CROOKED BOTTOM
I had a chicken catcher visit yesterday. A young man who spent a couple of hours sneaking up on the runaway chickens catching them and returning them to the chicken coop. So to date there is only one (or maybe two) still wandering about with no home. 
We have pigs to feed and I need all those eggs to be laid in the chook house. (We were gifted with SEVEN eggs yesterday!) The downside, of bringing wild chickens back into the fold, is that once we get a few stragglers back in there I have to keep the chooks door shut for a few weeks so the new ones can develop their homing instinct again. Otherwise, they just swan off with the wild roosters the first chance they get. Part Two is to rehome the roosters.
This morning I am hoping to get the chicken catcher back for a few hours and we will catch as many of these roosters as possible. They will go to the West barn. There was a wandering dog across the road on the West side who used to kill any chickens I homed over there but he is gone now – we think he died of old age but it is an awkward question to ask somebody who seldom comes out of their house for a casual conversation – “knock, knock, how are you, haven’t seen your dog in a while, is he dead?” – no, best just to make an educated guess and begin the migration.
The weather was so good yesterday that all the little pigs were out walking and scavenging through the field. Even Tane. Though with his crippled back legs it took him a long time with a lot of rests to get out there and a long time with a lot of rests all the way back home later in the day. The chicken-catcher and I had to help him for the last bit. He was very happy for the adventure though.
Wai making his bed. All I could see was his crooked bottom.
I hope you have a lovely day.
love celi
WEATHER:
Sunday 01/28 10% / 0 in
Sunshine to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 42F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night 01/28 40% / < 1 in
Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to occasional snow showers overnight. Low 24F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 40%.
Sun
7:07 am 5:05 pm
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 87% visible 2:13 pm 4:09 am
41 Comments on “CROOKED BOTTOM”
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Time to make coq au vin!
Quite possibly – though they are old fellas..
Too tough perhaps…
Very old birds. But battling through the winter out side. They will do better in the big barn
Cock-a-leekie then; a very traditional Scottish recipe, perfect for old fellas. (our Big Fella included)
Christine
At Garybuie that is!
HAHAHAHA! I’ll ask your neighbor about their (possibly) dead dog for you. It’s a question that needs answering! Can roosters be put in the pot, or are they too tough?
We have not seen him all winter – and he was an old dog – though that never stopped him killing two or three chickens a day.
UGH! Bad dog!
Celi, what breed of chicken do you have? And are they good layers? We have Barred Rock, and they produced well for a while, but they are not laying like they used to, even in the warm weather. And they are still young as well. 😦
I had Cuckoo Marans that did the same thing. Hopeless. The leghorns – also known as the escape artists – are honestly the best layers, they don’t eat much and lay big beautiful white eggs but they are not pretty and are HARD TO CATCH! – my others are a mix of good old Rhode island red and barn yard chickens – they are great. Start them in the fall so they GROW over the winter and begin to lay in the spring. That way you get a longer run. But you know all that. c
I have a black copper maran that does the same thing though her eggs are a beautiful dark brown, when she lays one!
Hilarious to think about that knock knock house visit. Listen that second last pic is gorgeous. You should keep it aside for a calendar. And maybe think about doing a mostly bird, chicken, peacock and a cow pig or two calendar sometime. Well end of the year thing you know. Have a wonderful day.
I have a calendar on my zazzle shop. But you are right the next one will be ALL animals.
I can see why your chook wrangler might have an affinity for ginger cats, too!
That is Egoli who you will remember was originally a stray that this fella found when he was a youngster and brought here. So he has a connection with that cat which is very sweet.
Yes, Kate, I loved the two gingers together! You can indeed see the connexion, and not just in beautiful coloring. 🙂
Hello Cecilia, New York was a whirlwind and now I am settling into “home” and your farm. Ahhhhhhhh. So comfy.
And your pictures on Instagram were Marvellous!! Welcome back. c
Those old roosters make good chicken stock and chicken fricassee.
You are all forgetting that I prefer not to kill- myself. Unless I have to put an animal down due to illness. I have never killed and dressed a bird and don’t want to practice on my own birds. Just how I am. There are only a few old roosters and I need their housekeeping skills on the other side. It’s ok. They have been around a while I don’t mind them
We grew up eating chicken fricassee. I guess now the old roosters get ground up and used as McDonald’s chicken nuggets… or something. LOL
Chickens can be a bit problematic….when we lived in a small city outside of Portland Oregon we had “city chickens” …just 4-5 at a time. We had Bantys as they tended not to roam and would provide us with lovely little eggs usually 3-4 each day. Plus they would not do too much damage to our garden. Well one day a policeman came to our door and said a neighbor was complaining because one of our chooks was waking her up at 5am trying to crow outside her window. Seriously.
So it took us 4 days to roust her out of the tree and back into the coop to sleep at night. She was trainable. Silly neighbor- do not know why she couldn’t just talk to us directly.
Your last two photos are sublime- the romantic warm color is gorgeous!
What odd neighbours – obviously they knew it was your bird. Ah well – alls well that ends well..
You live and learn..l have never heard of a chicken catcher! Does he have an apptitude for catching chickens or a definite method…does he have much work catching stray chooks.? Its lovely to see Wai’s crooked bottom..if it hadn’t been for your dedicated care he would not be here at all. You must feel a great sense of achivement every time you see him. I hope that your day will be a good one….l was going to say relaxing but that’s not even in your vocabulary.. Anyway MissC have a great day..lots of love
He is Johns nephew and spent the afternoon catching my stray chickens – just a nice boy.
My uncle, who had a hatchery, was always having to catch escaped chickens and he had a lot of chickens. Wai’s crooked bottom looks much better than when we first saw it and I’m sure he’s a lot happier now too. It’s so nice Tane got out for a stroll even if it’s hard for him, I’m sure he really enjoyed it.
Poor old Tane – he quite wore himself out..
I’m fascinated by your last picture. Standing behind the chicken, It looks to be a young woman with long, dark hair. white long-sleeved blouse, and a dark long sleeveless sweater vest over it. It’s (she’s) beautiful! On closer examination, it’s the wood grain in the wall behind your lovely chicken. See it? Happy Sunday to you!
I will go and look for it – you have such a vivid imagination!!
Ahh Ton with his stick as usual made me laugh, and what a handsome chicken catcher.
I know- Ton and his sticks –
I love that job description: chicken catcher.
I got another one this morning too so we are almost up to date now!
Chicken catcher would be an odd citation on a resume.
Would give them a double take!
A chicken chaser??? Where on earth does one get one of these? is this a degree? licensed and bonded? The mind swirls.
When you come to visit i will train you – of course you have to think like a chicken!
Chicken wrangling-a new one instead of cowboy, is it chickenboy? nah! Chicken wrangler sounds a lot better.
I am a chicken wrangler, but Forrest is even quicker than I am! We have a long stiff wire with a handle and a hook-shaped end to it. It’s easy to snag a chicken leg that way, instead of the up and down on the run trying to catch them by hand. But if I had a young wrangler, I would employ him or her of course. At our age, you are correct, it’s all about thinking like a chicken and utilizing wit so that there isn’t much chasing. Two people working together is great strategy!
I love the rear shot of Wai. And we should all be like Tane… never lose that sense of adventure!
Seven eggs .. well done!