My Wellie cock is gentle too, he doesn't often feed from my hand(mostly lets the greedy girls) but when he does, he slowly and carefully takes what is offered.
He's smart too...the first and almost only bird to figure out how to drink the drips off my fingertips from an ice cube melting in my hand.
Do you have photos of him? Wellies are gorgeous. Ichabod will wait to eat until I fill the last dish but if I offer something by hand, he's in the forefront. Maybe he'll give the girls the treats I give him once he figures out what tidbitting is all about.
LOL ... Mariah sure looks adorable with fermented feed covering her beak. Seems like you have the perfect flock. Wish I could free range but too many hawks in the neighborhood and they are always looking for an opportunity. Have seen them fly away with snakes, a half drowned baby gopher after a bad storm, and once it even looked like one was carrying a huge frog ... could see its legs hanging down. I didn't even know they ate frogs (or maybe it was a toad). All your mixed colors of birds make for a pretty flock.
Mairah's a sweet girl and I have to agree with you on her looking adorable with her sloppy face lol but naturally I'm bias. I feel like my flock really looks out for each other, with the exception of my two Red Sex Links. They're the trouble makers. My first SLW kept them in line but when she died, within minutes they were wreaking havoc on the rest of the flock. As soon as the new girls arrived, they took one look at the new SLW and I swear they remembered the first one and immediately backed down. The new SLW never even did anything to them but her sheer presence makes them a lot more subdued. The Black Sex Link also helps to keep them in line with very minimal effort. If it were not for those two, those RSLs wouldn't be here anymore.
Last summer I lost an EE who was egg bound. Instead of the flock all picking on her, Mairah and Audrey (the first SLW) would stand on either side of her until to keep the rest of the girls away. When that behavior went on for a couple of days is when I realized there was a problem but was too late. Regardless, I was so impressed with how nurturing they were with her instead of ganging up.
As for free ranging, I do have hawks, a Peregrine Falcon and a few Bald Eagles around but I also have a lot of cover for my flock with shrubs, trees, big leafy plants in the gardens and benches all around. They stay pretty clear of the wide open lawn.
I love having such a colorful mixed flock and egg bowl. Plus all the colors make doing the headcount much easier.
