the men of the neighborhood

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Pardon my absence from this space. Things got a little overwhelming over here when my new years resolution of taking on more design work again got a little out of hand and the candle was certainly burning at both ends. Well, in my absence, we got a rooster. Scott came home from the feed store one day and said, ‘there’s a beautiful rooster at Broccos, should we get him?’ We quickly went over all the worst case scenarios, he could be too aggressive with the hens, he could be too aggressive with us, he could rattle the hens so much they’d stop laying etc… In the end we took a chance, found a big box and went to rescue the poor guy. On the drive home we named him Francesco. A little Italian love for our fair hens. He’s a Golden Lacewing Wyandotte.
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Turns out he’s a dear. He follows Scott all over the yard. In a dog-like way, not an ‘I want to peck your eyes out’ way (as our former rooster did). The hens don’t seem too put out by his presence, we’re still getting eggs. But what’s that you see over his head? That’s Mr. Peacock. He lives next door. He’s been our resident rooster since we’ve moved in. He comes over everyday to check on the ladies and makes sure everything’s all right. We sometimes let them out during the day to roam around and it unnerves poor Mr. P., he likes to see them all herded together and preferably in their coop. He’s not mean about it, he just likes things to be the way they should be.
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When we tell people we have a peacock next door they usually make a comment like, ‘oh they are so loud.’ Yes, I suppose he can be loud, but we don’t mind the noise one bit. We love this guy. He wasn’t too sure about us for a long time, but now I think he’s warming up to us. He’s been spending a lot of time over here now that we’ve got Francesco. Trying to figure out where his spot is in the pecking order, I suppose.
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Isn’t he gorgeous?
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Well, rest assured Mr. P is still at the top of the pecking order. The other day I saw him take a literal peck right on Francesco’s rump which made him jump about a foot in the air. It had me laughing for a good long time. It’s a good thing to keep a rooster humble.

Cockadoodledo!

Comments

  1. says

    We had a pair of Peacocks.. Elvis and Lisa Marie.. we loved them.. I have many fond memories of them flying up to the top of our tall TV antennae and it weaving back and forth as they figured out who was going to be on the highest part..we had our own NBC peacocks! And the HELP! HELP! yell.. oh I loved it.. especially when they warned us of coyotes encroaching on the yard! P.S. Sorry I cannot relate good stories about our rooster.. Black Bart.. he met an untimely end when he attacked me one time too many…

  2. Jennie says

    I’m glad you found a nice rooster! I remember many, many mean ones that turned into soup.

    We had a peacock growing up – it must have escaped from somewhere else, because it just showed up one day. We didn’t mind the noise either, and nothing was cooler than collecting those tail feathers!

  3. KimH says

    They’re both beautiful! I grew up with birds around the corner & at my aunts house, and in-laws house. I loved them except for the geese & ducks. They bit my butt one too many times when I was a little kid.. I have no love for them.. but chickens, roosters, & peacocks.. ♥

  4. Jennifer says

    You have such a way with your images and words. I always feel uplifted and happy when your news comes my way. Thanks for that 😀

    By the way what is your first name?

  5. says

    A Golden Lacewing Wyandotte. Beautiful. I have a blue wyandotte named Tiny that I love and he loves me. He does not, however, love my husband. He loves me and he loves his 7 hens. Roosters are good to have. They keep order. I’m glad to hear introductions went well. We have a guinea fowl that adopted us and that bird is loud, not unlike a peacock, she’s just not as jaw droppingly beautiful.

  6. tameka says

    Oh so handsome! I can’t wait to get chickens… never thought about peafowl, hmmm. I used to be a zookeeper and took care of some farm animals, in addition to the wild animals. Although I loved the animals, I wasn’t so crazy about the job. However now, I sorta miss being in the presence of the critters.

  7. says

    Beautiful pictures! Growing up, we also had chickens, and my brothers had “pet” roosters when they were young. They were quite tame – one even got in the pool and rode the surfboard around!

  8. Lisa says

    love your pics and love those peacocks! during the fires in 2009 a pair of peacocks mysteriously arrived in my backyard…they stayed about an hour and i watched fascinated. they came back frequently and then stopped. later, they came back with their FOUR babies! they liked to eat my flowers, especially fuscias although when i would go out and talk to them and ask them to stop they would. the last day that i was in my home, ( it was foreclosed) the male came to visit. i heard a noise and he was standing on the stone foyer just outside my front door looking through the open door. i thanked him for the memories and said good-bye.

  9. says

    Back in the ’70’s I had myself an adventure and moved to Sonoma. It was beautiful. Then we moved to El Cerrito (sp). These 2 Iowa farm girls were scared half to death – the neighbor lady was screaming all night. Was her husband beating her? or what? We kept the doors locked tight. What a laugh we had when we figured out it was the neighbors peacocks screaming.

  10. says

    Francesco is beautiful (or should I say handsome!) can’t wait to meet him. LOVE that Mr. P is hanging out – he is so gorgeous! Maybe Scott has finally got himself his dog he’s wanted (i.e. Francesco!) Such beautiful photos :)

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