Hendrik, Silverback and Stevie

Hendrik hatched out of his egg in an incubator in the Netherlands. He was still a chick when we saw his photo on the Internet. He and his 3 sisters were looking for a new home.  An agreement was soon reached and we set off on a cold Winter’s day. The car was fully laden with boxes and cages for not only Hendrik and his sisters, but their 3 aunties too.

It was a long trip: about 12 hours including feeding and watering stops. On arrival, relieved but also a bit awkwardly they left their cages to explore their new temporary accommodation, separate from our chickens, for a couple of weeks.

The arrival of six ladies didn’t go unnoticed.  Our cockerel Stevie soon had an eye for them  and became inseparable from them. This was heavy competition for Hendrik, but he was unfazed. His eye had already fallen on our Coucou de Rennes.

Hendrik is an Araucana cockerel.

Hendrik  Date of birth: 10 August 2007

Silverback came here on a rainy afternoon in March 2007.  We were looking for a couple of Silky hens.  We already had plenty of cockerels. But he was so handsome, we couldn't resist him. After agreeing that we could return him if we would have had problems with the other cockerels, he joined his two Pompom girls in the box in the car.

Adding an older cockerel is not always easy.  So we introduced Silverback slowly to our bunch. The first couple of weeks they stayed in quarantine in a dog cage in the kitchen. When they  appeared to be healthy we made a little run so that they could go outside.

In the beginning, our own cockerels were very curious but their interest in Silverback faded fast.  It was time.  Silverback and his Pompom girls were given their freedom. There has never been a serious fight and every cockerel knows his place.

Silverback and his Pompomgirls have stayed together while now and then another hen joins their group.

Silverback is a Silky cross. 

Silverback   Date of birth:  2005

Stevie was in love with his Hamburg called Hannah. They came here together, when they were still young. They always clung to each other, just like a couple in love. Because Stevie had such long feathers in front of his eyes his boss decided to join  them together with an elastic band. Hannah loved that. At last she could see his beautiful eyes. 

The day that Hannah died was a sad day for Stevie. All of a sudden he sat alone on his perch. Fortunately he had the new Ameraucana's to cuddle up to at night.

But also his boss missed Hannah a lot.  So one day, there she came: a new little Hannah. When little Hannah grew up, again Stevie fell in love. Little Hannah is even prettier then Hannah. She is not always faithful, but most of the time she’s to be seen with Stevie.

Moral of this tale: external beauty may not be important. However, cockerels beg to differ. ;)

Stevie is a Houdan. The Houdan is one of the oldest of the French breeds and was named after the town of Houdan. They are large, heavy looking birds and have a bold, active character. They need a lot of space and are very talkative.

Stevie   Date of birth:  May 2007