Monday, October 26, 2009

meet Blue


"Blue" is our head honcho, top dog, main guy - as far as roosters go. He is the leader of our flock. He was not a planned addition, but came to us quite by accident.

Brianne and I were attending a poultry show where she fell in love with a black Cochin hen that was part of the raffle chickens. She begged me to let her try and win the little hen, but I said no. We had too many chickens already. As the day went on I felt a little guilty about my abrupt decision. We didn't have that many hens and one more really wouldn't be a problem, especially considering the aged hens that needed to be replaced. So, in true mom fashion, I reneged, bought $5.00 worth of raffle tickets and placed them all in the bag in front of the little hens cage.

Poultry shows are interesting events, one's that every would-be homesteader should attend at least once. Picture a group of people who can talk turkey - or chickens, or ducks, with the best of em; throw in a group of kids, eager to show off their own birds, that are viewed as "future poultry enthusiasts", and you have the makings of a happy day.

Poultry shows are the easiest livestock shows we've ever attended. Birds are cooped-in (entered) the morning of the show. When the judging begins, the show barn is closed and exhibitors are free to leave until the judging is complete.

But, what does this have to do with Blue? Well - while we were out touring the area a call came in from the raffle organizer. Brianne's ticket was pulled and she was the winner of the Cochin pair. Pair? I asked, puzzled and confused. We only put in tickets for the Cochin hen. Turns out the rooster had been placed in his own coop and no one noticed there wasn't a sign identifying the pair as - a pair (hen and rooster). So, we were now the proud owners of a pair of Blue Cochins.

Blue Cochins are an interesting breed. In order to hatch blue chicks, a blue rooster is mated with a black hen. Some of the hatch will be black, some blue and some mottled black and blue. In a show flock only the blue roosters are kept for future breeding.

We brought our new additions home and introduced them to the flock. After ma period of settling in, Blue has turned out to be the most docile rooster we've ever had. He's a stately guy that keeps watch over all the girls, he is gentle with the chicks, and he is a very eager breeder, which gives us plenty of eggs to hatch and chicks to sell or trade.

What I thought was going to be a disaster in the making turned out to be really good addition to our little farm.

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