i'm sooo giddy today! i got to hear my Spicey Boi crow! such a nice, baritone sound to him and nearly clear notes. it sounds like he's been practicing for some time and i just haven't heard him go through that croaking phase most young roos go through.
i love my rooster too. he's a great big black australorp. i had no idea they got so big. he's a beauty. i need more girls for him though. all four girls have bare spots on their backs. it doesn't look like meanness to me - it's just he's big. a hawk hit one of my girls (she lost alot of feathers in that event), but charlie jumped up & tangled w/the hawk. saved her life. he's such a guardian. he has never offered to go after me yet (he's a year old). the way he looks at me sometimes i get the feeling he's giving it serious thought. i'm ready.
i was very wary of having a rooster and thought i would be sorry - but now, i can't imagine not having one.
i like that quote earlier "he rules the roost and i rule the rooster". lol that says it all.
i don't get how the saddles are attached. how do they stay on? can feathers re-grow underneath? do they have to be removed & cleaned frequently? is there anything in them to get tangled w/the rooster's feet?
i really do need to do something
they have little bands, usually elastic that go around the wings. usually they snap on so you don't have to try and slip it over the wings. i have noticed one issue, when the hens go to clean their feathers they try to get under the saddle. if you don't have a huge amount of time to make the saddles you can also buy them either through BYC website or i have also found the same ones listed on ebay.
the roo shouldn't have much of an issue with the saddles. it might lessen his advances on the girls because he can't grasp them as well as he used to. i don't recommend getting any that have red on them. it might cause the other birds to pick on the girl. you can take them off and put them through the washer with no issues, if you use the dryer put it on a low setting so it doesn't dry out the elastic bands. i never noticed having to take them off too much before the feathers grew back, so washing is usually when they are done with it's use.