Tag: rooster

The Perfect Thank You Gift For Chicken Babysitting

Chickens, DIY, Worth The Money

Any Homesteader can tell you that finding someone to care for your livestock is not the same as finding someone to feed your fish while you are gone. The sheer logistics alone can be a nightmare, much less the specialized knowledge of how to find where the broody hen keeps hiding her eggs. While recovering from a broken leg I realized that winter would catch me before I could build a winter coop out on my farm in the next town.

I could probably sneak a few hens into my subdivision, but the surprise Rooster in my flock would jeopardize the whole mission. This is the moment the Homesteader’s Hero enters the scene. My Homestead Hero is Amy. Amy is a force of nature who at one point had a huge garden, Southdown Baby Doll Sheep, Laying Hens, Cow Dogs, Cats and would can up a batch of peaches on a whim! Amy rose to the challenge of caring for the extra hens and noisy rooster like a champ.

What can you give such a brave soul? A fancy advent calendar was a fantastic idea; but…they sell out within just a few days of hitting the stores. What about creating an advent calendar of our own that let’s my Homestead Hero know how much I appreciate the support in my Homesteading Adventure? Yeah, that might work!

What you need is a way to give something useful to your Homestead Hero while also letting them know how very special they are to you. We could have just bought a cute kit to fill, but I decided to take it one step further. It took a little while and some driving around, but we located 24 little ‘surprises’, wrapped them all different and numbered them. After the monotony of 2020, my Hero really enjoyed it. Just an idea for next time you need to thank someone special.

Brass Egg™ participates in affiliate marketing programs, and may receive compensation when you click and purchase from links to retailers. Brass Egg™ of Russell Holdings Group, LLC 2021. All content ©2021 Russell Illinois Holdings, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Our Surprise Rooster

Dealing With a Surprise Rooster

Chickens

When it became obvious that we had a rooster I hastily built a chicken shanty (calling it a coop would be a dishonest spin on this huge ugly thing I wired together) and moved the whole flock out to the land we hope someday to build a home on. A barn was under construction near the chickens and I visited them everyday. Then I broke my leg and wasn’t able to build any appropriate winter housing for Sunny.

Sunny is the original rooster requiring a ransom. Sunny was a “Surprise Rooster” who got mixed up in a clutch of little chicks that was supposed to be all laying hens. We debated for months as they grew up if we had some roosters in the batch. Some of our hens are quite aggressive, and Sunny was so sweet we didn’t suspect him. We’ve since learned that if a Plymouth Barred Rock chick has a large defined yellow spot on the head it is probably a roo. You can see the big yellow spot that earned Sunny his name in the photo below.

Although I could smuggle my laying hens past the HOA (at least so far so good), a crowing rooster would surely blow the whole covert operation. A good friend came to my rescue and took our Rooster in for the winter. The hunt began for an appropriate gift…but I struggled to find the elusive “Wine Advent Calendar” she so badly wanted. So, I designed and printed out a special label for several larger bottles to let her know how grateful I was. I wasn’t quite satisfied though, and almost bought a quick solution to fill and gift, but decided to go a few steps further (cause she really saved our bacon). This gift hunt made me think about how important it is for us to thank the rare Homesteading Heroes we know who help us out with this somewhat odd hobby. I also realized how different the wish list of a homesteader or chicken enthusiast is. I love to encourage people to pursue self-reliance…and we might as well enjoy it.

Brass Egg™ participates in affiliate marketing programs, and may receive compensation when you click and purchase from links to retailers. Brass Egg™ of Russell Holdings Group, LLC 2021. All content ©2021 Russell Illinois Holdings, LLC. All Rights Reserved.