Our New Boy

It's official...we have a new rooster! He's big and gorgeous, a young Black Australorp who hasn't yet grown his spurs. He seems twice the size of most of our hens, but also seems pretty mellow and gentle, very curious, and elusive. I wanted to check on him, so I walked to the run and peeked in; he was in the coop. I walked into the barn stealthily (as much as I could in my cheap hot pink Croc knock-offs) and peeked in the coop; he was outside in the run. He must be able to read my mind.

We got him Sunday afternoon and rather than quarantine him for several days like I have read I should, I let him out in the big coop while the girls were roaming outside. He came out eventually and met everyone, then cruised around the barn (all the way around) in his rooster way, digging and scratching and generally doing whatever he wanted.

His introduction to Dolores and Eleanor, the Black Australorp hens, went something like this.
D (or E, they look the same): "Who the H-E-Double-Toothpicks do you think you are?"
Roo: "I'm me. Duh."
D (E): "Get the H-E-Double-Toothpicks out of here, or I'm going to fly up and kick you!"
Roo: "Oh, yeah? I'll kick you back!"
(Raised feathers and flapping and jumping and kicking commences. D or E backs off and comes running over to me, "Help me, help me!")

Part 2.
E (or D, whichever one isn't pretending to be "eating" now over by me): "I saw that. And I don't like it. I'm going to kick your stinky boy butt."
Roo: "Hiiiiyaaa! Pow, kapow, I kick you back!"
(More raised feathers and flapping and jumping and kicking. Only E (or D) comes back for more THREE MORE TIMES!)

I think by the end of it there was a sort of truce, or an understanding, or something. Maybe they decided to duke it out when I'm not watching. I do know that when I peeked on everyone last night, Mr. Roo (who may be named Brewster the Rooster, haven't yet decided) was bedded down under the roost. Apparently he doesn't have enough gusto to assert his proper place up there with the ladies. Yet.

I'll post photos when I can...I'm finding it hard to get a picture that actually does him justice. If you'd like to see what a Black Australorp looks like (pretty much identical to Brewster), look here: http://tinyurl.com/6gcw47