I just wanted to illustrate that sometimes humans win over aggressive cockerels ( see previous post)
And sometimes the cockerels win
Forgive the repeat blogs from 2013 but they kind of illustrate my point
And sometimes the cockerels win
Forgive the repeat blogs from 2013 but they kind of illustrate my point
" f*ck......I've Just Killed Bogbrush!"
Sometimes you just don't think when faced with a " difficult" situation
You just react.
And that does not always work out the way you would wish.
This evening, just as I was encouraging the tiny Useless little buggers into their coop
Bogbrush the aggressive silkie cockerel
Hurtled forward and started to kick the shit out of the tiny male bantam right in front of me.
Without a thought I swung the tin feed bowl I was holding and clacked Bogbrush smartly on the head with it to teach him a lesson in manners
And unfortunately this was the result
RIP Bogbrush
Life is hard sometimes
When you are a bully
There is always someone bigger than you
Sexing Camilla
My profession (aka. Paid job) is as a wildlife ecologist,so I can finally offer you some professional advice John! Since Canada geese are not sexually dimorphic (they have the same plumage), in order to tell the sex of the bird you have to get up close and personal with them. This entails grabbing the goose, putting it on its back between your legs on the ground with the head tucked
under your body and pressing hard with your thumbs on either side of the vent/cloacal opening. If it is a gander, a corkscrew shaped appendage will pop out. If not, you have a female. On goose banding days we do hundreds of them at a go. We also do bag checks of duck hunters and it is much easier sexing a dead goose than a live one!
So said the delightful Sherry from Spinners End Farm and this morning I took her advice, grabbed Camilla/ Charles ( delete when appropriate) when I let the animals out of their houses and in one swift movement popped the goose on his back and straddled him.
Everything was going swimmingly, even though Camilla was honking like an express train, and I was just about to flex the old thumbs around the aforementioned cloacal opening when all hell let loose.
I had just had time to turn my head to the right when I was hit in the face by a flurry of claws, beak and red feathers.
No doubt spurred on by Camilla's distress calls, Eric the diminutive cockerel had suddenly decided to go all super hero and batter the shit out of me, and luckily for him I was in an ideal position ( with my hands busy) not to be able to defend myself.
Eric got several more karate chops in before I made a run for it.
Camilla remains unsexed
And I got my arse well and truly kicked by a six inch high cockerel
 |
| Eric wounds...I need a hot sweet tea |
Christ... and I used think I wanted chickens.
ReplyDeleteDon't xxx
DeleteOMG! That is quite an ass-whoopin' you got there!
ReplyDeleteWell I hope one of my friends would do the same if you tried to put me on my back and pop my appendage out.
ReplyDeleteI think you got off lightly.
So much for the thought of farming as an idyllic lifestyle :)
ReplyDeleteBy the way, is your tetanus immunisation up to date?
ReplyDeleteWe wouldn't want to have you killed by a blow from a little cock
Sigh, think I'd hang it up by now...
ReplyDeleteHilarious - beaten to a pulp by next Sunday's lunch!
ReplyDelete'scuse me, but I've got to go and lie down now.
ReplyDeleteRemind me to post the story about 'helping' my grandfather with a randy bullock...
ReplyDeleteAs you say all's fair in cockerel world, some you win and some you lose. The best defence against any cockerel is to love them to bits from the minute they hatch and then remind them with a forcible cuddle if they decide to bite/attack the hand that feeds them.
ReplyDeleteOr if your cockerel only attacks your husband, sit back, laugh and take photos for your Blog (well that's what I do) ;-)
Go free with the scotch eggs this weekend John - you need the comfort with a face like that.
ReplyDeleteOuch, that looks painful .... I sympathise, last year I got my ass thoroughly kicked by an aggressive goose called Archie who thought that I was too close his "mate" AKA my friend Penny (a human) and in order to get me to go away, he decided it would be a good idea to grab hold of the back of my leg in his beak while bashing me with his wings and kicking me with his feet, I was black and blue for days.
ReplyDeleteeek you dont want a repeat of that
ReplyDeleteOh well. another Sunday roast chicken.
ReplyDeleteI think you need a balaclava John - not to hide your wounds but to protect you from a future cock attack!!!
ReplyDeleteOUCH!!! They're turning on you.
ReplyDeleteTalk about biting the hand that feeds. You need some anger management on the field.
ReplyDeleteDo so want to be your neighbor. I am going to have to get my home computer working better so I can keep up with your adventures for the two weeks I will be off work over the Holidays. Or else you are not allowed to do anything exciting while I am in the internet deadzone. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm flattered xxx
DeleteA very experienced chicken whisperer told me a magic word to quietly utter.
ReplyDeletePAXO!
OMG John Gray, you do make me laugh.
ReplyDeleteand a tetanus jab
ReplyDeleteHmmm...that's your face, not your arse. I think.
ReplyDeleteOh my god, I shouldn't laugh, but that is funny. Hope your okay!
ReplyDeleteReminds me of a story that my hubby brought home about a fellow worker of his and so the story goes.....this poor chap was approx. 16 yrs old and was helping his father on the family farm and running cows/calves through the hoof trimming chute. There was one bovine that took exception to being restrained in the chute and promptly wriggled and forcefully got one hind leg out of the confines of the chute. The young man (nickname is Farmer) proceeded to attempt to restrain the freed leg, when the leg jerked free and viciously kicked him in the scrotum. (Pausing here for all the groans I know are being vocalized) .........Off to the ER for some stitches for young Farmer, 40 of them were inserted without benefit of have a local pain killer (I was told that they are unable to numb that portion of the male anatomy- to which I replied "Totally makes sense")
ReplyDeleteFast forward several years and this same man is doing cement work on a side walk with a chute from the truck pouring just behind his back, the truck jumped into gear without warning and the chute flipped up and the grab hook at the end of this chute grabbed Farmer's scrotum and ripped it so badly that both testicles fell out!!!! (bigger pause for more moaning............)
60!!! yes, I said 60 stitches later the Doctor said to Farmer, "I don't think I've ever had anyone bend the handles on my metal examination table prior to today"
And yes, this man has 3 children and has no permanent damage. Seems a bit to me like he should stay away anything that is described as a "chute"!!!! True story too, because there's no way you can make that crap up.
Hmm chain mail balaclava, put one on your Christmas list.........xx
ReplyDelete