On Saturday morning, May 28th, I heard two distinct voices in a cock-a-doodle-doo contest. I looked out the window and Billina was crowing and there was Spot sitting on top of the coop door (pictured above) answering the call. The cockerels start out with a rr rr rrrr before they get into a full doodle doo. They are 11 weeks old so Billina started at about 10 weeks. A friend in the country came to their rescue and said he would take them. We drove them out on Monday, May 30. They were put in the coop with the other chickens very unceremoniously...gently tossed in. Billina mingled with the flock and tried to look like he had always been there. Spot, on the other hand was left in the enclosed area with #2 rooster. #2 was staring him down waiting for a confrontation. Spot didn't know what to do and luckily Stan stepped in and shooed them to the outside enclosure. He said he had several underlings and since they are juvenile roos they might be ok. Sometimes the newcomers get beat up. He was going to watch to see how they do. They will all stay in the enclosure for 3 days then they will be able to roam the farm. They could also become victim to coyotes but all in all it is chicken paradise. When we left the two newbees were in the outside enclosure pecking away and looking a bit confused but I think they will be fine. I'll get an update sometime later. I also learned how to sex a chicken (or any animal for that matter). You need a large metal staple with a string attached. Hold the staple by the string over the animal to be sexed and start rotating it in a small circle. When it is gently moving hold your hand steady and let the staple sway on its own. If the animal is a male it will begin to swing back and forth in a straight line, if the animal is a female it will rotate in a circle. We tried it on a mother cat, a tom cat, the two roos, and even my husband. It worked every time!
