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| Poor Fred looks a little odd from the side... |
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| ... and kinda sad from the back. |
To make matters worse (for Fred) , whether it's his less-than-exalted position in the flock or just from being a rooster, he's also become a bit of a bully lately. I have no problems with the boy unless he thinks I'm mistreating a hen but De, the daughters, and pretty much everyone else have to watch him close or he'll come up and attack from behind. It doesn't happen every time someone is out, but it does happen often enough that he's made himself "poultry non grata". We've gone to keeping a "Fred Stick" next to the door so folks venturing to the coop can, if they desire, tote a bit of defensive armament along. With Ivan, the Polish-Buff Orp cross cockerel coming into his own (more on that later) we've decided it's time to send Fred to "Freezer Camp". Since it's been something like 45 years since I've done that, I'm recruiting my sister and/or brother-in-law to tutor me. I'm hoping this will be the week since I'm taking a week of 'vacation' away from the day job.
When Fred has made his way to land of the popsicle, Ivan will be THE GUY in the flock - maybe. While we had big plans for Ivan to take over the roosterin' duties we discovered what may be a deal-breaker. We were looking everyone over the other day and thought the young Ivan just didn't look right. A closer look revealed that Ivan has a cross-beak! (Uh oh #2).
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| Pretty feathering and a buttercup comb. A nice looking bird! |
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| It's not awful, but it's sure not right. |
We're doing our homework (backyardchickens.com among other places - we're open to other sources), but if we find that cross beak is something he's likely to pass on to his offspring it's probably a deal breaker for Ivan. Right now the "experts" seem to be split about 50/50. We'll keep getting opinions from 'been there - done that' folks, and decide if Ivan will eventually be joining Fred.
On a slightly different topic, I'm taking time off from the day job this week and am making big plans for work around the homestead. I'll share what I get done as well as what I don't, so I hope get several posts out this week.
Col. 1:9-12,
Mark
I hate to say that the photos of Fred are funny, but they really are funny! I agree with your decision about him. An aggressive rooster is a liability. Cross beak would probably be a deal breaker for us too, because of the risk of passing it on. Sounds like you need a brand new rooster!
ReplyDeleteFred does look like an odd bird!! We're continuing to sort out the story on the likelihood of Ivan's cross beak would be passed on. At the same time we'll probably start looking for option for new roosters in the local area.
DeleteOh, my goodness, what to do, what to do! I don't have any patience for dealing with a "bully rooster" so I'm seconding your vote to send Fred to the Land of the Freezer Frost. But poor Ivan? We've never dealt with a crossed beak but have read (ya can't believe everything ya read, right?) that most crossed beak chickens can eat and get along just fine.
ReplyDeleteHoping you have WONDERFUL weather for your upcoming week of staycation and get done at least half your list. (We can't ask for much more than than, realistically, can we?)
Ivan does seem to have no problem feeding himself and getting all the water we wants. Our bigger fear is that any chicks that come from him will have an increased chance being cross beaked.
DeleteTODAY the forecast for the week looks great and I'm hoping it get a lot done. For me, part of the exercise in making the long list is get it all down, and move the most important ones to the top. You are absolutely correct in that anything in the bottom 1/2 (and maybe the bottom 2/3) is not going to get done.