Da boyz (chicken update) Now that I am over the shock of realising that two of my 'hens' are actually roosters, and I've passed the twin hurdles of neighbor and spouse acceptance of crowing (that last, at least, always somewhat provisional) I am reveling in the beauty and ... well, the cockiness of them. Yesterday evening I caught them in Bill's tomatoes, and while I did discourage them from further depradations, the one with the blood-red tomato juice dripping from his triumphant saurian beak sure was cute. Err, maybe 'cute' isn't the right word to end that last sentence... ;-)

The first one - I suspect it's the one on the left (foreground) of the bottom pic, but I can't be sure - is turning into a great crower after only a week or two of practice. The other one just started this week, and it's cute to hear his wobbly little voice firing up tentatively. They crow occasionally during the day, but pretty much just about ten minutes between 6 and 6:30 each morning. They seem to crow in response to the rooster they can hear from across the road, but I guess they'd probably crow wheter or not they could hear him. It's really a pleasant sound if you're into that sort of thing. I am, but I'm not so sure about Bill.

This morning I got these great pictures by bribing them with a big slice of watermelon. I put the melon down and sat on the other side of it to get some nice video footage. I was too close to entice them to get into the melon before my patience with the mosquitoes ran out, but I did get these great stills. They are, I think, my best pics of the Sumatras to date. The Phoenix is being her nervous little self hovering in the back, but if you look closely you may see how her comb is just coming in - in which respect she is ahead of the boys, as they are still 'baldies'.

I am looking for a good home for one of the boys, though. Next week I hope to bring in a few hens from Laurie Adams, and I really think that one male is quite enough for 3-5 hens. So if you're looking for a great lawn ornament and alarm clock, one of the Sumatras can be yours - just email me at hogarth@gmail.com. I do want to ensure that he (probably the far one in this picture, but I may change my mind and I could be persuaded to give pick of the pair) goes to a home where there are other chickens to keep him company. You can read about Sumatras here.    ¶ 4:26 PM