Those Amazing Roosters

I consider myself extremely lucky to have two new roosters  – Harold and Henry – added to the “flock” recently.  They’re amazingly beautiful, and above all – they’re sweet.  The first night on the ranch, they allowed me to lovingly hug them individually… without any resistance whatsoever.  We started this relationship right!

I don’t know their in-depth history, except that someone that was threatening to kill them – so a really cool vegan guy named Adam rescued them, and they were taken to safety at an apartment in Eugene, OR.  Obviously they were there against city ordinances so there was urgency in placing them. They were delivered to the ranch a few weeks ago, and life here hasn’t been the same.

None of the hens that live here, (14 to be exact); have ever been around a rooster before.  Not for any reason other than I’d just not rescued any before.  But now I will go in search of them.

Every night when the sun goes down and the hens go to perch in the barn for the night – they fight over who gets to be closest to one of the boys.  They snuggle as close as they can – each rooster hanging with at least 5-6 hens on each side.  It is comical because they are all in love with these boys.

The mistaken portrayal of roosters being mean and ornery could not be further from the truth.

I noticed a few days ago that one of the hens was trying to lay an egg in a nest that was already occupied.  I will never understand why hens don’t just find another place to lay – but they’re creatures of habit – and this day mama hen was raising all kinds of havoc and making some very loud sounds in protest … but Harold was there to aid her.  He took her into the bushes and lay down as if to show her she could lay an egg here if it had to come out.  He was obviously trying to relieve her angst.  It was priceless.

Today – since it’s been raining, the ground has been full of worms… a major chicken treat – and I noticed Harold calling the hens in an unusually sweet tone, pointing out worms to them so they could enjoy the treat.  He proudly stood by and watched while two or three hens shared… never taking the treat for himself.  This melted my heart so deeply I couldn’t even begin to describe it.  He is their keeper – their mate  – and that is the purest love I can imagine.

Henry is a bit shyer than Harold, although he’s out and about all day with the hens; Harold seems to be the more of a leader than Henry.  But while they are all out, the boys go on lookout for predators, and when they see something that is questionable – the warning sounds go off (completely different sounds than I’ve ever heard) and all of the hens get to safety quickly.

I’m just gushing over these boys… who are now, by the way, running to me when I bring out veggie scraps.  They have no fear of me, and I of them… and life is good on the ranch.