Aw, but little man is so cute ! I'd have to put out a little shelter for him, then I'd plant extra crops right next to his shelter, then a little rambling stream so he could have fresh water, then I'd reinforce my soil a bit to provide nice safe burrows for him and before long my back yard would turn into McGregor's home for wayward wabbits.

Thanks Violet, I would love to go but is too far away for this ole girl. I'm really glad to see you back. vickie

Awwww. That sounds like so much fun, knittlin. And aren't Yummykaz's girls beautiful! I haven't yet begun my own chicken family, but hope to soon. Like so many would-be urban farmers (although now I'm getting countrified in my rural home) I'm a bit uneducated about it all still, so do need to attend one of the many classes offered or just read up on it on the internet or in a book. Of course I learn best by actually DOING, so don't expect to understand it all before I start. But, for instance, I don't know whether ALL eggs laid are fertile or just some of them potentially could hatch chicks. How can you tell which are fertile and which are not? And if hens don't require a rooster in order to produce eggs, then what IS the rooster's function? I love the internet! I googled 'backyard chickens' and found these great looking sites on how to raise backyard chickens. And there are many, many more. Some even get into the economics of selling some of the eggs at a farmer's market, etc. Jane's Backyard Chickens http://www.janesbackyardchickens.com/ BackyardChickens.com http://www.backyardchickens.com / _________________________________________________________ P.S. - In answer to my questions above (about the function of roosters and egg fertility) I found this info online: -- Hens lay eggs, whether or not there is a male around to fertilize the egg. Most of the eggs purchased at the store are unfertilized. Without a rooster, none of your eggs will develop into chicks. -- -- After a couple of years of trial and error we've settled on 8 hens and 2 roosters as the right sized flock for our household. The two roosters are important. While you don't need roosters for hens to lay eggs, they provide an important role in the social structure of the flock, and if you don't provide a rooster, one of the hens will stop laying, and start acting like one! Again, a commercial operation would cull her, and cull the next one that did it, on down the line. But we like our roosters, they're colorful and have neat personalities. Our roosters have defended the flocks from dogs, led them to safety in a storm, and are downright colorful little personalities. However, they do crow. Loudly, and with style. Something which might not be appreciated by your neighbors. We treat our roosters like pets, and our pet roosters stick around for quite a while. -- __________________________________________________________ And here's one more great looking site - Here is a link that might be useful: Urban Chickens

This is a good outcome. Sadly, his son has already learned the father's bad habits, he has to live with his father every day. This won't matter much to the son except that he can't play hockey now. That will be a disappointment, he may eventually (though not likely) understand how his father was at fault. It's good for the team, the stress is gone, now they can get on with playing hockey and having a good time.