Life Finds A Way


The feral bantam cockerels have survived the winter.
Every night they sleep in a yew tree in the Churchyard
and every daytime they beg and mooch around three gardens, tapping on windows for a handout or a treat and only giving a view of their handsomeness in return.
Its quite easy to tame an animal
You need to be calm, consistent, keep your eye gaze to yourself  and always offer food when the animals are hungry
Follow those rules and the cock is in your hand so to speak
Three days after I left out the remnants of Albert's dinner, the boys were tap-tap-tapping on the kitchen window reminding me they were waiting for breakfast and only this morning they sat patiently on the kitchen wall seconds before a regular dog walker ambling by reached into his pocket to leave a small pile of breadcrumbs almost at their feet.

73 comments:

  1. You seem to know a lot about cocks.

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    1. John has a very fetching picture on his blog taken with a cock in his hand... or could it be a hen.... sorry for my disgusting smuttiness...… :-)

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    2. No need to apologise for smuttiness young lady. A bit of smut never hurt anyone. I am not sure if the cock he's holding in that picture is his own or someone else's.

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    3. Well I nearly wrote 'his cock' but thought that might be a bit too smutty for the more delicate readers

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    4. I showed a rubber vagina and lost 4 followers!

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  2. We think we are clever feeding the birds, but they are also clever getting free food from humans .

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    1. Very few cocks have any brains... it's the hens that are brighter

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    2. The brains are in the balls.

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  3. Yorkshire Pudding got there before me, but I wouldn't have put it quite like that - more like my last comment.

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    1. No, not the last one. That was severed heads.

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    2. A cock in the hand is worth two in the bush.

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    3. A cock in the bush is (CENSORED BY BLOGGER CONTROL)

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    4. I've unleashed monsters

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    5. There'll be heads on poles soon. Mark my words.

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    6. This is all getting hard to swallow.

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  4. Handsome devils, though I imagine they could be right bastards if an attractive hen were to sashay through.

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  5. I do find it ever so hard not to keep looking at animals - all animals - only because my heart goes out to them in such a big way. It was one of the last lessons I ever learnt. Dogs especially, I find, are made so uneasy if you keep your gaze on them after the initial greeting, but of course you know that full well.

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    1. Raybeard, when I was a child I got a sweet little Easter chick..it grew up to be my Guard Rooster. When I was outside playing he would just hang around but if anyone or anything came near me he went aster them with deadly intent,lol,Deadly Rooster intent ...

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    2. He thought you were his hen and part of the flock he was sworn to protect!

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    3. Animal psychology is unfathomable, isn't it? Part of what makes them so deeply fascinating - and entertaining.

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    4. Lol! Yes Ms Moon, :)

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    5. Yes I agree to look after an animal properly you have to THINK like them

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  6. Yes, it can be quite easy to tame ... or train... the human animal.

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    1. In my case offer me a scotch egg and I'll do anything

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  7. Pretty birds. A can read the history 50 years from now, "the wild chicken flocks of Wales were started by two rosters gone rouge from one John Gray."

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  8. Do they crow in the morning and wake people up?

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  9. The Hubs and I have been trained very well by our flock of sparrows and resident squirrels. This winter, which was horrid, we went through at least 10 fifty pound bags of bird seed. Probably more. Dear Lord. We love feeding the wildlife. We have a few resident hawks who like to eat the birds, which we don't like. We know they need to eat, too, just please don't do it in front of the sliding door. Yeesh.

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    1. We have a flock of sparrows on the field.. the bully boys of small birds...I love em

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    2. I live next to a State forest so there are all kinds of bold little creatures in there.
      I might be the only person to enjoy the raccoons who visit each evening. That bright green snake was a surprise but he never came back.

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    3. I don't even mind when the Starlings arrive, and completely bomb the feeders! Their feathers are just lovely, and their clicking and chirping noises make me happy. Even though they are considered bullies, I adore them! (They will gobble up and stale crackers, popcorn, bread, chips! Recyclers!!)

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  10. Those are pretty boys, I had some a little like them last year. I don't have any now, I decided to retire from chickens and rabbits. This winter was truly horrible here and I never regretted my decision last fall. I love the sound of a rooster crowing... just not too early lol.

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    1. You need to space without tying pets

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  11. Handsome chaps. I didn't realise cocks stuck together (so to speak!).

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    1. Oh yes....they are almost glued together

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    2. They really do enjoy each others company in the absence of hens to fight over and as long as they all abide strictly to the pecking order. We once had a cockerel called Caldwell who lived very happily with his five sons in the flock.

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  12. They sound like our three crows here. They live in the trees and show up three times a day at least for a handout. We have become quite fond of them.
    I hope spring has sprung for you.

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    1. The crows come too when feeding time occurs.. bright birds

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  13. A local lady who keps chickens for their eggs regularly dumps her unwanted male birds in the small car park along our lane. There must be at least 4 different people who come along to leave piles of foord for them each day. Great for the cockerels but also a big attraction to rats and other vermin, who then move along to forage in our gardens. The local *lads* from town come racing along the lane at night in their hatchbacks and play a game of squash the rooster. Even though we find dead bodies on a regular basis, there are always more young cocks being dumped to take their place.

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    1. Over the years at least two dozen cockerels have been dumped on my field......

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  14. My chickens come up onto my porch every day, thinking that surely this will be the day for treats. They walk around and peck at everything which looks as if it might possibly be edible. They make themselves right at home. Eventually, they leave. If it weren't for their poop, it would be completely amusing.

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    1. I know the neighbours have been complaining about lots of little shits on their patio

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  15. i used to have the squirrels out back trained to eat out of my hand. i drove my dog crazy.

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  16. Well, they ARE very handsome!

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  17. We used to have a big lad we called Cornfake would tap on the kitchen door for his brekkie!

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  18. They appear to be 'livin the life'!!

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  19. May shock you, but I do think cocks are pretty and handsome. Might be the best two I have seen.

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    1. Do you see many in the city?

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    2. Well, I'm in Bucks County...very reminiscent of the English countryside. Philadelphia is about 40 mins of me. I have seen wild turkeys, fox, hens, cocks and even stray peacocks that escape the neighbors estate up the road.

      You were talking about cocks right?

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    3. Mistressmaddie , I lived in Northern NJ by the GWB
      We went to Bucks County in the fall and I always came home daydreaming about having an old house with dogs cats and chickens. And now all these years later I m talking about it with someone there :)

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  20. They really are the most beautiful birds. Have you no idea where they have come from?

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    1. Yes the riding stables on the other side of my field

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  21. They are very fine specimens! So happy they are ‘looked after’ by everyone :)

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    1. Raised by the village, like all good children

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  22. such handsome birds! who DOESN'T love a nice cock? ;-b

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  23. Stunning photo of this lovely pair John.

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  24. Oh, can I relate. Our one rooster, he makes a mad dash across the yard if he even SUSPECTS that I will be outside, as he has to see if there will be treats to follow...
    Cat (and yes, he lets me see how nice he looks...)

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  25. Anonymous7:54 pm

    May I add to this apparently bird-themed set of comments that as a rather traditional man I prefer tits; especially great tits

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    1. Good for you to address the balance x

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  26. Anonymous11:26 pm

    Aw nice. surprised their numbers havent deminished on a sunday late morning tho. Jac

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  27. I read ‘cock in your hand’ and I had to start reading again? 🤣😆
    Sooner pretty birds, tho.

    XoXo

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