Sunday, October 23, 2011

BANTAMS

The last remaining flower in my perennial bed is a fall blooming Anemone. Mythology tells us the anemone sprang up from the blood of Aphrodite's slain lover Adonis. The name "windflower" signifies that the wind blows the petals open and eventually blows the dead petals away. The anemone is a wonderful flower for the fall garden.
My little banty rooster has been a wonderful addition to my flock. I, who was dead set against keeping a rooster, will now eat crow. Oh, he is a looker alright and his Cock- A- Doodle-doo has been practiced to perfection. Banty's enjoy small social groups, one rooster to three hens. Don Juan keeps a protective watch over his ladies making sure their feathers remain intact. Speaking of feathers, there is a new trend in my area anyway, where rooster feathers are in demand. It seems for $35.00 you can have a feather woven into your hair. I happened to notice a sign with the words "get feathered" I had no idea what it meant. You might have guessed by now I am not very trendy. Well, it appears rooster feathers are the new hot "it" item. Let me just say the only ones sporting feathers here at Dog Trot Farm will be my chickens.Loretta is a Mille Fluer, a very sweet and social gal.Josephine is a lilac colored Cochin and is very lady like.Annabelle, a Japanese bantam is the smallest of my bantams. She also happens to be Don Juan's favorite. Bantams lay the sweetest little eggs, three bantam eggs are equivalent to one hen's egg. I have read that bantams can also be raised as meat birds and make a mean chicken cacciatore. Bantams are friendly little birds and quite entertaining, they scurry about the coop yard but know enough to stay out of the way of the older hens making sure no toes are stepped on.Don Juan..guardian of Dog Trot Farm...and proud feather

15 comments:

Jacque. said...

Julie...you share such interesting things! Love this 'getting to know your chickens' post.

jennifer768 said...

Oh my but I so enjoyed meeting your flock! I have bantams and find them to be so much fun.Your chicks are all beautiful!Blessings,Jen

Pamela@ The Sampler Makers Farmhouse said...

What a cute bunch!

Pondside said...

What a sweet flock!
We like to have a rooster but don't keep one anymore. Although we live in the country, our nearest neighbour became very antagonistic about our rooster and we got rid of the rooster to maintain peace. (we have a very scary neighbour!)

Larkrise garden girl said...

What beautiful chickens!

Short Poems said...

Beautiful post...great shots..love your blog!

From Beyond My Kitchen Window said...

He really is handsome. Your girls are lovely as well. I work at an elementary school and there are lots of girls who have feathers woven in their hair. They are usually very bright blue and pink though. Fun post!

Sassafras and Winterberry said...

I'm totally sold on chickens! My plan is to get some in the spring and join the flock of folks keeping their own layers! Love the pictures and the information!!
Have a great week!

Kim said...

He is a handsome fella. I'm glad he is looking after all the ladies at Dog Trot. He does look like the boss perched on top of that stool.

Rebecca said...

What a beautiful rooster (love his name)! I love Anemones also-thanks for the interesting info :)

Janice said...

What a nice looking bunch...especially Don Juan!

Pix said...

Don Juan is very handsome Julie. I am glad he takes his duties seriously.

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

The last of your bloomers is just magnificent. I just returned from a week in Brownsville TX with my MoM and when we pulled into the drive all my flowers are dead. The 27 degree morn' bit 'em hard. It was a sad~sad sight. {{{SIGH}}}

God bless ya and have an extraordinary day sweetie!!!

Hey there, My Delilah said...

haha! its been so long since Ive read your blog! i too have a mille fleur hen and rooste and we LOVE them, theyre the sweetest of my flock. we will be down to visit soon!! youre in my thoughts!!

Leslie said...

They are all so pretty!