Well, honey, Martin, er, Marge was supposed to be a girl, but now it seems she's, er, he's a boy.  


Natalie: Marge isn't a boy, Mom.  He's a rooster.  


Mom:  You are correct, Natalie, and because Marge, er, Martin, is so in charge he can't live here anymore.  


Natalie:  But, Mom, (with some of her instant tears for emphasis) this is Marge/Martin's home! 


Mom: Well, it has been his home, and we have loved him and given him a good start in life.  But now that he is grown up and crowing night & day, we can't have Martin running around goosing the hens.  


Natalie: NO, Mom, Marge isn't a goose, she's a rooster. Look, Mom, Marge is humping Faline again!  I'm going to kill him with my broom and we can both have chicken legs for supper.  (Cause you know, that Marge does have a very big set of drumsticks.)


Holly chimed in: 
Poor, gender confused Martin.  I might have felt sorry for him/her if it wasn't for all of the humping. In retrospect, Marge's leadership seems more like typical rooster bullshit. Not that I know a damn thing about roosters, but I do know a lot about bullshit. 


Is anyone else reeling because the brain trust at Nicholasville Tractor and Supply made a mistake?   They owe you a lady chicken.



Diana wrote:
You all are making my sides ache!!  In the meantime, Fannie Mae and Little Red Hen (i think) have each layed an egg and Marge just got a time-out for pecking Natalie!!  




It's been hard coming out of denial and realizing that the experts at the hatchery and at Tractor & Supply can make mistakes with color-sexed hens.  It's been a week with a high learning curve, and it's only Tuesday!!  Uncle, uncle!! :)  


I suppose this evening we'll email the Wilkie clan and ask for help/guidance with Mar...uh...Martin.  I know it'll be a lot less trouble having a rooster-free yard, but I got kinda attached to the wee besom, maybe since I'm the only one who'll hold him!

Hugs and fresh eggs for all!

Revelation Part 1

Aloha everyone!!

So yesterday, I was on the phone with Joan describing Marge's behavior. Joan, bless her, encouraged me to look at her anatomy to make sure she's not a rooster.  I believe she said something like, "Just look down there and see if she has a pecker!"  Joan also promised me that if Marge turned out to be a rooster, she would never be able to look at a chicken again without laughing....

I went online to research chicken anatomy.....and learned that all the chicken organs are inside, so it's not always easy to tell, but there are other clues:

--Compare chickens within the same breed.  A rooster has a bigger body, bigger waddles, and a bigger comb than the hens.  YES.

--Look at the comb.  In a rooster, the comb will always stand erect, whereas with a hen, her comb will be smaller or fold over.  YES.

--A rooster actually has an oil gland, so its feathers will appear shinier than the females.  YES.

--A rooster will have spurs on its legs.  YES, just recently appearing.

--In looking at the tail feathers, hens have a simple duller set of feathers whereas the rooster's feathers look more like plummage and can be multi-colored.  YES.

--Lastly, hens cluck and roosters crow.  Lord, YES.

I think I am no longer in denial and have learned that even experts can't color-sex the chicks correctly all the time.  Ladies, Marge is a rooster!!!!  

I laughed so hard, I had tears streaming down my face!!

But now what??  The thing is, we're not allowed to have roosters in our zone....and there's no hiding Marge since she crows all the time!!  (even though i've sworn to our neighbors she's just a dominate hen).

Erin and Natalie are both nervous around her since she gets aggressive with them.  She humps all the hens, and we don't want the eggs fertilized.  Blast!!  What should we do??  Marge is Bambi and Mary's chicken....I actually love Marge too, although lately I notice HE is a lot more work to have around than the sisters.  I feel sad about this.

Erin suggested we call up Gina's parents and sister (who are all connected with UK's Agriculture program in a big way, love organic farming, chickens, etc) and ask them if they know of anyone who wants a rooster....and specify that we don't want Marge eaten.  It's our version of a rooster relocation program :)  Then we could research and possibly get 3 more laying hens to introduce to our flock--or something like that....somehow get a robust flock of hens who can lay eggs, be docile and fairly quiet, and keep each other warm in winter.

As I write this, Marge (uh er, Martin) is humping Faline.  We don't want to do anything without your all's input and permission, so please speak honestly and tell us what you think!!!!

Love to you all~

diana and erin