Chickens!!! A 'spring' morning in the yard.

On Sunday the chickens got a little bit of 'free range' time. It was brisk and our yard does not get a whole lot of sun in the winter. In fact it stays wet and cold from the first rain through about May. The chickens were searching hard for what little bit of warming sunshine they could find.

This is one of the chicks that we hatched in September. A cross between the Rooster (Buff Orpington) and Jan (Americauna). He takes after his pops in that he is another rooster - his crow has laryngitis so far, but it definitely is there! He is so pretty though, I can't think of getting rid of him, I hope we can keep multiple roosters; I guess we will have to see how much noise they really make - and how they continue to get along.

Baby rooster and one of his sisters and his brother. That's right... two baby roosters plus Big Daddy Rooster. Apparently I need to practice my day old chick sexing techniques... not that I would have 'disposed' of a day old rooster if I had known he was one, I just don't have that in me. Too much of a softy for real 'homesteading'.

All 7 birds in one shot!! Rooster is still very much in charge. The rest respect him, can be seen moving swiftly out of his way when he is on a tear, and he will nip at me if he thinks I'm getting too touchy feely with any of his brood. Fortunately his nips are not aggressive.  I once had a fairly catastrophic encounter with a rooster who escaped the pen at my aunt and uncles house. Well at least it was catastrophic to my 5 year old self at the time - he flew up and bit me squarely on the nose [I like to think a scar still exists but I've always been a bit of a hypochondriac ;) ]. It was a big enough deal that I 'hated' all birds up until last March when I gave in to the notion of raising chicks. Fortunately I was right and the project of raising a chick from day old helped me bond with them as I watch them grow, so I was not disgusted by or afraid of them.

Now I look at this handsome guy and just think that he is fascinating and beautiful. He's inquisitive, smart, like to tease the dogs, and his crow is pretty awesome.