Sometimes being king.........

[ShadeTree]

Isn't all it's cracked up to be. Was coming up the driveway on the way home from church last Sunday, and looked over in the yard and seen 3 big piles of feathers. Told my wife well we're gonna be missing some chickens, looks like a fox got a couple.

Took a head count, all the hens were accounted for, and it was obvious from some of the long tail feathers and the big piles of feathers, that the rooster had been in an all out battle and was missing. Bout an hr later my wife was outside and he came out of the woods in not too good of shape. Wife gave him a baby aspirin crushed up in water and squirted it down his throat. Next morning he was crowing and later on back to his normal rooster habits with the hens.

I guarantee that fox didn't pick out the rooster amongst them dainty tasty hens, but that's who he met up with. I'd of liked to seen it. I'm positive that rooster gave him all he could handle and then some. The proof was leaving without any chickens. Stripped him of all his tail feathers and he had a bare butt for a couple of days, but he's still king. Haha.

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Yeah, that would have been a fight to behold. Better make that old boy a special perch(thrown) for saving the harem. Dan.

 

[DrMike]

He looks like a hefty bird. Wouldn't necessarily want those spurs raking me or those wings beating on me. I can see how a fox would have had a real fight on its hands (paws).

 

[ShadeTree]

He is a stout rooster, don't know what he'd weigh. A good natured rooster as roosters go.........you can walk up to him and walk by him with your back turned and he will never offer to get ignorant in any way. That said don't get a hen squawking and screaming either intentional or accidental or it's on.

He has a set of gaff's on him. I'll try to get a picture of them......he stands up proud most mornings on the top deck rail of the house and proclaims to the world nobody can touch him. Lol.

 

[3 Meter Para Bellum]

Wow, impressive fella there. I've never heard of a rooster fighting off a fox.

 

[ShadeTree]

Wow, impressive fella there. I've never heard of a rooster fighting off a fox.

A free range or barn yard rooster is a whole other animal compared to a pen raised meat chicken. They spend the whole day watching and giving a warning scream about every bird coming over bigger than a starling. They stand defiantly in the middle of the yard with a big hawk coming in, while everybody else dives for cover.

Spend the day looking for food and giving an excited feeding call when they find something..........hens come running and they stand back proud while others eat. Sometimes I wonder when they ever eat.

They take their job very seriously and would attack a pack of pit bulls. They'd be dead in 2 seconds but it wouldn't stop them. We've gone through a lot of roosters. Don't think we ever had 1 around more than 3 yrs, and most don't make it near that long. When crap is going down, they are front and center in the middle of it. They get in a lot of scuffles, including with hawks........sooner or later if they're doing their job, they run into something they can't handle and are gone.

 

[NYDAN]

I would like to have seen that fight. Hurray for the rooster. Dan

 

[ShadeTree]

Forgot to put pics up here of his daggers. Spike size at the base and finishing nail pointy at the end. Probably a good 3" long. Quite the defense system, particularly when he's mad and flogging something. Ha. He's got the heavy quills of his new tail feathers poked back through his skin. That has to hurt and be miserable, but he seems to go about his days as normal.

 

[DrMike]

Yeah, that could put quite a point on his dispute with the fox!

 

[ShadeTree]

Got hit by him one time once when it was the end of the day and I guess they had a scarce day of foraging, and he must of been tired and hungry and cranky. Apparently I wasn't getting the lid off the feed bucket fast enough to suit him with all the hens standing around waiting, and he jumped up and hit me one time.

I chased him around the house and through the yard to let him know who was the real azz kicker around here and that was the end of it. Still that one hit and I had a silver dollar sized black and blue mark on my thigh the next several days, a small puncture on the right side of my leg just below the knee, and a scratch on the right side of my shin. All through jeans and one quick hit.

 

[DrMike]

Yeah, they can be wicked when they want to be.

 

[hunter24605]

They’re street fighters, and won’t hesitate to pull their shanks on ya! Somewhere there’s a fox thinking “who woulda’ thunk a bird has fangs?….on his feet!”

 

[cloverleaf]

The phrase "one tough old bird" comes to mind. Never did like or trust chickens, roosters or otherwise and I didnt really have to deal with 'em. Guess its from hearing Mom tell all those stories about getting eggs from possessive tough old hens. That, and cleaning out the hen house, THAT I am familiar with, and arent particularly fond memories either. CL

 

[hunter24605]

The phrase "one tough old bird" comes to mind. Never did like or trust chickens, roosters or otherwise and I didnt really have to deal with 'em. Guess its from hearing Mom tell all those stories about getting eggs from possessive tough old hens. That, and cleaning out the hen house, THAT I am familiar with, and arent particularly fond memories either. CL

My FedEx route was mostly rural, I’ve been chased by way more roosters and Tom turkeys than dogs. You learned pretty quick to wear long pants

 

[ShadeTree]

My FedEx route was mostly rural, I’ve been chased by way more roosters and Tom turkeys than dogs. You learned pretty quick to wear long pants

We had one here that spent his days fighting and breeding and done his best to allow equal time for both. For whatever reason he was my wife's best buddy so she was safe, and me, he'd weigh the options and for the most part kept his ignorance in check, but every now and then his self control would fail him.

Everybody and everything else he viewed as them flipping him the bird and war was declared just for daring to be on the same piece of ground. Our dogs, everything. My mother in law would stop and have to blow the horn from out in the driveway because the rooster was standing outside her door waiting to attack.

We lost some good roosters........him? I wasn't sad when 1 hot day he went feet up. I'd of strung his neck on week 2 of his adolescence, but my wife had a soft spot for him.

 

[xphunter]

Great Story!

 

[DrMike]

As a boy, we had "Ol' Red." He was a sneaky cuss who'd diligently search the ground for tasty bugs or whatever might be available, until he thought you weren't looking. He'd streak ten feet closer when he thought you weren't looking only to again carefully inspect the ground. It was disconcerting to imagine that the bird was somehow closer than when you first noted him, but he was intent on looking at the ground. Eventually, he'd be close enough to give you a good flogging.

I sure did love that bird, though he did give me a good flogging on several occasions. And he did watch over his girls! I hadn't really noticed Old Red one Saturday, and it was mandatory that we got to my Grandma's for Saturday evening dinner. She had chicken and noodles, a favourite in our family. As we enjoyed the chicken and noodles, I commented that I didn't remember that there were any chickens in the freezer. Dad asked if I'd seen Old Red that day. Suddenly, the light dawned and I was horrified! It was like cannibalism! Being of the practical sort, I piled some more chicken and noodles on another generous helping of mashed potatoes and sucked it up. Sometimes a fellow's gotta' do what a fellow does. I still remember that old bird fondly; and he was right tasty.

 

[bdbrown66]

Everybody who's ever listened to Jerry Clower knows that you're talking about Ol' Skeets.

 

[FOTIS]

Awesome looking bird.

 

[hunter24605]

We had one here that spent his days fighting and breeding and done his best to allow equal time for both. For whatever reason he was my wife's best buddy so she was safe, and me, he'd weigh the options and for the most part kept his ignorance in check, but every now and then his self control would fail him.

Everybody and everything else he viewed as them flipping him the bird and war was declared just for daring to be on the same piece of ground. Our dogs, everything. My mother in law would stop and have to blow the horn from out in the driveway because the rooster was standing outside her door waiting to attack.

We lost some good roosters........him? I wasn't sad when 1 hot day he went feet up. I'd of strung his neck on week 2 of his adolescence, but my wife had a soft spot for him.

Where where you when I had to fill out an incident report for discharging pepper spray on a chicken? I could have used the backup