The New Arrival

Lotty Wonderland
With a good few days of snow lotty has been a winter wonderland for the Blur. As with plenty of other schools hers was shut for a day and we thought we'd spend some time at lotty where we had an abundance of snow. After letting the chickens out we came home with a plan for the afternoon. Once we'd had breakfast with John we packed a bag with a flask of tea and an assortment of clothing for the snowman we planned to make. The chickens were increasingly disinclined to leave the coop, so as a treat in the cold weather I made them a huge tub full of hot porridge. The girls tucked straight into it and seemed to enjoy having something warm, if I were them I think I may have warmed my feet up in it.

The blur and I got on with making a snowman, but having forgotten to take a carrot with us we had to improvise and use one of the huge bolts left over from building the coop. Once it was finished we had a quick sip of tea and prepared for a snowball fight. The Blur managed to fall over a few times mainly due to running over the tarpaulin and once in our carrot plot which is covered in rotting apples. She didnt hurt herself which is the main thing and a few days later I also slipped on the tarpaulin. We'll both have to be more careful.

Our New Boy
After putting alot of thought into a conversation John and I had a few weeks back I decided it would be nice to have some fertilised eggs and hatch them. This would mean either buying some already fertilised or getting a cockerel. The latter was chosen as the best idea and I rang Goldsmith farm to see if they had any cockerels. We were told if we wanted one we'd have to let him know quickly as they were due to be culled. On Monday night John suggested we go and get one for my Birthday on Tuesday. With the same feeling of excitement iv had the last two times we left to go and pick up our first cockerel. We had to wait in the farmyard for the farmer and took the opportunity to check out the boys. There were some huge cockerels there but I think id already decided which breed I wanted. Just as the farmer came down the cockerels started crowing along with the guinea fowl, and I had a moment where I thought what are we getting ourselves into. But there were around thirty cockerels there and we would only be taking one.

My first choice was a medium sized Black Rock, but I changed my mind when John pointed out that he had no tail feathers and pointed out a larger boy who looked in better shape. We'll know for future reference that cockerels need slightly more space than a cat carrier offers. Nevertheless he did fit and soon we were heading back to lotty. Having not already chosen a name we carried on thinking of possible options, mine being stink bomb as he smelt rather strongly of farmyard. On arrival at lotty I let him out to meet our girls for the first time. There was an initial few spats with Rita and Alison who knew they would have to show him who's at the top of the pecking order, but he did seem to take more of a shine to the grey girls. We didnt get long to see him as we had to attend a sports event that the Blur was taking part in, but by the time we got back the girls seemed to have adjusted to having a man around.

On Wednesday I decided to see if I could get the cockerel to eat out of my hand as the grey girls had been happy to do this by the second day. Far from playing ball he refused to approach me and took off at top speed if he thought I was heading his way. Putting him to bed the second night was eventful. We managed to get him into the run but he wouldnt climb into the coop. I thought it would be easier to just pick him up, but he took real offence to this and made a run for it. The Blur and I chased him for twenty minutes until he'd backed himself into a corner in the shed. I decided that if he was going to be like that I would carry him to the coop upside down by the legs.

I had a look at a chicken website which explained how you could tame a cockerel, and went off to lotty with a few ideas in my head. If he wanted treats he would have to take them from me so with a bit of food in my hand I positioned myself between him and the girls with their treats so he wouldnt be able to take any. This try was unsuccessful and I removed the bowl as soon as the girls had finished with it. Once again putting him away was a challenge. This time I managed to just hold onto a few feathers before he flew off over into the next plot. I stroked his back and talked to him gently until his pupils grew bigger and smaller (a sign of excitement in chickens) then put him into the coop once he had stopped struggling against me.
We finally decided to call the cockerel Griff after Family Guys Peter Griffin, as it was the first name suggested that I felt suited him. The girls have been escaping again lately, and from talking to one of the men men at lotty it seems Griff may be a more sensible chicken than id thought as he'd been trying to get the girls back in.

Not wanting anymore bedtime dramas from him I made the decision to clip Griffs wings. So as soon as the coop door was open I picked him out gave him to John and quickly got them cut. It was the best thing we could have done. I decided to ease off him a bit today and let him have a few bits of bread once he'd walked down to the run nicely with the girls. As we put the girls in he made to fly onto the coop, but with no flight feathers he landed on the ramp and walked straight in. It was lovely not to have had to chase him round and im hoping this will be the way of things to come with him.

Thank you John for Griff and lets hope he does his job and makes us some chicks very soon.