Rusty Bucket Farm

[fuzzi]

12/19 Updates:

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Gubbles is getting his dad's tailfeathers, although you can't see them here. He's not a baby anymore either, but still likes to peep for attention and hide up under his human caretakers for a little motherly comfort before getting an unnecessary lift into the coop at bedtime. He's almost as spoiled as Noodle! Daisy is molting and barely pays anyone any mind. He's, as far as I can tell, completely alone and competing from the absolute bottom of the flock for what he needs. So of course he gets extra love and attention to his feed status.

Speaking of his dad, Rusty is apparently too old to properly shed his spurs through use and was tripping himself quite badly. I caught him today and we dremeled just the tips, with plans to take more in about a week. The quick has grown long it will take multiple sessions to prevent bleeding. We didn't do it before now because he was molting and all kinds of pathetic. I was actually afraid this molt might get him; he was truly miserable and inactive for several months. These days he has resumed stumping around his yard after the hens, at least a little, but he's completely stopped crowing, mounting, or even "speaking" like a rooster. His comb is quite shrunken. He doesn't even glare at me! Just whines like an anxious hen if he thinks I'm going to handle him. Who knows if he will even participate in mating season next year?

Yorvir is settling into life as a two year old boss, and (while completely surrounded with next year's breeding competition, no less) seems to be handling himself with confidence.
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Those tailfeathers are almost back! Just a little more molt to go...

I'm still full up on cockerels. Grande is crowing pathetically and I'm sure the rest are not far behind. No mating drama yet, but I have a shortlist of who is getting voted off next. Blue's boy, Yorvir's son, is a tiny tyrant only inhibited by the many larger boys giving him a lot of discouragement. He's terrible to poor Gubbles. So he's out, along with Gusty, the 3/4 Rusty boy who also has a skittish, angry temperament. The various barred/cuckoo birds will stay for now. I absolutely have my heart set on keeping one, for the sake of their bloodline.

Not sure if I mentioned it, but the part-time keeper I received the "bonus flock" from got a better piece of land and wanted to resume ownership of them, so I've begrudgingly let them go. I only have Ms. Helen, the outcast BSL who was moved to my flock for a break with my special needs girls, the three barred cockerels and the black and brown pullets from their lineage now. Sad, but things were getting difficult to manage and expensive to feed. At our peak we must have had a bit over 50 birds and that is just a LOT for us to manage well.

This year I want to improve the setup, not necessarily hatch much. I'll be keeping clutches to 3 eggs or so (unless I find a local blue egg provider... I will eventually bring in more egg colors if nobody stops me ) and we'll just see how many girls go broody. If it's a lot we may go even smaller.

How old is Rusty?

 

[CoopBoots]

How old is Rusty?

We were told he was 2, but he behaved like an old man even then. Missing jumps to roost, low motivation to mate (and clumsiness in his attempts), and a low fertility rate (50% with my best broody on the job). Spurs were gigantic, too. We've had him two more years, so he's a minimum of 4...

Edit: Oh, also, he was going fairly white in the tail and wings compared to his cockerel photos the original owner shared.

 

[CoopBoots]

1/10/25 Updates:

Ding Dong trying to look handsome in the snow:

That's Misty, Rusty's daughter, in white/ermine and Euphrate (we call her "You/Eu"), Grumpy's daughter, peeking from the back.

Here's some more glamor shots of Ding Dong:

Quite a glow-up from their scrawny selves a few short weeks ago.

Here's Grande, his white-legged twin, next to him for comparison:

Both are more tan/off-white than their pretty Barred Rock mothers, and you can spot the deep red leakage from their mixed breed father. It is hard to say who is dominant, but I can see who has probably caused the most trouble to Yorvir and the hens based on the slightly bloodied comb.

I doubt we can keep even one, much less both, unless they can make it to a coop and run addition in the spring... Fingers crossed for them.

