The hardest part about have a backyard or small chicken flock is when one of our fledge friends nears the closing of his or her biography and we have to bid them farewell .
We all know that harsh weather killing , that predator attack , and that at sentence rehoming a shuttlecock is necessary . Old age , however natural it may be , make saying auf wiedersehen so much harder . It ’s difficult to call a chicken farewell .
After all , we ’ve had years with our roosters and hens . We have a history . One mode or another , this chicken has influenced your life .
It ’s not easy to just rent go .
Band of Brothers
Thomas and Claude were more than just hatchmates . They were brothers .
Along with Davey , they were the three little cockerel that came from a clutch of two dozenOrpingtoneggs , engender by a racy - black - splash ( BBS ) father on disgraceful , BBS , and dark hens .
Thomas was a beautiful blueing , while Davey sported black feather . Claude — and their sister , Claudine — were the surprise of the group : their pearly - pallid Charles Grey down became lavender .
Ana Hotaling
The three brothers had distinctly dissimilar personality . Claude was the leader , the one who set up the rules . He was the one who shepherd the troop to our kitchen door and teach them to sit and stare at us until we handed over goody .
Davey was the fun uncle , the one who ’d dust bathe right alongside the girls , who helped provoke chicks , and who went along with whatever his chum decreed .
Should you get a cock ? Here are the professional , as well as some cons .
Ana Hotaling
The Bad Boy
And Thomas … Thomas was the problem child .
I ’ve sharedhis anticsbefore : his rack up - and - head for the hills behavior toward the hen in the flock , his almost mocking attitude towards his brothers , his bad - to - the - osseous tissue , tough - boy act . He was the domestic fowl earth ’s James Dean .
He eventually settled down and became an fantabulous guardian for the young woman in his flock . Our older biddies , our Buff and Lemon Cuckoo Orpingtons , go for Thomas as their leader . surprisingly , ourRoyal Palm turkeyhens did , too .
Ana Hotaling
Girls just love bad boy , even amongst birds . Ana Hotaling
Family Men
Meanwhile , Claude and Davey continued to go together with the younger generation of Orpington missy .
When our black hen , Fitz , hatched her first sister , Ginger Bean , Claude chose to have nothing to do with the piddling cockerel . Davey , however , took him under his offstage and could often be found keep companionship with the little lavender juvenile .
Sadly , Davey did not live that winter . And while Claude recognize Ginger Bean as a member of his flock , he did nothing to guide him like Davey had .
Paybacks and Forgiveness
tight forward two age to 2019 . Ginger Bean , now a matured rooster , support grandiloquent and wider than his father . Poor Claude soon became the subject of a coup de coop .
His faithless sisters take Ginger Bean as their loss leader and Claude would take flight the coop every morning , expend his day as a solitary old bull , returning only to roost for the evening .
in short , however , Ginger Bean exclude him from entering the tax shelter at dark . Poor Claude !
All our other flocks had a rooster , and I submit myself to having him last with our sick duck , when the unthinkable fall out . Just as Thomas herd his hens back to their coop for sundown , he vocalized to Claude … and Claude trotted out from under our pack of cards to link his group .
The now - mellow trouble maker had spread out his home to his friendless brother , take him into his flock .
Here ’s what to do if there ’s a cock coup in your coop .
Danger Threatens
Winter soon arrived and , with it , hungry predators looking for an easy repast . Having lost both of ourAmeraucanaroosters , Barack and Jefferson , the former class , our Ameraucana girls had been on their own .
As much as I love those whiskery , muffed pet , they tend to be a petty fowl brain . I had architectural plan to espouse an adult blue Ameraucana to take the helm of that hencoop , but my search yielded nothing but young cockerels , whom the older biddy would eat up alive ( figuratively ) .
The Ameraucana girls had befriended Claude during his time as a unfrequented roo , however . It did n’t take long to convince me that Claude could be the girls ’ Modern rooster . We would simply volunteer Easter Egger chicks instead of Ameraucana ones .
Everything blend in swimmingly until this spring , when calamity take up Ginger Bean ’s and Claude ’s coops . Raccoons and opossum had managed to compass their fashion into these malicious gossip - storey coops , vote out five of our girls .
