Ohiofarmgirl'sAdventuresinTheGoodLand-where ya been? whatcha been doin

[kcsunshine]

OFG - just what did you expect when you named that rooster Big Pansy?
A guy's gotta defend himself.
Hope Fred's ok, though. But I bet he thinks twice about messing around with that pansy again.......

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

first Fred, then OD... do y'all see a pattern here?
;-)

just kiddin', Bourbon Red - we'll take your mean poultry any darn time


so

wish i could say that everything's fine - but Fred is not great.

this morning he wasnt doing well - and either his eyes were swollen shut or i just couldnt rouse him. so we put him under a heat lamp and that seemed to help. i'm pretty sure he just sat there all last nite and bled from his wounds. unfortunately we just have to wait until they clot.... its all around his eyes so we cant dress them.

the good news was that he started to eat and preen a little once we had the lights on and there was other activity he kind of perked up a little. he even belted out a few crows...

we'll go out and check on him again in a little bit.

BP, for his part, is acting like he owns the place.. so i think the power shift is permanent. the other younger roosters, Legs The Franken-chicken, and Little Pansy (Son of Big Pansy) are just glad they werent caught in the cross fire.

come on, Fred.....rally, buddy.

i should note that he's a bit older - i'm not sure how long roosters normally last. i'm thinking he is 4 or 5 years old?

we'll go out in a little bit - updates later

 

[murphysranch]

Oh my gosh! Poor Fred! Hang in there, buddy.

 

[lorihadams]

Oh my.....I have a BIG brahma myself....thinking of naming him Ozzie cause he looks a bit like an ostrich when he runs.....luckily he is my only roo for now but when we move that will probably change.

poor Fred....and yeah, my DH has learned that it is never good when I'm out in the yard yelling for him to bring the gloves

ahhhhhhhh, farm life, wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!!!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

yep "bring the gloves" is like "get a shovel", right?
;-)

so the mid day report is that Fred is hanging in there... i sent The Big Man out to check... here i've hated Fred this whole time. but now i just cant bring myself to go and find a heap of dead fred. i might even cry if he doesnt make it!

do you know how many times i've threatened him with the pot?

so far so good.

and to be fair, i did pawn off The Worst Chickens In The World to Bourbon Red one time.....we got a bunch of those stupid golden campines. seriously. The Worst Chickens In The World. the reason they are on the heritage breed almost-gone-list... b/c no one like them. so we gave them to BR. who tells a rousing tale of how he managed them that ends with him telling one of the kids to "bring daddy the hatchet!"

nope wouldnt trade farmin' for nothing

 

[lorihadams]

One of my personal favorites is when our old roo Big Boy (now in chicken and dumplin' heaven) came after my husband......well, that was the last straw for him. I look out the back window to see my husband swinging a shovel furiously and chasing this rooster all around the coop in circles cussin up a blue streak in the process.....next day I gave him permission to "do the deed". Sure was funny to watch though.....

Ever tried to catch a banty rooster with a butterfly net......we have.....we probably looked like poor mike rowe on dirty jobs the other night trying to catch all those chickens in miami.....

 

[Bourbon Red]

Golden Campines= the devil.

Our dear friend OFG dropped off Satan and his consort as a 'trade' for something or other. The little rooster would attack anything anytime anywhere, anywhichwaybutloose. The kids learned to go armed with a stick. He lasted about two weeks.
Shortly before Thanksgiving one year I had the flu. We had just finished killing pigs and I just had to get the turkey ready for Thanksgiving. I was out in the rain, with a fever, plucking a ginormous tom turkey thinking maybe next year we'd have salmon when I was struck from behind with all 6 ounces of winged, clawed, campinely fury. Being in no mood I reached back and grabbed the little bugger by the head and cracked him like a whip, threw the little demon over the cliff into the ditch with what was left of the swine and went back to plucking the turkey. Problem solved. My then 6 and 3 year old thought that was the funniest thing they'd ever seen. We suggested maybe they not mention it when they went back to school....

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Sam was a Gold Campine. He was a holy terror, and my DH's best buddy.

AND he took great care of The Ladies.

I miss Sam!

Unfortunately, he didn't seem to realize the cows were bigger than him....

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

we still have one of those stupid little golden hens. of course i have CRUSHING guilt that i have to keep her b/c she's endangered or whatever curse she deserves... once i even tried to pay a gal $15 to come and get her! i was going to pay HER to take that stupid hen. dang

from time to time i'll hear a ruckus in the garage and then see that stupid little golden hen come flying out the door in a trajectory that could not POSSIBLY be her own.... with The Big Man swearing a blue streak and stomping out the door after her. she likes to sit on his motorcycle. and poop. i think its a little funny
;-)

and yeah.. there is something about the smaller roos. we had a little rooster named, aptly, Little Rooster who HATED The Big Man. i thought he was making it up until one day i saw Little Rooster peek out from around the corner, wait intentionally for The Big Man to walk by, then fly at him claws and all.

i couldnt believe it! he was always so good with me - Little Rooster let me snuggle him all the time! i kinda like him.

well

one day The Big Man had enough and shortly after we had rooster day. so i nillynallied around and finally said, that yes, Little Rooster could go to his just reward. i brought the victim forth to the axe man, but with my weepy little eyes and quivering little lip i said to The Big Man, "Honey, please. Don't do it with malice!"

The Big Man looked at me blankly but agreed. so i kind of went off a little bit and hid my eyes...and.. and..

then i heard WAY too much activity associated with dispatching a chicken and i swear i heard The Big Man say "And take THAT you little son-of-a-golly-what!!!"

Little Rooster made a nice little pot of chicken and noodles and that was the only time The Big Man loved him. i thought i could taste a little malice tho....

 

[big brown horse]

She is brave to poop on a man's motercycle!!

Ok since we are talking rooster over here, I have to ask about mine. "Tex" a big old baby of a roo (wheaten Ameraucana) who was raised amongst the old ladies...he was henpecked his whole life by them.

Now that he is old enough, when he tries to mate one of the chickens, Ruby (my RIR) knocks him off and chases him away.

Is this normal? (I've never kept a roo for too long.) I thought about starting a thread, but I think you guys can answer me here.