Body Language - Some People Should Learn It
April 11th, 2009As I’ve mentioned in the past, Bernie and I are pack rats and rarely throw anything away. Sometimes this works in our favor. A few days ago I mentioned to Bernie that it would be nice to have a few benches in the yard. Just a few places where we could sit in the shade and enjoy the day. His face lit up as he remembered a pile of old lumber he had stored from over twenty years ago. And within a few minutes, we had two of these in the yard.
He pulled out some logs from the pile he had cut out of trees that fell around here and nailed a piece of treated, near petrified, wood on the top of a couple of them for the seat. I just love these benches.
After being penned in the run for a full week, my poor chickens were begging to get out and free range. It had been several days since we had seen any sign of chicken hawks, so a few days ago, I began free ranging the chickens again. So far, so good.
Friday morning we had an insurance agent stop by with papers for us to sign. I did not give a thought to the chickens being out in the yard, until Mr. Insurance got ready to leave. I stepped out on the porch as he was leaving, and spotted Duke, way up on the hill - at the exact moment that Duke spotted Mr. Insurance. I didn’t like the look on Duke’s face.
As Mr. Insurance opened his car door, Duke was heading toward him. “That’s a big chicken right there”, Mr. Insurance commented, resting one arm on the opened car door, and one on the roof of his car.
“Yes, he is. Well you have a good day.” I told him. I was praying he would leave before Duke got to him.
Duke was within 20 feet at this point, and now he was going sideways toward Mr. Insurance.
Mr. Insurance excitedly exclaimed “Ah, look at that! He wants to go home with me! Don’t you boy? Do you want to go home with me? Yes, you do! You sure do! ”
I did not have the heart to tell Mr. Insurance that what Duke really wanted to do was pen him to the ground and peck his eyes out. Instead, I quickly got between him and Duke and said “Um, you better get on outta here now.”
Mr. Insurance chuckled and as he got into the car and was closing his door, he said “Ah, big boy. You can’t go home with me. You big boy, you.”
Duke was glaring at Mr. Insurance and clearly annoyed that I had prevented him from teaching Mr. Insurance a thing or two about how much he wanted to go home with him.
As Mr. Insurance drove off, smiling and waving at Duke, Duke beat his wings furiously and let out a few crows I’m certain they heard in the next county.
Duke is not a mean rooster. But, as spring gears up, he is a rooster that is full of testosterone, and he is a rooster that is on edge from all the recent hawk activity. For the foreseeable future, I will be certain Duke is penned up when we expect visitors.
Those of you with protective roosters will understand Duke’s attitude and behavior. Those of you without, well….. just let me say that if you see a rooster coming at you sideways, going home with you is likely the furthest thing from his little pea brain. And, unless you want to get up close and personal with an angry roo, it’s probably best not to baby talk him. You really may want to get on outta there.
The chicks are getting so big. Look at this one’s size next to mama.
I suppose we’ll soon know if we have any cockerels in the mix. I’m still calling each of them “she”, but this Duke looking thing has me worried.
Get a load of these Duke feet!
The gray legs on this one tell me this is a Phoenix mix - perhaps even a full bred.
I love my Phoenix chickens. The pullets are pretty, sweet little girls, and they are good layers. The Phoenix cockerel is absolutely beautiful, with a sweet disposition. I think Bobby Lee is a fine specimen.
Phoenix roosters are small and, in nature, size matters. Bobby Lee is second in command to Duke. And, while Bobby Lee is very attentive to the girls, he clearly understands the limitations his size inflicts on him. When there is danger, Duke is the one that will stand to challenge it. Bobby Lee is the one that will herd all the girls to safety - and stay there until Duke let’s him know the coast is clear.
I do love my roosters. And their body language tells me they have no interest in leaving me - at least not to go home with an insurance agent.
Bee Free,
Penny
Tags: rooster aggression
April 11th, 2009 at 10:04 am
Penny, what a hoot! Maybe I need to get a guard rooster, I’ve got a few insurance and feed salemen I would like to show the door to! And your neat benches–they are perfect for your homestead. Bernie did a great job.
