Jesus Loves me ( This I Know...for the Bible tells me so)

Some animals suddenly become extraordinary tame. It's an odd phenomenon, for it doesn't always come down to the fact that they are hand reared or cared for when ill.
Some animals just take to you, whether you like it or not.
Jesus , the only chick on the field this year has had a checkered little life since he was hatched on Easter Sunday.
Raised by the last crackhead whore who rejected him  as soon as he feathered up, the little hen has suffered the last of the badger attacks ( his coop had it's nesting box ripped away in the night but he was small enough to keep out of the way of hungry teeth) then found himself bullied by the larger hens in a succession of robust hen houses before being set up in his own raised coop out of the way of  predators.
His adventures has made him strangely confident, and over the past week or so, he has actively sought me out every time I appear,forcing himself in my hand time and time again to be petted.
Perhaps it's a case of not biting the hand that feeds him


I think the photo captures his personality quite well
I have a feeling he's quietly bananas 
beneath the feathers




64 comments:

  1. Sweet little fellow.....

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  2. What a brave little guy he is!

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  3. My Richard has become extremely friendly, not only with me but with the dogs too. Nice.

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  4. We had a hen once whom we called "Pecker", she was really really fierce and we had to chase her into the henhouse at night. Then suddenly, as you say about Jesus,, Pecker became really friendly and asked to be picked up and stroked at every opportunity

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  5. We had one surviving chook after a fox attack, I think she forgot she was a chicken after a while. She used to tap on the window and peer in at us when she wanted feeding.

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  6. He has his beak poised just ready to take a lump out of the iPad screen..

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  7. He knows a good man when he meets one, chicken love,

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  8. Anonymous12:47 pm

    You're his protector. We'll have to start calling you The Chicken Whisperer.

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  9. This is so sweet. Love little Jesus. x

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  10. Okay, I'm a tad confused. You refer to the bird as both a hen AND a him. I thought female chickens are hens and male chickens are roosters. Are you telling me the baby Jesus is, well, cross-feathering? Inquiring minds want to know.... :-D

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    1. Well I originally called it Jesus
      But the older she gets the more like a hen she is becoming
      But the name has stuck

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  11. He could not be in better hands ... sweet Jesus.

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  12. He thinks you're his mummy - so act the part.

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    1. I agree with Raybeard that regardless of whether Jesus is a lad or a lass the little chicken does indeed think that you are its Mum (or possibly its Dad... though probably its Mum, because chicken Dads are a bit neglectful, as are "crackhead whore" Mums though...). Oh... It may be a confusing relationship but it seems to be a good one. I hope you are both very happy together.

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    2. Perhaps he's over compensating ....having a car head for a mother must have been tough

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  13. I think Jesus is a girl. But hey that is ok.

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  14. Anonymous2:00 pm

    That face! He belongs on the sidebar.

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  15. Susie's got a point!

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  16. 'He'? :looks rather like a 'she' to me - but you know best.
    There is nothing crueller than hens if they find one of their own vulnerable. He/she needs your affection. Cuddles in bed?

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    1. I think Jesus is a hen too , but the name has kinda stuck

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  17. he is very ginger/orange. Will he change much more in colour?

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  18. That bird looks demented.

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    1. Like I said quietly mad as a box of frogs

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  19. I have a feeling that most of us are quietly bananas beneath our feathers.

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  20. Mummy John and his little hen Jesus.....sounds perfectly normal. I do think he needs to be added to the sidebar as well.

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    1. I was going to say "I love my Dad, me"

      But "Mummy John and his little hen Jesus" is absolutely spot on. I'm not going to use the hackneyed "lol" but I really did laugh out loud. After a bad day at work it really cheered me up.

