Up on the field, in the hen-house-on-wheels, there's an empty space on the perch tonight. 'Big Ginge' has left home. I suppose one could say he's flown the coop.In poultry terms at 14 weeks old, he - and the others - are now teenagers. The hen birds are delicately formed, sweet and graceful. The two cockerels are shaping up nicely as showy, swaggering posers with an eye for the ladies; all mouth and trousers. Of the 2 birds Big Ginge seemed the most mature - perhaps because he had appointed himself top bird in charge of his siblings and the 5 sinister looking Marans I bought recently.
As 2 male birds are probably not a good idea in the same flock I was pleased when one was offered a home in Cornwall. His new owner wanted him not for breeding purposes but, (and I quote,) 'to keep my hens happy'. Hmm. From what I've seen of cockerels 'keeping hens happy' the hens could take it or leave it. Perhaps this is a man thing.
This morning Big Ginge was put into a strawy box and loaded onto the back of a pick-up for the long journey to his new home on the banks of the Tamar where a harem of 6 wives awaits him.
Enjoy your new life Big Ginge - after all, you could have ended up on a plate with vegetables and a splash of gravy.
3 comments:
I hope they all get to live on their own terms.
There's so much pleasure to be had in seeing them live out their lives, their personalities, and the little things that make them so much like us in so many ways.
We're waiting for some new-to-us hens and in the meantime have our one lonely rooster in the chicken yard. He doodle-oos bravely each morning but he is definitly looking for a hen. The Great Dane envisions him in the soup pot but I think he'll be around for a while. Good luck to Big Ginge!
Gosh he looks a bit like Jimmy Nail doesnt he? Hope he has a lovely life down on the Tamar.
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