Hobby Farms – Life on the Farmlet

I’ve read that roosters, for the most part, have had the proper protocols bread right out of them when it comes to courtship.

You see, when the rooster wants to get amorous he is supposed to dance in a circle around the hen and drop one wing like a fan touching the ground. To my mind a polite rooster looks quite a bit like a Matador. Now, if the hen is interested, she will drop down and wait…

I am certain that Topper must feel every bit like this Matador. Can’t you just hear him?

Topper: “Hennies, am I not handsome and irresistible?”

This morning he gave the Little Red Hen his best Matador impersonation and instead of the expected drop, she puffed up as if in scorn, and fiercely chest butted him!

Poor Topper!

Personally, I think he is a spectacular specimen of a Laced Buff Polish Rooster, but even Tippy won’t have anything to do with him and she’s a LBP hen!

So, even with his good looks and suave demeanor, he just gets no respect out there in the chicken yard.

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Polish chickens are a varied breed! Want to see more? Look —> HERE!

I found a bit on the *chicken’s mating behavior (if you are really interested to know more) but it is very technical –> HERE.

*Everything else was about Prairie Chickens.

My-Oh-My! Before I begin part two in earnest I must share a vignette and a couple of photos with you!

On my first morning I awoke and looked up to see a lady bug nonchalantly walking on the ceiling. Suddenly (s)he found another lady bug hunkered down in one of the spaces between the tiles and the chase was on! The one chasing the other for a full 30 seconds which must have seemed a very long time to be pursued, for a lady bug at any rate! The race came to an abrupt end when the bug being chased suddenly fell from the sky and landed somewhere within the folds of my covers. Well at least her fall was padded!

I am one of those people who are prone to belly laughing. I mean, after all, if it is worthy of laughter then go for the gusto I say! Well, I began to laugh out loud at the ladybug race and then remembered where I was and the early state of the morning… So I got up, donned my robe and slippers and quietly walked to the kitchen door to have a look at the day… when…

WHAPPA!!!

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This kitty just flat-footed it to face height and attached herself to the screen door!

Needless to say, I was a bit startled!

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Later in the day before Jayme, Peggy and I went shopping I took a little stroll down to the back forty of the property. From there I found some delicious photos to take…

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Milkweed pods in the sunlight.

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The backside of the one hundred forty year old home where Jayme and Glenco reside.

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Now Jayme may go apoplectic when she sees I have posted this photo because the gardens have gone to seed. But think of this! All those seeds are feeding birds who stay for the winter and those just passing through on their way to see me in my gardens! You know as well as I do that those smart birds have all the best winter seed stores marked out.

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Old friends sharing conversation.

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I imagine them either discussing the house’s eyebrows over the windows, or wondering what could be keeping me so long down here in the back forty. Telephoto lenses get you great closeups, but do not teleport the conversations to go with… guess we’ll have to wonder.

Now where was I? Oh yes, part two. Wherein two friends partake of a little…

“:<> !CHICKEN MADNESS! <>:”

Now if you have read Jayme’s blog entry you will have seen the videos that let you in on just how NOISY it all was! But if not, then you just have to go take a look, and a listen –> HERE <–

Crazy but fun, yes? No? Well, we had a ball!

We met the Chicken Whisperer himself.

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Jayme and CW

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Saw so many chickens it was a blur,

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Oh wait, that was my camera malfunctioning. But here are a few that did turn out…

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Ever wondered what would happen if you crossed a Chicken with a Chip Monk?

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and geese and turkeys,

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And hey, isn’t he a beaut? And I hate turkeys, but could make an exception for him!

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and big-mouthed… er, billed ducks too!

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Darling, Just DARLING!

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So, Jayme fell in love with the Modern Bantams, and I fell in love with the little old style Bantams, and all that chickeness was just a bit overwhelming. And wouldn’t you know that Jayme convinced one of the vendors to let her hold an itty-bitty-bantam girl and suddenly I had to have her…

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It was love at first sight...

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I heard this voice that sounded like me, but from a dream saying, “Jayme, I want her will you help me pick out a little Roo to go with her?” And bless her she just jumped at the chance, and the money exchanged hands, and I had two little bitty Bantams who would now need a box to ride home in!

Snapping into reality now, I realized that I needed a roomy cage that I could afford and ta-da! There were two gentlemen, who being entrepreneurs with foresight, were building bantam cages right there on the spot, and they built one just for me! Imagine that!

And so it was that I came back to Coop Keeper’s home with the “Duke” and “The Little Woman.”

It was an arranged marriage and they got to spend their honeymoon in Jayme and Glenco’s bedroom. They are so thoughtful don’t you agree?

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Around the Farm

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The following are impressions from Jayme and Glen’s Home. They are in no specific order, but I wanted to share with you the loveliness I found there even as the gardens prepared themselves for winter.

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Welcome

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The Friendly Kitty

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She gives tours daily!

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Old Eggs

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Jayme’s broody little hen was not going to give up! So, Jayme removed her to bring her in to keep company with her other little hen while in hospital quarters.

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The Chicken Gang

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