Eulogy for Chucky by Cindy Mulvey

Chucky was a handsome vibrant Barred Rock rooster hatched on Thursday,  February 20, 2014. Nurtured in a bedroom closet for months, him and five ladies grew healthy and strong. We built them a new spacious coop, read lots of blogs and collected advice on how to care for them with love, and did the best we could to make our flock happy and safe at all times.

Each chicken showed their personalities at a young age, and each were named. It amazed me how easy it was too train them. When I clucked like a chicken, they would come running to see what I had for them.

Chucky was bossy and temperamental. He was named after the evil doll in the movie, for he was short and evil also. He was a natural protector for our little flock,  keeping them together and warning them when danger was near. He learned to crow by mimicking our calls, after he mastered the technique,  he would answer when called to let us know the location of the flock.

Chucky hated our dog Sampson barking when he played football, a guard with a water pistol had to be posted during playtime to prevent Chucky from flogging Sampson. Perhaps it hurt his ears.

Chucky also had an attitude with people. He seemed to enjoy flogging unsuspecting prey. I made the mistake of turning my back one day, and now have a scar on the back of my knee to remember him by. 

When Chucky would discover food, he would call his flock so they could share the treat.  He shook his head from side to side with attitude when he ate, a funny little gesture. When his hens came out of the coop looking for the flock, he would either run to them or crow in response to their calls so they wouldn't be lost. In the evenings, he gathered the flock together and guided them to the coop to roost for the night. He was humorous to watch and a great joy to have in the family.

On Saturday, July 11, 2015 after opening the coop door for the day,  Chucky was noticed to be limping and barely able to move.  He was looked over, no feathers seemed missing,  only his left spur was damaged,  folded up against his leg. Everything else on him appeared normal. We did not know what had happened to him.  He allowed us to soak his leg in Epson salt and to wrap it,  he had never before allowed us to touch him once he reached maturity.  For the next three weeks I carried him about the yard so he could be with his hens and to keep him out of the sun. Finally he started to hop on one leg to move around more, still unable to roost, using his wing like a crutch, but noticeably improving.

Monday morning, July 27, 2015 the flock was more vocal than normal, much to my surprise and heart break, when the coop door was opened, a horrifying sight greeted me. A raccoon was laying over its murdered prey,  our handsome Chucky. Using a pitch fork, the raccoon was ran out of the coop.  He scaled the chicken wire covering the window,  flipped over it and back through the torn screen. Is this how Chucky had been hurt weeks ago?  I may never know,  the torn screen was not visible from inside the coop,  hard to say when it occurred.  Perhaps the same raccoon returned after recovering from injuries from a prior visit to the coop. Chucky will never tell his story.

I carefully gathered Chucky in my arms and laid him to rest for the final time in the hole I dug for him in a shady opening under the trees, one of his frequent feeding areas. Chucky was clever, fiesty, and resilient.

I am so sorry Chucky and hope you thought you had a great life as I had intended,  you will be greatly missed.

It sounds like Chucky sacrificed himself, giving his life to save his hens. The coon will be back. Sorry for your loss.

I am so sorry to hear that. That is so hard. I'm sure he was very happy, a wonderful, protective rooster that gave his hens a wonderful life where they didn't have to worry. He probably was defending them from the coon when it got him. He was their wonderful knight in barred armor.

RIP Chucky.

I'm so sorry about Chucky. It sounded like he loved the life of a rooster, and he made his final stand for his flock. I'm sure his hens will miss him, too.

I know how tricky raccoons can be. After you fix the screen, look over the whole coop and run to make sure it is a fortress. Once a raccoon strikes, it keeps looking for ways in.

Chucky, wish I had known you before this.....RIP

Chucky seemed like a wonderful rooster. I am so sorry for your loss. He died heroically.

Thank you for sharing Chucky with us. I am struggling with my decision earlier this spring to amputate the leg of a cockerel born with two deformities: one is a deformed foot on a good leg. The other is a leg which had a good foot but the leg faced backward from the hock. Whenever Larry Bird tried to walk, the leg would swing him in circles. I took him at the request of the friend who hatched him. He immediately gained weight, proved to be a lover of human contact and a very sweet guy. But forward locomotion was impossible.

I'm fortunate to have a vet who "loves a challenge." Dr. Free kept Larry for a week to study his movement before agreeing that amputation was the answer short of culling.

Larry is a nice, interesting rooster — although one that can't breed or guard a flock, roost at night or even scratch the back of his head. The one time he flew out of my arms while we were in the run with the hens they immediately, vigorously, attacked him. Scared us both to pieces.

Now unable to keep company with the girls, Larry's favorite activity is to be carried while I water the gardens in the morning. In the evening he loves the 4-wheeler ride we make around the countryside so he can growl at hawks, doves and buzzards overhead; crow at dogs and generally feel unencumbered for a while. He also loves to chortle at his pellets when he eats.

He stays in a run carved out of a space in our garage with lots of air flow and space to hop. I thought it was a pretty good life for a rescue that the owner was going to put down because of his deformities.

Lately though, his cries are sounding increasingly mournful when I say Good Bye for the morning to go to work. And, his stump looks irritated, though not infected. Just chafed. How to judge if a chicken is happy?

Chucky's story helps me to not dwell so much on what is wrong with Larry Bird but how I can help him feel valued. So sorry for your loss but thankful for the time and care you put into his eulogy.

PulletNewbie said:

Thank you for sharing Chucky with us. I am struggling with my decision earlier this spring to amputate the leg of a cockerel born with two deformities: one is a deformed foot on a good leg. The other is a leg which had a good foot but the leg faced backward from the hock. Whenever Larry Bird tried to walk, the leg would swing him in circles. I took him at the request of the friend who hatched him. He immediately gained weight, proved to be a lover of human contact and a very sweet guy. But forward locomotion was impossible.

I'm fortunate to have a vet who "loves a challenge." Dr. Free kept Larry for a week to study his movement before agreeing that amputation was the answer short of culling.

Larry is a nice, interesting rooster — although one that can't breed or guard a flock, roost at night or even scratch the back of his head. The one time he flew out of my arms while we were in the run with the hens they immediately, vigorously, attacked him. Scared us both to pieces.

Now unable to keep company with the girls, Larry's favorite activity is to be carried while I water the gardens in the morning. In the evening he loves the 4-wheeler ride we make around the countryside so he can growl at hawks, doves and buzzards overhead; crow at dogs and generally feel unencumbered for a while. He also loves to chortle at his pellets when he eats.

He stays in a run carved out of a space in our garage with lots of air flow and space to hop. I thought it was a pretty good life for a rescue that the owner was going to put down because of his deformities.

Lately though, his cries are sounding increasingly mournful when I say Good Bye for the morning to go to work. And, his stump looks irritated, though not infected. Just chafed. How to judge if a chicken is happy?

Chucky's story helps me to not dwell so much on what is wrong with Larry Bird but how I can help him feel valued. So sorry for your loss but thankful for the time and care you put into his eulogy.

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It is wonderful you are giving him such a good life. Is he kept near the other chickens so he can see them? Could you try getting him another chicken with a disability like a silkie or cochin, maybe a blind chicken? This could keep him company but not be aggressive.

Best of luck!

I cared for a handicapped rooster for a long time and agree with the idea of maybe putting a non-aggressive friend with him. Silkies are a good choice as is anything puffy like cochins because they don't tend to be very pecky. (At least in my experience.) It would let him feel like he has a "flock" even if it really is like the blind leading the blind.

Love the idea of getting him his own "flock" of buddies! Will look into silkies and cochins... know zero about them!

Thanks to you all!!