Here's Euphrate, the chocolate-colored chick from the same rooster/flock:

She's almost laced, and probably some kind of partridge/wild type color variant? My terminology isn't great so don't take this as an informed description. Whatever it is, I love it. She and her hatchmate pullet, Cathy, are both nearing point-of-lay based on those ripening combs.

Speaking of Cathy, here she is:

The image of a Black Sex Link, who indubitibly was her mother, from the same flock.

Birds you will no longer see here include Dingo, the reddish barred boy, Gusty, Rusty's 3/4 son, and Alphineau, Yorvir's little boy that Blue hatched. We had earlier indications of drama from that set, and someone paid us for a fresh Christmas dinner. Mixed feelings as always, but it spares a factory supermarket chicken as their substitute, so I'll try to stay philosophical.

Despite giving up Gusty, little Musty/Gubbles is just the IMAGE of Rusty, even though he is less related than Gusty was:

He's still timid as the youngest in a large flock, plus a singleton hatchling to boot! But I'm praying he will become a calm and dutiful second in command with no ambition. I really want one of Rusty's sons to continue his legacy.

Alphie's sister, who is supposed to be 3/4 of Rusty, looks nothing like him in color. She is a big, BIG, buff girl. Not so fluffy as Dusty who is the absolute queen of all feathers, but just a big, solid looking pullet. She's got the characteristic slow maturation and size, but none of the light coloration. If you squint you can imagine a slight barring in her feathers. However, she was strongly opposed to any snow adventures and so you will not see her here. She may be more shy since her brother has moved on, poor thing, but I see her often with Gubbles. Perhaps they are learning to bond?

Misty, Mage, and Sorsha will not be found here unless incidently in a group shot, but I believe all but Sorsha are laying. They have quite fallen in love with Yorvir and, as such, he spends most of his time and attention on them. I got 6 eggs yesterday, so the pullets are almost carrying us through winter.

Dora, Kloud, and Daphne of the Crazy 8 are still doing well; perhaps too well? It came to blows between Yorvir and Kloud, and Yorvir was not the winner. We intervened early and Kloud now must live separately until I have a better solution. Dora is also a permanent escapist, so she is currently enclosed as well. To offset their isolation we also have Peaches, paranoid as always, and Ms. Helen the Black Sex Link to weather the winter together, but spring will require more space solutions.

I have much to do!

Group shots:

As you see, Yorvir's ego is none the worse for wear. He DID manage to knock off his second spur!! And I have no idea if they will grow back!! What a crazy boy... Really going to have to monitor the barred boys to ensure we don't have them tag-teaming him in a few months.

 

[fuzzi]

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As you see, Yorvir's ego is none the worse for wear. He DID manage to knock off his second spur!! And I have no idea if they will grow back!! What a crazy boy... Really going to have to monitor the barred boys to ensure we don't have them tag-teaming him in a few months.

Love the group shot with Yorvir crowing

 

[CoopBoots]

Love the group shot with Yorvir crowing

Me too... I actually get the giggles from the little ridges in the roof of his mouth in that second shot. It always makes me think of the old saying, how does it go, "rare as hen's teeth"? Except I see the roosters' "teeth" way more often as they are always screaming at everyone

 

[fuzzi]

Me too... I actually get the giggles from the little ridges in the roof of his mouth in that second shot. It always makes me think of the old saying, how does it go, "rare as hen's teeth"? Except I see the roosters' "teeth" way more often as they are always screaming at everyone

I want to caption it with "This snow is too cold, I'm freezing my spurs off!"

 

[CoopBoots]

My husband is of the indoor variety, which just goes to show the magic of chickens. He had a dog growing up, at best, and had zero expectations of the chickens as pets or companions. Certainly had no desire for an outside project.

Here's a snippet of his favorite boy, Yorvir, dancing for him with gusto, from a video he took of his morning routine with the chickens. He takes regular photos and videos and purposely spends extra time with them. Gubbles is so attached to him he comes out of the coop at roost time to have cuddles before being put back. He never does that with me

I firmly believe chickens could convert almost anybody, given the chance. What amazing little creatures

 

[CoopBoots]

2/2/25 Updates:

Marshmallow is threatening to go broody on me.

