The Flock

Meet the gang.

It's been three weeks since our adopted flock came home to abide at the Rural Roost. Our new residents, Elijah the cockerel and the four pullets have settled in rather nicely. The girls are shy little creatures taking more time to come out of their shell and any thoughts of naming them, especially by the glimmer twins, were quickly dispelled as soon as they arrived. Why you ask? Because you can't tell them apart. It's as simple as that.

There is one exception. It seems three of the ladies follow Eli without fail. They sort of remind me of the Supremes in this photo. Where Eli goes, they go. The fourth lovely lady however has a mind of her own. Either that or she is easily distracted and gets left behind but I'll never tell; that's her story, not mine. 

In those first few days after their arrival a head count was done, oh, about every five minutes or so and inevitably there would be one missing. "One, two, three, four. Where is number five?" I would ask the rest of them. And hence the last little girl is known affectionately as Number Five. Only thing is, we can only tell which one is Number Five when she's off doing her own thing. Which can go on for quite some time, by the way, but she eventually makes a quick jaunt across the yard to catch up with her roostmates, as captured above. We'll be sure to bring this photo out again at her wedding, just to embarrass her one last time.

As I've mentioned before, these birds are Chanteclers, a rare and endangered breed, one of only two to originate from Canada. They are cold tolerant birds which they've already proven to us, as they love to forage in the little woods beside their coop all day long, despite the cold, drizzly grey days we've experienced the last few weeks.

When the group arrived Eli was the same size as the ladies but has grown significantly over the last few weeks and is now much taller than the others. His feet are quite massive as well, and as you can see his plumage is quite colourful. I do think, however, that both sexes have beautiful colouring. But I still tell Eli he's a pretty boy. Happy rooster in training, happy Rural Roost!

 Mosaic Monday

Eli's tail feathers will continue to grow and both he and the girls have bluish green feathers with an iridescent glow. These Chantecler are the partridge variety, while the original Chantecler breed has white plumage.

We're thoroughly enjoying getting to know these guys. Within no time, Eli was eating out of our hands and while they're still not too fussy about being petted, they do love to follow us around the yard. In fact, sometimes I turn around to see them running after me. I'd like to think they adore me, but these little Scratchheads have only one thing on their mind and I don't believe they think I'm their mama.

As the last vestiges of the gardens were plucked away this weekend, we discovered how much the chickens love raspberries and adore strawberries. So much so, that they pestered me for more the next day. I offered them some swiss chard but they turned their beaks up at that. Yes, they're picky eaters too. Luckily, I'm used to that!

So as we continue to learn about coop keeping, bird tending and just how much poop a chicken can make, we're falling in love with these little creatures as they roam, scratch and peck around the old farmhouse. Dare I say, another Rural Revival at it's best?

~Be well friends!~