A full inspection of all our coops yielded horrendous results . The walls of both the Ameraucana and the duck’s egg coop had been compromised . There was no way these batch would survive another Nox of vulture attacks , even with my hubby , Jae , sitting out with his scattergun .
Musical Coops
The answer ? Ginger Bean ’s flock had to be moved to our main Orpington henhouse . However , Thomas was now feeling his age and was nursing an injury ( thanks to that thankless wretch Claude ) , who had sensed his brother weakening and challenged him for the alpha spot .
There was no way that Thomas would survive his whip nephew move in . Once again , our only alternative was proceed Thomas to the duck chicken coop .
We moved him with Mariel , one of his hen , so that Thomas would n’t be so lonely amidst the quackers . The residual of Thomas ’ hens became part of Ginger Bean ’s flock .
We upgraded Ginger Bean ’s ( and Claude ’s ) former coop , go it to a fresh location , and moved the duck , Thomas and Mariel into this new footrace . We then restore and reinforced the Silkie coop ( which had stood empty since the Silkie Massacre of 2019 ) and move it to the former duck run , get up it on concrete stanchions . Claude and his Ameraucana girls move in .
The old Ameraucana and duck’s egg coops were dismantled and burned .
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Battling Brothers
Unfortunately , Thomas and Claude were closer than ever now , and Claude once again examine to show his crony who was boss . I was so discomfited in Claude , who ’d obviously bury how Thomas had contract him in when he was down and out .
Not frustrated but rather angered was Alex Royal Palm . She had enough of Claude beating up on her beloved Thomas . She flew out of the independent Orpington run , landed in Thomas ’ new run , and went into full exhibit between the battling comrade , protect Thomas with all her joker fury .
Claude backed down really quickly . We let Alex move in with Thomas after that and had the rest of Thomas ’ girls bring together him .
Saying Goodbye
It was a good matter that we did , because Thomas woefully did not have much time leave . He began to drop most of his days beneath the food shelter , where he could well eat and drink and decompress in the spectre .
On July 3 , I looked out the kitchen windowpane to see Alex once again in full video display , with Claudine and Mariel stand beside her by the solid food protection . I knew then that Thomas had passed on .
It was my full intention to spell about bidding Thomas leave and to reminisce about how much he had changed , from young rapscallion volaille to the respectable man of the house .
However , when I went to mesh up on the 3rd , I notice that Claude was walk unevenly . He had meet an inauspicious stroke a couple of weeks previously during a severe storm that knocked out power — and knocked down trees — in our area and .
While he remain stoic while I examined him , I was electropositive he had suffered some sort of trauma .
Cry for Help
By curl - up metre on the 5th , Claude could no longer alight with the lady friend , resting on the flooring of the coop instead . This morning , when I opened his pop threshold , Claude wait for his hen to give-up the ghost . He then slowly shamble over and did a flip out the opening , position still on the Mary Jane .
I quickly picked him up and ran to the house , calling for Dr. Michael , my veterinary son , who had studied with the poultry scientist at Michigan State University .
He confirm that Claude ’s hip was damaged and his air sacs , too . “ What do you want to do ? ” he require me . Ana Hotaling
Farewell to a Chicken Friend
What could I do ? It was time to steel myself to say farewell to my longtime chicken friend .
Claude , despite his recent deviltry with Thomas , has always been my dearie . I taught him how to jump up for treats I ’d hold out for him and how to rest on my arm . His photo hangs in the entrance to our theatre .
I was n’t going to leave him alone to pass along , not with those flighty Ameraucana girls . I spent today serving as his crutch , walking with him as he revisited his old coop , as he checked out his preferred fly-by-night spot under our deck one last clip , as he went to our kitchen door to peer in at the cat .
Claudine , sensing something was up , left her group behind and basically shadowed Claude all sidereal day .
I hand - fed him crumbles and carefully dripped water onto his beak for him to drink , telling him what a wonderful cock he has been and how Davey and Thomas would be waiting for him once he was at residuum .
I rule a nice shady spot beside his coop and made sure he was well settled on the pot , then come in to write about two wonderful razzing and their time with me .
And now that I ’ve finish this piece , I am off to say what is undoubtedly my last farewell to my chicken friend .
