Where on His Body is the Worst Place

[Mac14]

Very nice thread, now following it!

 

[CluckyCharms]

The roo is a very good roo, kind to his hens, and chivalrous. He finds them choice tidbits and always lets them eat to their fill before he indulges. Once he gave them a college lecture about snakes. They were in a circle around a garter snake, and he was talking to them, explaining about snakes. He is very handsome and loves me to hand feed him baby lettuces through the mesh. Since I had to hand raise him (his StepMama nearly pecked him to death), he thinks I'm a chicken. I put a lot of TLC into raising him and I would never eat him nor any of my other chickens. They are like children to me. I have no children of my own. My chickens are far too pretty to eat. They are works of art, each one a little bit of Heaven.

He is very protective of his hens and doesn't care for close contact with any people, especially men. He does love for me to talk and sing to him, like I did when he was a baby.

The only reason the chicken sitter (equivalent to a babysitter) had to get close to him was because the window that slides to close the run shut from the outside of the run accidentally broke, due to heavy snow, and there was no way for the chicken sitter to throw away the glass fragments and remove the broken window without the rooster being in the vicinity. With the working window in place, the rooster could be segregated from the coop, inside the chicken run, but with it broken, the rooster had free access to both coop and run. The rooster did not peck him or hurt him, but he did get feisty, thinking the chicken sitter was out to get his girls (the hens). The rooster was merely doing what he thought was his job, as the chicken sitter acknowledged.

Wanting to do a good job as a chicken sitter, the chicken sitter had to interact with the rooster, in order to clean up the dangerous, sharp glass, scoop the poop off the nesting shelves each morning, gather the eggs, put apple cider vinegar in their fresh water, make sure plenty of dry oystershell was available each day, as well as plenty of food and fresh lettuce each day. Without having a way to confine the rooster away, that was where the problem lay.

Now a new wooden sliding door is in place and there should be no more need for the chicken sitter to have to interact up close and personal with the rooster in the future. Unless there is an unforeseen freak accident with the door breaking or warping or some such. Hopefully not. It will make both the rooster and the chicken sitter very happy, not having to get in each other's personal space.

A chicken sitter keeps an eye out on the property-- watching for raccoons and other potential predators such as runaway dogs or hungry thieves, as well as any escaped chickens (which he will corral back into the chicken run), making sure the water hasn't frozen, making sure the food hasn't gotten rained or snowed on and wet and molded while one is gone, making sure the water and/or food hasn't gotten turned over by the chickens, ensuring the coop door hasn't blown off the hinges in a windstorm which could expose the chickens to a dangerous draft at night, making sure there is not emergency that might entail them needing to go to the vet (I have the Avian Vet listed for the chicken sitter to call, should he have need of medical services for my chickens), making sure no one comes up to the run and teases the chickens, that sort of thing. He also makes trips to the grocery store for fresh lettuce for the chickens, since lettuce lasts only a day or two, at best, after purchase. If you're gone for 10 days, that entails quite a few trips to the grocery store.

Does this answer all of your questions?

YES it answered my questions thanks! I wasn't trying to be snarkastic (snarky and sarcastic) I honestly didn't have a clue what a chicken sitter would be for, but now that you explained it a bit I understand how one would come in handy!

 

[ClareScifi]

I don't know what I'll do if mine ever moves away. Next week will be the 3d time this year he has chicken sat for me this year. I had a different chicken sitter last summer, but one of my chickens died the 2d day of my vacation, and it was super traumatic for both me and him (he had given me the chicken who died). He buried it for me while I was away, and he didn't tell me it had died until I returned from my vacation, so as not to spoil it. Chicken sitting is a huge responsibility. The worst part is if something goes wrong on your watch and you have to tell the owner when they get home that their chicken is dead. I mourned for the longest time, and then he got these eggs for me so my sole remaining chicken could hatch them so she would have companions. She was in deep grief over the loss of her sister. Coming home to that last summer was just horrible. She is still alive (knock on wood), my oldest chicken. This rooster I love is from one of the eggs she hatched last fall. So burying any chickens that die while you are chicken sitting is another potential responsibility of a chicken sitter-- a very unpleasant one.

 

[ClareScifi]

Someone asked to see a picture of Baby. I have posted a picture of him when he was a youngster. He is huge now. He has blue feathers on his neck, wings and tail, with a golden body. His feathers are very shiny. He has always had giant feet. I think he's a Beauty!

 

[aoxa]

Someone asked to see a picture of Baby.  I have posted a picture of him when he was a youngster.  He is huge now.  He has blue feathers on his neck, wings and tail, with a golden body.  His feathers are very shiny.  He has always had giant feet.  I think he's a Beauty!

He's beautiful, and looks really young!

 

[fishnet1971]

Maybe you will get lucky and his hormones are just going nuts with him growing up. He is very pretty and lucky to have you as a momma to care for him. Is there anyway you can keep them penned in so that your sitter will not have to be in any contact with them? just feed, water, clean poop, etc?

If I have to leave like that, my Mom or my neighbor boy checks that the door has opened in the AM and when they are out he closes the pop door and changes the water, adds feed, gets eggs, etc. then opens the pop door and leaves. none of the girls or 'Bird get in while he is doing that. My mom comes out in the PM and makes sure everyone got inside by dark adn that the door has closed. (I saved for MONTHS to get then one of the automatic door openers.)

My rooster 'Bird does not like anyone else and has tried to flog both of them, but by being able to open and close the pop door they need have no contact with him.

 

[ClareScifi]

Yes, that was the plan Fishnet, but the plan didn't work. The door that can be slid open and shut from outside the coop/run, to keep the birds and the chicken sitter apart from each other, broke to pieces the 2d day I was away, as the Chicken Sitter was trying to put it in place. That's why I now have a new wooden one in place, sturdier. Who knows whether it will work or not? Another freak accident could happen with it next time I am away. But that was the plan, and that same plan worked last summer while I was on vacation, but we think the freak cold storm with snow caused the glass to shatter this time. There is no glass in my new protective sliding door. So, we'll see.

 

[ClareScifi]

My rooster is now almost 14 months old. I'll post a current picture of him soon.

 

[HOTONE]

I TAKE A FLYSWATTER WITH ME. WORKS WELL!!

 

[ClareScifi]

Really? I don't think a flyswatter would faze my boy. When his hormones were starting to hit, I tried a hot pink water gun. LOL. My boy doesn't care for guns. He pecked a big hole in it as I was shooting, and all the water drained out onto my foot.