Yesterday I emptied and cleaned the pig’s paddling pool and gave their whole pen a hose out. They were very helpful the entire time in a pushy piggy kind of way. 
It was such a lovely sunny day that I felt bad for the peahens locked up in their enclosure, so I let them out. With gentle dignity they tip toed out into the barn. 
I went on to skirting Mama’s fleece. Pulling off all the dirty edges, and getting it ready for shipping. There is so MUCH wool on one sheep. 
I was working away thinking how the wind was catching some of the smaller bits of wool and maybe the sparrows would use it for their nests, when I heard a shushing sound from the barn behind me. A sound like, I don’t know, like twenty old working men rubbing their dried and worn hands together. Hands that have never seen lotion. 
I popped my head around the corner of the barn and The Duke of Kupa had transformed.
He had spread his juvenile tail feathers and was attempting to wow the ladies. As I watched he vibrated and shook the feathers causing them to rub on each other (that sound) and then he kind of hissed invitingly. 
The girls were decidedly underwhelmed. He shook and stomped and shushed some more and they wandered off to look at the pigs. I am not kidding they actually jumped into the pig sty and I had to shoo them back out.
By then Kupa had this panicked look on his face. He had found the button to put the tail up but could not find the one to drop it back down again. Like when you are playing with the children’s transformers, you know it all folds back into place but HOW! And his feet were not behaving they kept dancing up and down in some kind of jig. His eyes kept swerving from trance to terror but after a period of great interest from the little chicks in their baby cage, he worked it out, and with a great sigh he allowed each feather to settle back into place and he was a our laid back Kupa once again. By then Tui and Pania had taken themselves back into their enclosure to talk clothes. So I shut the door on them and Kupa went out into the fields to check on things and practice his Coltrane. Thank you, Bill. 
Maybe next time Kupa.
Good morning. The sun is up, the lamb milk is warming and I need to get busy. You all have a lovely day. Tomorrow I am packing up Minty and Meadow and the little chicks and TonTon and we are off to the old folks home again. I think the lambs might need a wee clean up though. I like the idea of the old people watching the animals grow.
Have fun.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
83 responses to “Kupa woos the ladies! A must see!”
How that Kupa’s tail has grown. I’m sure the ladies will love him once they’re past puberty! I’d love to see the pigs in the pool. Have a good time at the codger’s place with the littlies.
I am stalking those pigs trying top get that shot! They look hilarious! c
Hi Celi! How embarrassing for Kupa! Especially having trouble being able to get it all back together again!!!
You mentioned baby chicks being in a cage. Did your hens hatch them? The reason I ask is that we have one of our two female ducks sitting on eggs almost day and night in the front yard under our rose bush. We are excited about it, but I’m already worried about predators and such getting the ducklings when they hatch. Also, it seems that several of our guineas are taking turns sitting on a nest. We are hoping they hatch out. Any advice on how to keep them safe after they hatch? Thanks Celi!!!
When I find a chicken who has hatched out chicks I catch the lot of them, popping them into a pillow case as I catch them (usually this all happens in the rafters of the barn) and put them in a huge dog crate covered in chicken wire called fort knox. I usually do this at night. I always put on oven mitts to catch the chook though, as she is usually pretty wild at me, though she does settle down once she is back with her brood. If you can move the eggs and the bird (again at night) into a box it is even better, though sometimes they get agitated and break eggs.. I have not done this with a duck. They are pretty good mums. Guineas are renowned for being hopeless mums. If you have a broody chook I would put the guinea eggs under her. Let me know how it goes! c
Kupa SO beautiful! I’m sure the ladies will notice next time…..
Well hello Kupa! Look at those gorgeous feathers. 🙂 I hope you have a great day on the farmy today. 🙂
Fabulous picture of Kupa – he’s going to be a real Lothario: I can it in his eyes, in fact in each eye on each feather:)
Always a great romp through you pastures. Touching that you remember the elderly with fuzzy visits.
Hang in there, Kupa, practice makes perfect! And it’s only natural the young gals would be more interested in talking clothes at their age. So funny! Where is Mama’s wool going? Are you shipping it to be carded and made into yarn? Looking forward to the antics at the old folks’ home tomorrow. Hope you and handsome Kupa have a lovely day!
He is so beautiful!
Have a lovely day ~ April
Well bred girls don’t jump-to just because some guy has figured out how his feathered mechanism works. Well done, girls. Good morning, all. Raining here. Again. Still.
He is absolutely gorgeous!!
Fine costumes. Dancing. Musical sounds. And fair ladies to be won. All the pageantry of a stage play! (Could it be Westside Farm Story?) Can’t wait for the next act.
You cannot imagine how much these pictures and posts mean to me. Each morning is some extraordinary experience shared…beautifully .
You are very welcome Patricia, I am thrilled to have you reading and loving the farmy as much as I do! c
Kupa is sooo handsome! And the girls – who, I must tell you, every time I see them, make me think of twin supermodels – are just playing hard to get. Love that the animals are going back to visit the elders!
Morning sweetie, we will keep going back until the sheep can’t fit in my car, whichmight be sooner than we think! c
Thanks for a laugh today – ha! Have a Great Day:)
I saw a peacock doing this at London zoo last week. The shimmering effect of the little shake they do is quite spectacular, but the London zoo peahens were similarly unimpressed!
AH, maybe it is a peahen thing then.. shy.. morning emily.. c