Nine Roosters, and Rising

The birds spent the whole day in front of the lens and clearly knew it. From first light — a reddish-brown rooster on the perch at 06:48, a white one with his tail fully fanned at 06:57 — through a midday of pecking and fluffing on the wood chips, to a busy evening around the waterer, the flock kept walking up and staring straight down the barrel. The 17:32–18:56 stretch was the richest: a speckled hen on the purple tray, a rich brown hen, two barred hens back to back, and a white rooster holding the tray like a stage. Turkeys shared the pen in the late-afternoon frames. 23,436 frames across the farm.

Behind the scenes, the roster caught up with reality. Four new roosters were named and photographed — Malt Liquor (Old English Game, Black-Breasted Red), Hawk Food, White Rooster, and the calico Loud Dumb Bird — and Ravenessa and Quasibirdo were confirmed male, Ravenessa becoming Ravenello. That puts the count at nine confirmed active roosters. Birdimir (13 weeks) and Birdthazar (16 weeks) stay unconfirmed until about 18 weeks. Henridotta, Ingebird, and Birddor all got fresh portraits.

-Bubba