Being that productive does have it's draw backs. Most profuse producers only do so for 2 years and then decline into an expensive food-to-poop machine that eats a LOT.
Here's a couple of picture of the rooster. Talk about a waste of feed. He serves nearly no purpose other than looking pretty. No, I take that back. He did pace the fence and follow the basenji as she paced outside the fence. I think he would defend the girls, or more likely, die trying. And he would certainly be a babydaddy if given the opportunity.
We let the lab-mix into the chicken run with us. She is no threat to the birds, only their turds. Both dogs LOVE the chicken droppings. I usually have to say "leave it" every few seconds to keep her from eating a third of them. Interestingly, both dogs are also a little afraid of the chickens.
Chickens PECK! usually at the nose.
This photo shows Betty in her most sweet face. She would normally be looking at the camera in attention - ears up, brow wrinkled. In this picture she is actually very concerned about the chickens in the background. "They're not going to peck my tail, are they?"
This is one of the Silver Laced Wyandottes - Cagney. She is very shy with me, but wouldn't hesitate to peck the dogs if they linger too close outside the fence.
Next roll of film will tell more.
Maybe we'll have eggs; they sometimes start laying at around 4 1/2 months and we are over 3 months now.
