Since this is my one day off this week till the 4th, I decided to spend it my way. I enjoyed a big cup of coffee after I woke up at 3 and sat on the porch to watch my colorful flock in the yard. It was such a pleasure to look out at the expanse of front lawn and see dots of gold, black and white moving around in the grass. The chooks found lots of worms and other insects after yet another series of afternoon rain showers. I am amazed at their keen eyesight. They find the tiniest of bugs!I did a bit of weeding in the driveway and around the flower beds, all the while keeping a close watch for any naughty chickens that would dare try to dig in my landscaping. They are relentless!
Rocky has been home the past 3 days and nights. We've had a lot of storms lately and Jim wants to keep him until tomorrow morning. He has been a lot of fun for us, playing squirrel games and just being cute in general. We love to watch him eat and groom himself. Incidentally, squirrels are very clean creatures and groom themselves about as much as cats do...just much faster! We gave Rocky some grapes and enjoyed watching him lick, lick, lick, then CHOMP! Jim took the above photo with his cell phone. Rocky had been playing and running around in the shop and plopped down on the work bench, tuckered out! He looks a little like road kill doesn't he? He seems very happy to be home with us and is one spoiled little squirrel!
After the chooks came into the coop for the night, I checked leg bands on some of the larger birds to make sure none of them were tight fitting. Just for kicks, I decided to weigh some of my birds to get an idea of how big they are at 11 weeks. Here are the results:
- Roo - Barred Rock rooster, largest bird - 3.75 lb
- Betty - Barred Rock pullet, one of the smallest - 2 lb 1 oz
- Poppy - Australorp pullet, largest pullet - 3 lb
- Rudy - Buff Orpington rooster - 2.7 lb
Yes, I'm easily entertained.
I can't tell you how much I love your Rocky stories. I've never thought of a squirrel as a pet before and it seems like he almost has more personality than he can possibly fit in that tiny body. Absolutely adorable.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a lovely day doing things YOU wanted to do!
Danni, I never thought of a squirrel as a pet either. It took me a while to get used to being around a squirrel. Rocky's nervous, alert behavior isn't anything like what I had seen before and it made me a bit nervous around him. Now I know that he isn't going to bite me or claw my face, so I can relax around him more. I absolutely love to hold him and squeeze his plump little body. When he's sleepy, he tolerates being cuddled. When he's wide awake, fuggedaboutit!
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy to see Rocky back home safe and sound. He looks like a teenager crashing back at home after a weekend of heavy partying! I wonder if he has a girlfriend!!!???
ReplyDeleteMare, so far we haven't seen signs of a squirrel-friend. Mating season for squirrels is winter time, so we will be keeping an eye out for activity then. We told him that when he finds the squirrel of his dreams that he has to bring her home to meet our approval. Of course, no squirrel will be good enough for him in our eyes!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of weighing the chooks. Now I am going to have to go and do that. Mine are a bit jumpy tho. Hmm, I'll try it and come back here if I have results to share. My group is 12 weeks old. My meat birds were butchered at seven weeks and weighed between 4 and 7 pounds dressed! Fat boys
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your Rocky updates, he is really cool. I am always telling my husband about him. We could never have a Rocky cause our cats would not have that. Your birds are getting big! Have a nice week, Kim
ReplyDeleteDon, did you butcher the meat birds or did you hire someone else to do it. It sounds like a daunting task. I dunno...
ReplyDeleteKim, the cats wouldn't dare mess with the squirly-whirly furry blender! It would be a terrible mistake on their part. The younger tom cat likes to chase him, but does not EVER get close enough to catch him. Rocky is just too quick.