I acquired Jack, along with three other young Ga Noi, as culls from a breeder in April 2015. All had a deformity of some type - for two, crooked toes, another, misshapen hocks, but Jack's was the most severe - his neck bent in a U-shape halfway down the length of it.
Jack was always incredibly friendly towards me. All of them were, but Jack in particular. Although his deformity didn't seem to both him too much, and he learned to function quite normally without full use of his neck, there was one task he could never perform - preening. His neck could not bend to reach further than his hackle and upper breast. I have often helped him through his life by preening his feathers for him - I couldn't do near so good of a job with my fingers as a bird can with their beak, but I kept the feather casings and dirt in his plumage to a minimum. I also was forced to treat him quite frequently for parasites, as he was terribly prone to bad infestations of lice.
Being a Ga Noi, Jack was a slow grower. He was near naked until around 10 weeks of age, moreso than his siblings. As he grew, he developed white; as a chick, he was almost all brown and black, but the white gradually increased as he aged. Jack, a year old as of last month, began to crow this spring; he attempted mating but was not very good at it as he could not grip the hens very well.
There are not a lot of birds I have bonded with like this since my flock had increased to the number it has; when you only have 4 or 6 or 8 birds it is very easy to love all of them, but when you have had hundreds most of them become simply another chicken - it takes a genuinely special individual to stand out. I like all my birds to varying degrees and love many of them, but Jack was one of those ones who was family.
I found Jack when I went to lock the coop tonight. He had choked on his food some time a few hours before. I can only hope it was quick though I fear it was not. I buried him in the lower run at the base of one of the fruit trees, and poured over him more scratch than a chicken could ever want for.
Rest in Peace Jack, March 2015 - April 7th 2016.
This is the last photo I ever took of him. I let the flock out to free range in the garden this past Monday, and I happened to take this photo while lying on the grass watching them. He was a happy and healthy bird until the end.
Jack was always incredibly friendly towards me. All of them were, but Jack in particular. Although his deformity didn't seem to both him too much, and he learned to function quite normally without full use of his neck, there was one task he could never perform - preening. His neck could not bend to reach further than his hackle and upper breast. I have often helped him through his life by preening his feathers for him - I couldn't do near so good of a job with my fingers as a bird can with their beak, but I kept the feather casings and dirt in his plumage to a minimum. I also was forced to treat him quite frequently for parasites, as he was terribly prone to bad infestations of lice.
Being a Ga Noi, Jack was a slow grower. He was near naked until around 10 weeks of age, moreso than his siblings. As he grew, he developed white; as a chick, he was almost all brown and black, but the white gradually increased as he aged. Jack, a year old as of last month, began to crow this spring; he attempted mating but was not very good at it as he could not grip the hens very well.
There are not a lot of birds I have bonded with like this since my flock had increased to the number it has; when you only have 4 or 6 or 8 birds it is very easy to love all of them, but when you have had hundreds most of them become simply another chicken - it takes a genuinely special individual to stand out. I like all my birds to varying degrees and love many of them, but Jack was one of those ones who was family.
I found Jack when I went to lock the coop tonight. He had choked on his food some time a few hours before. I can only hope it was quick though I fear it was not. I buried him in the lower run at the base of one of the fruit trees, and poured over him more scratch than a chicken could ever want for.
Rest in Peace Jack, March 2015 - April 7th 2016.
This is the last photo I ever took of him. I let the flock out to free range in the garden this past Monday, and I happened to take this photo while lying on the grass watching them. He was a happy and healthy bird until the end.
