Puzzle Grows Up

Backyard Poultry

A Beautiful Rooster

Well, I had better get back to the chickens, since that rooster is growing faster than you can imagine! In this photo, at 10 weeks of age, the white barring is really coming out beautifully. Tail feathers are just starting to grow, and the small comb is still pink.

Protector of the Flock

We were in for a surprise on the morning Puzzle turned 13 weeks old: a squawky er-er-er-er-er! resounded from the henhouse! The rooster was a real crower (up to 6 or 8 times at once, all through the day!). Puzzle also took on the duty of watching over the flock and was always first at the wire to “protect” its hens from intruding fingers with a hard peck!

Watch That Beak!

Here, 15-week-old Puzzle looks proud to be the king of the flock. The bright red comb is almost full size now, and that beak is very sharp—I was cut more than once! Scratch was Puzzle’s favorite treat; I always like the repeated cluck-cluck-cluck the rooster made to call the hens over when we threw some in!