Mr. Randy and His Ladies

Not to say “I told you so” but… Mr. Randy Rooster has definitely declared himself. He is crowing to beat all records. Over and over he is announcing his delight that he’s the only guy in the coop. The ladies seem resigned. They ruffle their feathers with some show of indignation after each of his amorous advances but continue to forage contentedly alongside him, no matter what. “Boys will be boys,” they seem to say.

Randy – Farmer Nyel does not think that’s a suitable name, but hasn’t come up with another – like his three sisters is, presumably, a Red Star sex-linked hybrid chicken. That means that Red Stars have been selectively bred (in this case to meet the industry demand for more eggs) and have a Rhode Island White father and a Rhode Island Red mother. The fluffy yellow offspring grow up to be red if they are girls, white if they are boys and, by the time they are teenagers (pullets) and have their grown-up feathers, you can tell who’ll be putting breakfast on your table. Supposedly.

Ameraucana, Ameraucana, Red Star

We bought four Red Star pullets, assured by the seller that they were sex-linked and therefore a sure bet. But something has gone very wrong.  Cock-a-doodle-doo!  Come to find out, if sex-linked chickens are bred, there is no color guarantee with the offspring. They revert to type (or something like that).   We seem to have second generation designer chickens.

On the distaff side, though,  one of the young Red Stars has begun to lay. They are teeny tiny eggs when compared to the normal-sized eggs of our two mature Ameraucanas. Nyel thinks that they will be bigger when she gets the hang of things. But then, Farmer Nyel (along with a number of other backyard chicken aficionado friends) also thought Mr. Randy was just growing faster than the other girls…