She's dinosauring at the other hens when in the nestbox with slight fluffing, and tucking in eggs I set in front of her. She did not sit through the evening, however, as you can see. I'll keep an eye on her.

Rusty and Gubbles, for comparison:

Rusty is back in action, giving me constant stink eye and biting anyone who dares mess about with him. Here he is getting pecked in the rear by his beloved feather-plucker, Strawberry:

He got quite angry about it, but his beloved angels know when he's in a fowl mood and dashed away.

Eu looking splendid:

Noodle spiraling her way to me for scritches:

She always preens herself during petting-time:

 

[CoopBoots]

12 eggs today; the pullets are outdoing all my expectations for February. The fair weather certainly helps!

Today was fence repair day #1. I forsee several more, but for now I opened up one weedy corner that attaches to my house and porch, the fencing that reaches the following house corner, and the hog-panel/cattle-panel gate to hamper my escapees. I discovered Peppa is just flying up onto the roof of the main coop and hopping down, so I'll have to remove any chicken clutter nearby she's using to get extra air. Hopefully, that will allow at least her and Dora of my jailbirds to go free again...

Euphrate's eyes are stunning--she has all the undertones of a Black hen under her fabulous gold:

This is Strawberry, Rusty's one beloved butt plucker. She has completely different eyelid shape, which almost gives her a lazy, indolent, or judgy expression:

Even in my similar colored birds, they have different faces if you look at them long enough. In my childhood flock of 12 Buff Orpington hens, I could tell every one apart without leg bands. It's taken me much longer with my current girls but I think I'm nearly there! Strawberry makes it easy as she has such a distinctive expression.

More Strawberry:

Puffy Muffin, Rusty's daughter with a Buff Orp:

Peaches, Rusty's daughter with a Buff Orpington, who had that awful injury last year, next to Daisy on the right. You can see the huge size difference Rusty's genes add to them:

Poor Daisy has been standoffish and aloof since her molt, and even now she's looking very peacemeal! Every broody spell or so she's seemed to have a mini-molt, and even this time she hasn't let ALL of them go. You can see by the mismatched colors. I don't know if she's going to continue this slow, grumpy molt or continue laying soon. Comb says maybe eggs are on the way?

Chichin, one of the original Buff Orpingtons, is looking back in health after a heat-stroke scare that sent her into premature molt last summer. Comb says she's getting back into the swing of things.

Pictures aside, I need to do an inventory of birds for this year:

Roosters: 2
Rusty
Yorvir

Cockerels: 4
Kloud (Yorvir, Daisy)
Grande (Grumpy, barred rock)
Ding Dong (Grumpy, barred rock)
Gubbles (Rusty)

Hens: 16
Daisy
Peppa (Yorvir or Robin)
Blue (Yorvir or Robin)
Hei Hei
Jubilee
Noodle
Marshmallow
Chicken Jane
Ms. Helen
Strawberry
Tendi
Chichin
Kazooie
Salty
Yuri
Puffy Muffin (Rusty)

Pullets: 9
Dora (Yorvir, ???)
Daphne (Yorvir, Daisy)
Mage (Yorvir?)
Misty (Rusty, Salty)
Sorsha (Yorvir?)
Dusty/Duster (Rusty)
Euphrate (Grumpy, barred rock or BSL)
Cathy (Grumpy, BSL)
Alisae (Rusty, his daughter Peaches?)

So 31 in total.

With feed costs going up I'm going to NEED to sell eggs, or cut non-producers; possibly both. I don't want to... but I can't justify hatching new pullets and all the accompanying cockerels along with having a surplus of eggs benefitting almost no-one. I might ask family and friends to see if they want to "go-in" on some feed costs and get their eggs from us vs. paying out the nose at the store. If I was actually supplying people that need it, maybe things would break closer to even.

 

[lightm]

Stunning photo of euphrate! Strawberry is very special too. Lovely orpington (/mixed) flock.