Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
to. If possible, set up a second feeding station on the opposite side of the coop so that the
new birds can have a chance to run to one while the honcho is eating at the other. These
small favors can be all the leeway your new arrivals will need to get over the fairly in-
evitable hazing period.
Sam, a scrappy Ameraucana,
has proven to me that a chicken can not only hang with
her farmer but also become a sidekick. She often runs to me for solidarity because as the
lowest-ranking bird in the coop, she is safe in my presence. No one can peck her if she's
in my arms, so in my arms is where she likes to be. Her nearly featherless back proves
her place at the bottom of the chicken social scene: if you're the outcast of the clan, you
get pecked on a lot. So maybe it's her underdog status, and maybe I'm making too much
out of a pathetic little bird. But I can't help it. She's such a sweetheart.
When I carry hay out to the sheep, Sam follows behind like a faithful dog. When I go
into the coop for morning feeding or late-day egg collecting, she flies right to me, jumps
onto my hand or shoulder when I pet her head, then stomps around the yoke of my shirt
in search of the perfect placement for her little taloned feet. It is a splendid thing to hold
a chicken you raised from a 72-hour-old hatchling, especially one that actually likes be-
ing held. You can't help but think, “Hey, I pulled this chicken thing o!! She trusts me.”
A homesteader rite of passage.
Cock-a-Doodle-Do . . . or Don't
I
love my boys, but let's be honest, roos aren't for everyone, especially the urban flock
keeper. If your lifestyle isn't set up for them or you have finicky neighbors, prohibitive
ordinances, or an urban situation, you're probably already aboard the no-rooster train.
But if you ordered straight-run chicks, the odds of getting a cockerel in with your pullets
are about 50-50. And even if you ordered all females, you still might end up with an in-
correctly sexed male, which you'll know for certain by six to eight weeks when he starts
to crow. But for a bit of nonscientific sexing before the audio clue, you can pull a hat
trick. Literally.
