Chip's Harem
Posted: Monday 19 May, 2008
Have you ever seen a chick sleep standing up? We have.
To try and make sure Chip didn't grow up into some kind of oddball, caused by spending his formative months with a felt mouse, we bought 6 day old Black Rocks today. Chip's world has been turned upside down. Unlike the felt mouse, these girls move, cheep, peck, push, shove. And really tire a wee Chip out!
When Dan introduced the, Chip hid in the feeder, but he's a bit more sociable now.
When I came home from work tonight, Chip looked worn out - he was standing up but hie eyes were closed and he was nodding. Then he'd rally, have a peck at his new companions, get pecked, eat some chick crumbs, have a drink, then start nodding again. The six girls seem to rest in shifts, and Chip doesn't seem to be able to relax when any of them are on the move. I hope he's sorted himself out by morning!
The six Black Rocks look like wee, black pom-poms but they are very active and robust - fortunately, they are smaller than Chip (for now). He does kind of stick out like a sore thumb, being cream and brown - call it distinctive, if you like - but I'm sure when he's a full-grown cockerel, they will treat him with due respect!
Hard to see it right now, though.
- Previous « Chip - and a lesson learned
- Next Our little patio »
Comments
Jo @ LittleFfarm Dairy
After a fair few years of keeping hens I must admit, I swear by Black Rocks. They're robust, hardy birds; consistent layers of big, quality eggs; more resistant to Red Mite than other breeds; & fascinating personalities in a surprisingly wide range of colours. And the male hatchlings grow up to make pretty decent meat birds, too.
Regarding your lovely new pond I found I couldn't leave a comment on your latest post owing to my Luddite amateurism - but if you visit my Blogsite (http://littleffarmdairy.wordpress.com)& have a look the header photo to my Poultry Page, you'll have a pretty good idea of how your pond should look, another year or so from now.
My Dad conjured up a pond in his own lovely garden from a basic "Gardeners' World" template, about five years ago - it's amazing to see it now. Well worth the effort!
Comments are now closed for this post.
linz aka fluffywelshssheep
Friday 23 May, 2008 at 4:27pm
Am glad you got chip sorted out and hope he has fun with his new girl friends :)