Today I posted in a chicken group asking for identification on the chickens we've got. How do I know if we have hens or roosters, if nobody is crowing, and only one has laid an egg? Well, the results surprised me a bit. I admit I'm a little disappointed, but I will take it as a part of the poultry learning curve.
Yes, I know that hens will lay eggs without a rooster. I've heard that having a rooster helps to keep the hens safer from predators. I don't know how true this is, but that silver guy is the biggest chicken in the coop, and if someone could scare away a predator, I'm hoping he'd be the rooster for the job.
Last night after putting Josh (the goose), and the ducks (Leonardo and Tweak) in the barn for the night, I released the two new ducks. They were alone together all night, and this morning they seemed to have worked everything out. Josh still nips at the new ducks here and there, but I think for the most part they're integrating well. The new ducks keep a little distance from Josh, but if he was pinching me, I'd keep some distance too.
I still have no idea what kind either of them are. I opened the garage door and left the gate closed, and neither made any attempt to fly over the fence, so I don't know if they can fly or not. Tomorrow will be the big moment of truth when we let all of them out together and hope the two new ones stay.
#5 has decided to name the new ones after more Octonaut characters. I'd like to introduce Dashi (brown female) and Captain Barnacles (with the blue patch on the wing).