Rooster rescued from a coyote, using Manuka honey

[Sunshine Flock]

you and henry have grown very close through this journey. I do believe it is possible to become so connected to another being that you reach a kind of resonance. it is rarely talked about in medicine and caregiving but it's very real. to help your patient get through the labyrinth of life threatening challanges, you've had to get in it's head and know his feelings intimately. I'd say enjoy the process, keep making discoveries and writing about it and at some point henry will need to return to the coop and I think he is getting there. as a "practitioner" you will need to re-individuate from him, it's part of the caregiving process, important to him regaining his independence. this is an important prorgression for both you and him. you are going to want to consciously begin returning to your normal daily activities, sleeping in your own bed etc. and allowing henry to stay in the coop with the hens more and more. Once he can roost, I'd start by giving him coop time in the late afternoon and seeing if he goes to roost with the others. if you are still worried about what hortense might do in the morning, then I'd go back in later and take him inside to roost alone until you are sure he can fend for himself. you and Henry will always have a special bond, don't worry about losing that, but for him to return to being king of the coop, he needs to be nudged "out of the nest".

I stopped isolating Hortense from Henry a few days ago. He does his Spanish dance whenever she approaches or someone tries to bully him, and usually the hens back down.

No one has pecked his legs since, but they do sometimes nibble his feathers. They're curious as to why his feathers are chopped in half and in places clearcut. But they can no longer see any of his upper body wounds and are showing no indication of remembering they're there.

Henry hopped inside the chicken coop yesterday without any prompting or help, and then he jumped out through the chicken door and settled in a patch of pine needles and leaves in the run and rested with the hens.

It has been getting near freezing at night lately. Henry's feathers are growing in quickly, but I'd like to see more downy under-feathers before he spends a night outside and more healing on his right leg. He's getting there, so it's possible he could be reunited with his flock at night in the next two weeks or so.

Henry's room is actually my husband's bedroom waiting for a makeover. I'm hoping to have Henry in the coop and the husband in his own bedroom by Christmas, but only if I feel Henry is ready.

 

[biophiliac]

''sometimes nibble his feathers. They're curious as to why his feathers are chopped in half and in place''

Henry has a lot of pretty new feathers coming in. At first they are encased in a tube which comes off allowing the vanes to unfurl. Getting the last bits of it off can involve some preening. Maybe his hens are helping him preen.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

''sometimes nibble his feathers. They're curious as to why his feathers are chopped in half and in place''

Henry has a lot of pretty new feathers coming in. At first they are encased in a tube which comes off allowing the vanes to unfurl. Getting the last bits of it off can involve some preening. Maybe his hens are helping him preen.

Boy, the feather tube phase was unsettling for me to see. You would think emerging feathers are cute and fluffy and adorable.

NOPE.

 

[biophiliac]

Boy, the feather tube phase was unsettling for me to see. You would think emerging feathers are cute and fluffy and adorable.

NOPE.

Those tubes protect the adorable vanes which are delicate. If they had to push their way out unprotected they would be all scraggly.

 

[Birdinhand]

if you had suggested to me just a few weeks back that we'd be talking about Henry's re-introduction into the coop already, I'd be shocked... I still kind of am. the process of recovery has really been amazing!

 

[Sunshine Flock]

if you had suggested to me just a few weeks back that we'd be talking about Henry's re-introduction into the coop already, I'd be shocked... I still kind of am. the process of recovery has really been amazing!

It's got my head spinning, too!

Henry spent the day in the chicken run, and I left him there when the hens started migrating into the coop to roost. I wanted to see what he does, like you suggested.

Well, he walked to the fence and stared at his bedroom (aka the husband's bedroom) and cried and cried. But he bit me when I picked him up. When he's feeling emotional about something, that's not a good time to touch him. I didn't have a choice, though, so back to his bedroom he went.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

Hold on to your gizzards, folks. Me thinks I've got myself a problem.

I'm taking care not to self promote myself and a book I'd love to write, so just to be clear: This isn't me promoting me.

And I'm sensitive to the fact that this is the emergencies forum. But this just may qualify.

According to @EggSighted4Life in a discussion on mites, a rooster isn't a rooster until he's one year old. Henry just celebrated his eighth month of life.

So does that mean the book I'm aiming to write that's inspired by my all time favorite book, 'That Quail, Robert,' must instead be called 'That Cockerel, Henry'?

Or worser yet: 'That Cock, Henry'?

That just doesn't sit right with me.

 

[Birdinhand]

Hold on to your gizzards, folks. Me thinks I've got myself a problem.

I'm taking care not to self promote myself and a book I'd love to write, so just to be clear: This isn't me promoting me.

And I'm sensitive to the fact that this is the emergencies forum. But this just may qualify.

According to @EggSighted4Life in a discussion on mites, a rooster isn't a rooster until he's one year old. Henry just celebrated his eighth month of life.

So does that mean the book I'm aiming to write that's inspired by my all time favorite book, 'That Quail, Robert,' must instead be called 'That Cockerel, Henry'?

Or worser yet: 'That Cock, Henry'?

That just doesn't sit right with me.

I'm pretty sure that nuance would be over the head of the average reader, IMHO... not to worry!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hold on to your gizzards, folks. Me thinks I've got myself a problem.

I'm taking care not to self promote myself and a book I'd love to write, so just to be clear: This isn't me promoting me.

And I'm sensitive to the fact that this is the emergencies forum. But this just may qualify.

According to @EggSighted4Life in a discussion on mites, a rooster isn't a rooster until he's one year old. Henry just celebrated his eighth month of life.

So does that mean the book I'm aiming to write that's inspired by my all time favorite book, 'That Quail, Robert,' must instead be called 'That Cockerel, Henry'?

Or worser yet: 'That Cock, Henry'?

That just doesn't sit right with me.

Hey I'm in Nor Cal too!

I'm a stickler for details... but I agree with @Birdinhand that many won't notice or care. Just write what seems to flow for you, sticking as close to reality (if it ain't fiction) as possible.

I like to share the information just for the purpose of knowing stuff. But sometimes we still refer to our little guys as roos even though we technically know they are not.

Also, I don't think they are cocks until a certain age either... but I could be totally wrong about that. For me I refer to roosters as cock or cock bird sometimes but the young boys usually would include the "erel" of cockerel.

So cool that you're writing something. Hope you have fun and it comes out great!

 

[BantyChooks]

Hey I'm in Nor Cal too!

I'm a stickler for details... but I agree with @Birdinhand that many won't notice or care. Just write what seems to flow for you, sticking as close to reality (if it ain't fiction) as possible.

I like to share the information just for the purpose of knowing stuff. But sometimes we still refer to our little guys as roos even though we technically know they are not.

Also, I don't think they are cocks until a certain age either... but I could be totally wrong about that. For me I refer to roosters as cock or cock bird sometimes but the young boys usually would include the "erel" of cockerel.

So cool that you're writing something. Hope you have fun and it comes out great!

Yes, cocks are over 1 year of age, it's synonymous with rooster... the average bear won't know or care that he's technically a cockerel, and I know I've certainly been guilty of calling a cockerel a rooster, especially when talking to non-chicken people.

Just had to barge in here... sorry.