You may remember that back in March we got a shipment of Indian Runner ducklings - and the consciencious poultry company also sent along 9 roosters for warmth.
Well, three of those little guys decided they could swim - and then there were 6.
One of the roosters turned out to be a beautiful hen, a Wyandotte with beautiful feathers ( pictured above) .
The other five roosters are now teenagers. And their initial promise, to keep the duckling girls warm has taken on, well a whole other meaning.
The grown hens we have outweigh these boys by a couple of pounds - which is a lot when you only weight 6 pounds. They have been able to seduce the little cochin hens, who are only about a pound or two. The cochins are setting eggs, indicating that they think there are babies in those eggs, so I think the Wyandotte charm has worked.
But the real drama, is their interest in the ducks. See, when a hen defends herself, she has claws and a pretty sharp beak. Anyone who watched Pokemon, knows that the scratch attack isn't much to fear from a duck.
So those teenage rooster hormones are resulting in my ducks being.... well, worn out. I can picture them saying - I don't like this kind of warmth, I don't like this kind of warmth.
The plan is to move three of the roosters to a friends house - where they will be paired off. Cogburn and Leghorn, will have to stay, and that should even out the numbers a bit.
But the roosters included for warmth, aren't all they are quacked up to be.
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