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  21. Jesus! She looks like a vulture! Hopefully she is just going through an ugly 'duckling' stage. Good on her for standing up to all the bullies. She deserves to be here :)

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  22. He/she is lovely. You've got to love a survivor and Jesus seems to be that. Maybe he/she has divine protection due to her date of birth and name ;-)

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  23. My cat does that when he wants his ears scratched. A quite desperation fueling the neediness; a totally competent cat when he doesn't need his ears scratched.

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  24. Jesus has that 'look'! If he could, I am sure he/she would give you 'an earful'!!

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  25. I bow to her superior "quietly bananas" mine is the loud type.

    XO
    WWW

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  26. Bananas about you perhaps. Then again, all my pups have that look at times; mostly when they want a bum scratch.

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    1. I never thought I would ever say this
      But tomorrow I will itch Jesus' bum!

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  27. "It isn't Jesus...it's just a fella". You mad think of that classic line from that classic northern film: Whistle Down The Wind."

    We once had a very friendly heifer who would stop in the field and make you rub her belly. We later found out she was an half twin or a Free-Martin. Meaning that she looked like a female but but had male internal organs so she was barren and we had to fatten her and sell her to the butcher. I'll never forget her though. Nice post John.

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  28. Sorry about the typos. I am like you with my reading glasses, John.

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  29. S/he is apparently sane enough to know which way food and safety lie :)

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  30. I was instantly transported back to the Sunday School anniversary circa 1966!! Can we also sing " climb climb up sunshine mountain"? xxx

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    1. I haven't thought about the title hymn for many years
      Now all I can hear in my head are babbling kids

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  31. I am always fascinated by animal preferences for particular people. Sometimes 'cupboard love' and sometimes much more difficult to pin point. And Jesus is a smart little bird - even if he/she is a touch loopy. Which given his start to life is hardly surprising.

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    1. I think he/ she is just a mad fucker

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  32. He knows and is happy being with you. You are his touchstone just like Watson is for thehamish.

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. Or that woman from terms of endearment

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    2. If you mean Shirley McLaine she is a hoot and I have a funny story about her when our home were burning down in 1993... She is my leader !

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  33. Lets face it you now have a lap pet. lol

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  34. Quietly bananas?
    that chick is batshit crazy!!!
    x

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  35. Jesus has had is cross to bear but instead of becoming an angry chick, he has sought the comfort of a kind hand.

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  36. Just lookin for love where he can get it! Sweet crazy little guy.

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  37. Let's give the little feller some credit here. Maybe he's smarter than he looks and he knows a good one when he sees it!

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  38. Anonymous6:22 am

    Dear Gerald Durrell, what a sweet story, not least the moral(e) of it. I am inordinately fond of Nietzsche though don't like the saying he coined, namely "that which doesn't destroy us makes us stronger".

    Your little Jesus in the chicken coop makes me think there is something in it after all.

    And WHO could resist your hand, John?

    U

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  39. Sweetest thing ever! BTW, the other Jesus loves you too.

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  40. John, why can't I get you back on my blog list - your site refuses to play ball - can you send me any instructions.

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  41. The dinosaur in him can be clearly seen.

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  42. COME HERE! SATAN WANTS TO WHISPER SOMETHING IN YOUR EAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND SUDDENLY WE ARE ONCE AGAIN SURROUNDED BY OLD! WOMEN! WE JUST NEED TO GO NOW AND FIND THE MAD CATS! LOL!

    http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/pope-francis-approves-the-revival-of-exorcism-as-a-canon-catholic-practice/story-fniym3t1-1226976158404

    :0p

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  43. Oh, Jesus... looks more than quietly bananas!

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  44. He might be quietly bananas beneath the feathers, but he's a cutie, and somehow he equates you as someone safe.

    A friend of mine has two cats; one is friendly to everyone he meets, the other hides and rarely allows any visitor to see him. I was allowed a few glimpses, and once he even let me pet him. Then he went back to hibernation mode again. In the last two months, he has, for whatever reason, decided that i'm his friend, and each time i've visited he comes over to see me.

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  45. He's quite a cutey.

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