Have a great Easter!
April 11th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Hey Penny ask Bernie ,were is my bench. I want 1 for next to my garden.
And Duck is a super guard rooster, Hey did the Insurance guy have a red coat on Ha! Ha! Hope you have a good Easter, If I get to plant something in my garden I will have a super one.
April 11th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Hey Cotton Lady - a good guard rooster may be just what you need! They don’t put up with the nonsense of salesmen very well
And thanks for the complement on the benches - I really love them. I still want a few more here and there. Maybe I’ll fix Bernie one of his favorite dishes for supper and bring it up while we’re eating…..
Hey Charlotte - the insurance guy wasn’t wearing red, but he WAS wearing a tie. Plus he was annoying. Hope you have a great Easter too!
April 11th, 2009 at 10:49 am
The bench is just lovely and what a great use of old wood…. just make sure you dont get splinters in ya bum though……
Love the photos of your chickens…….. there is only one person, one of me lads maties, the same person each time, that our Cedric goes for lol, other then this boy, Cedric is a scary cat LOL….. or chicken shit as we would say….
Marble is now definetely a cockeral judging by he is always stuck to his Auntie Janets back……. I think she is being bonked to death lol……. death by bonking, cant be such a bad thing…. oh shut it, its been a while for me lmfao……
x
April 11th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Marmitetoasty - good for Marble! I guess Cedric isn’t bothered by Marble’s, um, affection to his girls? And I don’t know why you say Marble is ugly - he’s a handsome boy in his own right. But that Cedric….. oh, that is one fine looking young man.
April 11th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
I never thought of roosters as cute until I saw those pictures! I did meet an angry rooster once. We had a mixed Lab who was super cute, but the dumbest dog I’ve ever met! He wanted to play with posessive-testosterone-filled rooster. So she hopped over, wagging her tail to sniff the rooster….and she high tailed it back home in less than a second. Also, this dog was born with only 3 legs so this added to the entertainment. Loved her to death, but she was d-u-m-b. She tried to play with a snake and got bit (non venomous). Ohh the memories
You have such an adorable family! And I LOVE the stuff you sent me in the mail. My skin has never felt so soft and smooth EVER. Still haven’t made the brownies but we will in the near future =)
April 12th, 2009 at 6:09 am
Nicole - too funny about that Lab mix. Poor thing - probably just wanted to play. Roosters do not typically make very good play mates
I’m happy you like your soap and lotion. Let me know what y’all think of those brownies. I only make them when I have people to share them with - the mix makes ALOT and I would eat every bit of those brownies if someone didn’t help eat them!
April 12th, 2009 at 7:00 am
Wow, I remember seeing Duke not even a year ago and he was just a runt ! Now he’s huge ! Sounds like he’s smart, too :)))).
April 12th, 2009 at 7:40 am
Hi Shirley - it’s amazing how fast chickens grow! When you last saw Duke, he was just a little older than the baby chicks we have now. He has turned out to be an awesome roo - and quite handsome, if I do say so myself
April 14th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
OMG - I laughed so hard at the story of Duke and Mr. Insurance Dude that I had to read it out loud to my husband. You are a writer!! Very funny stuff. And of course, we can SO relate right now, what with our big beautiful Silver-Laced Wyandotte rooster, Roopert, who takes his job VERY seriously and now, with the spring season, chases Jim my husband (and anyone else who isn’t me) every chance he gets.
Thanks for the laughter today.
April 14th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Farmgirl_dk - thanks for stopping by! Yes indeed - spring will bring out any aggression the friendliest roo may have. Fun times! And at least your husband has sense enough to run!
April 14th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Ohhh my the brownies were soooo good! Everyone here enjoyed them. Well…funny story. My Mom is visiting and I told her my blog friend sent me the mix along with the super-incredibly-awesome lotion and soap. She said “Someone on the Internet you don’t know sent you food?” Ummm…yep. So they made me take the first bite…then they waited to see if I fell on the floor. Hehe. But they smelled way too good not to try and we ended up eating half of them! Thanks again!