Tuesday 8 March 2011

The new arrival.




At 9.15am a new member of the family arrived on the farm. His name is Maximillian - Max for short - and he is a Buff Orpington cockerel. A friend of a friend bred him and needed a good home.

The farmer put him into the hen house with ' the girls' - he immediately played hard to get and began to scratch in the straw for corn. They all crowded together and watched him. In an hour or so we shall let them out into the field and hopefully he will keep them all together. It is lovely to have a cockerel again and now it gives me incentive to do up the little hen house in the garden so that if a hen goes broody we may get some chicks. (not that the farmer really likes the idea all that much - too many cockerels and he doesn't like killing them!)

On my way back into the house I spotted this beautiful moth on the North facing wall of our house. I am not sure whether it will survive the cold as no sun gets round that side - but isn't it a beauty?

On the subject of the coin. My friend tells me it is George III and the date is probably around 1730 - so quite an exciting find although not worth anything ni monetary terms as it is in poor condition. Not that I would want to sell it anyway - it has gone into my box of treasures.

Off to the supermarket now to do our weekly shopping. Have a lovely day.

20 comments:

mrsnesbitt said...

Oh wonderful - and I AM first to comment! Wonderful choice of name too - my devoted German Shepherd was a Max! Well done! Dxxxxx

jeanette from everton terrace said...

I agree, good name. How exciting to think of that coin being around for hundreds of years!

Titus said...

Ooh, I love cockerels Weaver; two strut around by the saw mill up here and they are such a pleasure to see.
Very impressed with Max: he's extremely handsome.

Tess Kincaid said...

1730? That's incredible! (Max is so handsome.)

angryparsnip said...

Since I know nothing about chickens other than I think they are fascinating especially after reading my favorite book "Still Life With Chickens" I like when you and "mrsnesbit" write about your chickens.
Hers are a hoot !
Max is indeed very handsome playing hard to get... bad boy !

When you said "we shall let them out into the field and hopefully he will keep them all together" do he keep a lookout for danger or does he herd them like a dog ? I thought chickens moseyed around looking for stuff to eat?

Great post today !

cheers, parsnip

Heather said...

Maximillian Buff-Orpington, he must surely be an aristocrat! He is very handsome and sure to settle in with his ladies. The moth is beautiful, though I don't like it when they flap about around my head on summer nights when the window is open and I'm reading in bed! A George III coin is pretty special even if not valuable - glad you are treasuring it. We are shopping tomorrow.

Hildred said...

Max is certainly a dashing addition to the hen house and I'm sure will keep all the girls on their toes.

Interesting info about the coin, - what a treasure!

Lori at Jarvis House said...

Love the new Cockerel. He will do the job well. Chickens are on the Gardiner Farm near my home, which is run by the Greenlawn-Centerport Historical Association. I love thei chickens there. They lay eggs, stay close to home and sometimes we find new birds that have been dropped off by neighbors. I guess they know that we will also take good care of their former pets. They also eat a lot of the pesky bugs in the farmyard.

Rusty said...

About 1730? Can you imagine what stories that coin could tell? What history it may have seen, what palms it passed through...I wonder how long the person who lost it went looking. What hardshipit's loss may have caused. If only it could talk. (Grin). ATB!

Cloudia said...

Nice post.

Exciting that the land has given you a coin!



Aloha from Hawaii


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Bernie said...

Beautiful bird. My mom used to raise chickens during the depression. She always bought Rhode Island Reds as chicks and we ate the young roosters and the three or four hens she kept in the railroad spur behind our house. She would pick them up and pet them and every morning she would go out and get the eggs--just two or three jubilant with her harvest!

Pondside said...

I miss our rooster, but our horrible neighbour (who moved to the country and built a house and then decided that he disliked most things country) protested and we had to do the deed or risk his wrath.

Anonymous said...

Your rooster is gorgeous! I hope you get some darling chicks this spring. Keeping my fingers crossed for a straight run for you. You have a lovely blog here.

Anonymous said...

Your cockerel is a regal looking bird. He will definitely rule the roost, I am sure.
That coin is an amazing find! Imagine the stories it could tell.

The Weaver of Grass said...

He seems to have settled in well and is already roaming the fields in charge of his ladies.

John Going Gently said...

he's a beauty!
funnily enough I am looking for a buff cockerel, my last one died last year!

Dartford Warbler said...

What a fine bird he is. Lucky hens!

There is something so fascinating about old coins. If only it could tell you what it has bought and sold, and in whose pockets it has travelled.

Gwil W said...

I hope he doesn't wake everybody too early. Or is he more the smouldering silent type. I'm very impressed with your Dominic's latest exploit by the way.

Dave King said...

Superb. Of course he played ard to get, he was embarrassed by that bevy of beauties.

Crafty Green Poet said...

Max is very handsome!