I called him Rufus and Hubby called him Roscoe. He is now known as Rudy and has easily been tamed. My ole rooster with his pecking at my feet and flying at me with his deadly spurs has calmed considerably over the past week.
Something devoured two of my layers and left the emptied carcass for me to move. Matilda has never been a good layer (and not too friendly, to boot) so I needed more chickens if I wanted to continue to get eggs everyday. After making the coop and the barn a bit more secure, off to the local sale barn we went and there they were - beautiful Rhode Island Reds just waiting on me. We purchased five of these beauties and in the mix was a young rooster. We wanted all layers, but were willing to take the rooster to get the other four. Rhode Island Reds are proficient layers, but are also known for their aggressive nature.
We move the transport pens into the barn and slowly released our new friends. It being dark, Matilda and Rudy were already on the roost, so we knew there would be no interaction. The new birds went right to roost and settled in with no fuss. The next morning was a different story. Yes, Rudy had a gleam in his eye with all the new chicks about, but that young rooster really irritated him. He pranced and clawed and showed his stuff for two days finally settling down and accepting the fact he was no longer the cock of the walk. The new layers explored and ignored Rudy and Matilda and "took over" the chicken coop and barn. They definitely outnumbered Rudy and Matilda.
I haven't named the new layers or the rooster, but I am working on it. These layers are very friendly and love to eat out of your hand and enjoyed a bit of rubbing, too. One has already started laying and I am looking forward to getting more than one egg every two days.
Thanks for letting me share my day on the farm with you and
Happy reading!
Belle
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