But then, from out of the west, came a bold hero, a champion! The flock’s savior had arrived! Who was that masked man, I mean barred rooster? He became known as Big Daddy Dommer!
Here is Dommer's handsome profile.
Our current chicken story began on a sunny day in May when a friend from down the road brought us six game hens and one game rooster. (This was from a particular line that had produced losses at the chicken fights. We do not appreciate chicken fights but they are very popular around here, and we were happy to get the chickens.) We were not interested in the fights but figured that they should be able to give us nice farm fresh eggs. And they did at first! They laid 75 eggs between May 24 and June 19 and they stayed in the coop pretty good! Since we were having such good success, we decided to take another hen and 13 more pullets from those same friends. We did not know at the time that it would be a big mistake!
So, the Pure Water Hollow flock started out with 21 head that fateful summer of 2004. Unfortunately, the new pullets and hen never got along with the first six. They turned crazy and they all decided to fly the coop! Literally! Not even the original six were staying in the lot anymore. The rooster fought with the pullets and they fought with each other and the hens started fighting each other and the pullets. Things were not happy on this chicken farm and we had no idea what to do. We went out night after night to try to get the chickens out of the trees and put them in the coop. We could usually get some but not all.
Throughout July and August and September the flock gradually dwindled down as the wild animals picked them off one by one. The silly rooster was one of the first to disappear. We got some eggs during this time but nothing regular and they sure did not want to lay in the nests we provided. We had to hunt for their nests, which was not fun. These game hens were so crazy that we actually found an egg once in a tree wedged between two branches! What kind of chickens lay eggs up in trees? We had gotten tired of fooling with them and decided that we would start again sometime in the future with a more tame breed.
By October the flock was down to only 4 wild, crazy hens.
That was when a mysterious stranger from over the mountain rode into town. He was big and stocky, with a muscular build, making two of our old game rooster. He called for the hens and they gladly followed their new leader. He was black and white barred and we thought he looked a lot like the pictures of the Dominique breed of chickens. He does not have the rose shaped comb but he sure looks like the pictures besides that. I guess he is just a common farm chicken but the children named him “Dommer” after "Dominique" anyway. We didn’t know at the time that he would stay around and become our miracle rooster. We just let him roost in the trees with those wild game hens at first.
One of the hens got hit in the road but the other three survived the winter and Dommer stayed with them the whole time. We just let them be wild chickens and did not even try to keep them in the coop. I don’t know for sure if Dommer was actually keeping the wild animals away but it seemed like it.
Then in the spring of 2005 we noticed baby chicks running all around with the game hens! (Everyone calls them bitties around here.) We got to counting them and found that each of the three hens hatched 10 or 11 for a total of 31 bitties! Sadly, we were not in the best position to care for them and I guess they were too many for Big Daddy Dommer to keep up with. Only 18 of them survived, 10 pullets and 8 cockerels, and every one of them are barred and look like Dommer!
On May 28, 2005 we built a better more secure lot to keep them in and this time it worked! It seemed that Dommer liked the coop and promptly ordered his flock to their new roosts. The chickens all go into the coop voluntarily now, following Dommer’s lead, and they stay in the lot if we keep it closed!
Most every afternoon we let them out to pick through the grass and find dust baths and then they all go to the coop when they are ready to roost. By winter, the 10 pullets had turned into fine layers and the 3 game hens began laying again too. (Before the fall was over the 8 cockerels provided good food for the table and freezer!)
Throughout 2006 we had good success with our egg production. I started to copy the totals for each month here in this post, but decided that it would have made some boring reading so I’ll just give you the grand total: 874 eggs from January 1st to August 31st! We thought that was pretty good considering that not all of them were laying at the beginning of the year and the most hens we had was 13. Plus, through the spring, many of them went to setting and quit laying eggs. Sadly it was a rough summer with the wild animals and a dog and we lost 4 hens and many more new bitties. (one small dog can kill a mama and 15 bitties in just a couple of minutes)
We now have 9 mature hens and 11 new pullets (all look like Big Daddy) that have not started laying yet. And we still have Big Daddy Dommer looking after them all. We are thankful for what the Lord has provided for us and I now enjoy taking care of the Pure Water Hollow flock of chickens.
Now you know the story of how a mysterious rooster named Big Daddy Dommer saved the Pure Water Hollow chicken flock! It is the stuff legends are made of that I’m sure we will remember long after Big Daddy has moved on…
This has gotten rather long so I will save the question that I had on my mind for a later post...
3 comments
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Crooked Creek Farm on September 26, 2006 at 7:44 am
that's a lotta eggs! We're still waiting for the 30 new hens we got this spring, as chicks, to start laying. Our older hens are slacking, too.
That's pretty cool, that a rooster would just show up and start taking care of your hens!
Thanks for your comment,
I'll have some new posts up soon!
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Renee on September 26, 2006 at 4:57 pm
Hello!
I thought we knew you all so well and now I am getting to know the other-side of you. I feel guilty that I didn't know about your chicken's and your rooster. We need to talk more! We need time together without holiday's and such. It' s sad to have to learn about your new found hobbies and your name for your land from a blog…. We Love you all!! Please keep writing so we get to know you all a little bit better:)
Renee
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The Unlikely Homesteader on May 9, 2007 at 10:20 am
You need to post a comment on the chicken contest and enter. I just love reading everyone's chicken stories!
~Nancy
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