Duskie the Chochin Frizzle Hen

Hey Everybody! It's time for the National Peanut Festival again! Hope everyone has a great time. Wear your warm clothes. The weather is changing tomorrow.

I'm making an update on this old blog from many years ago and I'm sending it to you again. Dalton has grown up and graduated from High School now and he is not in the business of chickens any more. But he was a most adorable and enthusiastic chicken producer in 2011.

From an article published in Earth and Life Magazine. The young man featured, in the article "Duskey the Cochin Frizzle Hen", is Dalton Andress. Dalton is a cousin from the Holland family and lives on a nearby farm in Big Creek. He's a brilliant young man, very responsible and caring and has a bright future ahead of him. We are all very proud of you, Dalton.

Duskie, the Cochin Frizzle Hen

 Dalton Andress is not your typical eleven year old. Instead of the typical pre teen interest, of sports and video games, Dalton is busy raising prize winning poultry. I visited Dalton during the National Peanut Festival in Dothan. Dalton entered two silver Seabright chickens, a pearl Guinea and a Cochin “Frizzle” hen, named “Duskie”, in the Peanut Festival  Poultry Show. This was Duskie’s second year to compete in the Poultry Show.

"Duskie" the Cochin Frizzle Hen

Dalton Andress during National Peanut Festival November 2011
with his prize winning seabrights, cochin frizzle hen and pearl quinea

Cochin “Frizzle” chickens are a very popular exhibition chicken due to their unusual appearance. Frizzles have feathers on their legs, and their feathers turn up instead of lying flat like other chickens.

I asked Dalton why he chose to raise frizzles and he said he thought they were interesting and very approachable chickens. Dalton spends about 15 minutes every morning before school making sure his chickens have water and food. In the afternoons he spends time cleaning, feeding and watering, gathering eggs and maintaining his coupes. 

I learned a lot in a very short time about chickens. Dalton explained that the color of the chicken’s ear lobe is an indication of the color their egg will be. I also learned the life span of most chickens is short. 3 to 4 years is the maximum life expectancy for most. Hens will lay about 250 eggs in a lifetime. Duskie, pictured above is two years old and has laid about 200 eggs so far.

Dalton said this will probably be Duskie’s last show due to her age. She took home the first place blue ribbon in the 2011 National Peanut Festival Poultry Show in the feather legged bantam class. The two silver seabrights and the pearl guinea also took home first place ribbons for their respective class. Dalton was awarded second place for overall showmanship.

Lady Ga Ga on Parade!

Evidently it is a little difficult to determine the sex of a chicken when they are young.  Dalton was giving me the names of all of his chickens and I noticed the red frizzle rooster was named “Lady Ga Ga.”  I laughed and he said he thought the rooster was a hen when he named him. I asked him why he didn’t change his name when he discovered he was a male rooster. He said, “Lady Ga Ga still fit him because he is so sassy.” I can see a little “sass” in this picture of Lady Ga Ga.

Dalton and Duskie

I asked Dalton to tell me the most important thing he does for his chickens. I was a little surprised by his answer.  He said, “Of course food and water are the most important and then I think conversation is the next most important thing. They like for you to talk to them. Talking calms them down. A stressed hen will not produce. So I try to handle and talk to all of my chickens as much as possible.”  I asked Dalton about his plans for the future and his response was, “I just want to learn as much as I can about chickens and raise a whole lot of them.”  Dalton it looks like you are off to a great start.