Lost praetorian
In the Brooder
- Aug 4, 2021
- 19
- 23
- 36
So, I had these 2 roosters that died recently.
Zane, a red star rooster, really chill dude. Only ever looked at newcomers funny, nothing else.
Rags, a blue Cochin bantam rooster, ridiculously fluffy, and a bit paranoid, but mostly peaceful. Only ever crowed once when he got his head stuck in the chicken wire.
He and Zane were raised together, despite that they were both men.
Now, in the brooder, Zane got really big really fast, but was a cool dude. He'd cover the other chicks with his wings when they got cold, or it was time to change the wood chips. Rags was always the first to hide underneath Zane, often pushing other chicks out as "sacrifices."
Eventually I had to move Zane to the outside because he and his sister were too large to keep in the box.
So a few weeks pass, and I put Rags and the other 12 chicks out there, only for the elder chickens to shun them for like a week. But during that week, it came a big thunderstorm, and I go out there to put an extra bar on the gate to the run, to find Zane trying to corral the younger ones into the coop and out of the rain. It did not work, so he sat out there with them.
Fast forward to about a month ago; Zane and about 7 other chickens got sick. Coccidiosis I think it was. Zane didn't make it, and died. Rags, who followed Zane around everywhere, was crushed to death by his body. It was much sad.
So about an hour later, when I have the grave dug, I find Rags up and walking around, escorted by the last (fully grown) Rhode island red.
Rags never did act right after that, and a few days later I found him dead in the run while the others wandered in the yard. The same Rhode island was keeping a silent vigil over him.
Rags is buried next to Zane on the edge of the woods alongside the other 7 dead ones.
That's pretty much it. They were cool guys, never even crowed that much.
Zane, a red star rooster, really chill dude. Only ever looked at newcomers funny, nothing else.
Rags, a blue Cochin bantam rooster, ridiculously fluffy, and a bit paranoid, but mostly peaceful. Only ever crowed once when he got his head stuck in the chicken wire.
He and Zane were raised together, despite that they were both men.
Now, in the brooder, Zane got really big really fast, but was a cool dude. He'd cover the other chicks with his wings when they got cold, or it was time to change the wood chips. Rags was always the first to hide underneath Zane, often pushing other chicks out as "sacrifices."
Eventually I had to move Zane to the outside because he and his sister were too large to keep in the box.
So a few weeks pass, and I put Rags and the other 12 chicks out there, only for the elder chickens to shun them for like a week. But during that week, it came a big thunderstorm, and I go out there to put an extra bar on the gate to the run, to find Zane trying to corral the younger ones into the coop and out of the rain. It did not work, so he sat out there with them.
Fast forward to about a month ago; Zane and about 7 other chickens got sick. Coccidiosis I think it was. Zane didn't make it, and died. Rags, who followed Zane around everywhere, was crushed to death by his body. It was much sad.
So about an hour later, when I have the grave dug, I find Rags up and walking around, escorted by the last (fully grown) Rhode island red.
Rags never did act right after that, and a few days later I found him dead in the run while the others wandered in the yard. The same Rhode island was keeping a silent vigil over him.
Rags is buried next to Zane on the edge of the woods alongside the other 7 dead ones.
That's pretty much it. They were cool guys, never even crowed that much.