Here's a top view to see how his head is almost where his shoulder should be. He can't straighten out his neck, and when I move my hand to his right, he can't see me and gets startled when he realizes I'm so close.
He usually hangs out on the fringes of the group, or I catch him alone by the house, watching the other chickens. I feel bad for him sometimes, but what can I do? He's destined for the cook pot one of these days. 5 roosters are too many and I only plan to keep my top rooster, so 4 have to go. Check out the teeny, tiny chicken egg! If I didn't pick it up out of the chicken coop myself, I would have sworn it was some other bird's egg. Be interesting to crack it and see how small the yolk is!
My Buff chicken is still sitting on her eggs. I candled one of her eggs and I saw a dark mass, larger than a yolk. I hope that wasn't my imagination. Kind of hard to candle brown eggs, the shell is dark and some shells are thicker than white ones. I expect baby chicks in less than 2 weeks, so I need to set up a temporary pen for mama and her babies. May have to set up a more permanent one, since it's still cold here and I don't want the babies to die of exposure. It's something I've been meaning to do anyway, but I hoped to do it later when it was warmer. Well, it's March next week, so Spring can't be too far off.-
5 comments:
I don't come here often enough, and that's my own fault. But I do love what you write here. My grandparents had a farm with chickens, so this brings back childhood memories - fresh eggs, baby chicks, and roosters.
Here's hoping Spring brings you good things.
~ Ocean
Deaf Pagan Crossroads
Now I see what you mean by the rooster being humpbacked. Apparently his bones grew weird after he was born. I don't know what else could have caused that. Sure is weird though. Poor fella.
Ocean-- Hey! Long time no see! :o) I do so enjoy the chickens! I never imagined how much I would like them, but they are great entertainment for us. Like you, I'm sure, we're all looking forward to Spring! :o)
Cheyenne-- It will be interesting to look at his bones later on. I wonder if one of the older chickens pecked him in just the right spot on his spine?? Is that even possible? It seems like it happened overnight and was not a gradual thing.
It could very well be a tumor and I would definitely check out that area when you butcher him and if it doesn't look so good either discard the area or the whole thing! Better to be safe than sorry in jeopardizing your family! It is not worth just one meal!
I always enjoy your postings and love the pictures you post, they keep us in contact with you. Thanks
Dad & Edith
Dad and Edith-- Hmm, there's an angle that never occured to me! I'll definitely take a closer look at both the flesh and the bones and see what could have caused the deformity. I'll wait until the next time Uncle V comes down and he'll help me with the butchering.
I'm glad you read and enjoy the blog. I took some really great pictures of the kids recently, I'll have to send you a copy!
Love you lots! xoxo
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