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| Here is Mr. Gibson with her seven last June. Lucky is the one trailing behind. |
May, 2012 Mr. Gibson hatched seven of eight Araucana eggs that had been fertilized by the famous counter-terrorist Rooster Jack Bauer. (Remember Jack Bauer had crossed the road to live with our neighbors and they gave us these eggs.) Very soon after these seven hatched and were starting to roost with the other chickens, Mr. Gibson became broody again and abandoned them to sit on another clutch of eggs. I should not have let that happen.
Finding themselves motherless too soon, this little band of renegade chicks left the hen house and began roosting alone in the barn rafters. Only one of them had a name and that was Lucky. She was the one I managed to save from drowning soon after they hatched.
Four of these six month old chickens remain and they refuse to interact with the other flock. They are a feral renegade flock and they will not let me get near them. Their leader is a gorgeous rooster I have named King Kong. Two of the hens are Chicken Little II, and White Shadow. The third hen is Lucky.
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| Chicken Little II, King Kong, White Shadow and you can just barely see Lucky behind and in the middle. I had to zoom just to catch this snapshot. |
(P.S. On a very sad note, our dear Mr. Gibson died in a nest box last month trying to hatch another clutch of eggs. I believe she may have been egg-bound, She was like her mother Elenore Hen, a constant nurturer.)
Poor Mr. Gibson. She sounded like a good mama hen. I don't know enough about gridlock in chicken politics to predict if those renegade chicks will ever join the other flock.
ReplyDeleteaww bless Mr.Gibson.. many human children can only dream of being as well cared for.
ReplyDeleteI hope the new chicklets will join the rest of the family.
Sorry to hear about Mr. Gibson. She thought she needed to take care of everyone. I wouldn't know anything about if the renegades will ever come around. All the chickens we have around us are renegades....no one really owns them.
ReplyDeleteMost of the time birds live in harmony as long as they are well fed. Your roosters and chicken remind me of my parents house in India. The government of India would actually give grants to families who were interested in raising chicken.
ReplyDeleteI didn't begin to realize that they have their own personalities and groups like that - or that they can be feral. Very interesting - let us know what happens. sandie
ReplyDeleteWow! There sure is a lot of drama in the hen and rooster world. We actually have a little problem with the feral chickens in Hawaii. I see them walking around the Walmart parking lot.
ReplyDeleteIt's probably difficult to keep a chicken off their eggs. So Sorry about Mr Gibson. She obviously lived a good life there, n mothered alot of your chicks. Sorry to hear about the terrorist Renegade flock. They do look pretty, must be tough to get a pic when they always run away...
ReplyDeleteKing Kong is an awesome name- thanks for continuing your chicken tales.
Even in chickens good parenting seems to be essential. They did not get the attention and nurture and so they are truly wild!
ReplyDeletecube -- The renegade pack will go in the hen house as soon as the door is opened to eat from the chicken feed. A few times I have trapped them in there hoping the will grow accustomed to the place but they go crazy so I let them out. Mr. Gibson was a constant broody hen as was her mother. I wonder if any of her newest chicks will take her place.
ReplyDeleteSonny -- If anything happens to King Kong the others will join the flock. I fear if anything happens to Rooster Chicklet, the others will all leave the hen house,
Bonnie -- I have never seen wild chickens before. However once we did end up with an extra chicken at the bedtime count and it has stayed. We have no idea where it came from.
Munir -- Raising chickens has the best reward...fresh, fresh, fresh delicious eggs. We eat the eggs but NOT our chickens.
Chatty Crone -- You know you can count on me to keep talking about my chickens! lol
Kay -- Is anyone able to collect eggs from these feral chickens?
Snaggle Tooth -- Most of our chickens do not remain on their eggs. They will become broody maybe once a year. It is a special hen that will be broody all the time like Mr. Gibson. Glad you like King Kong for a name. Wish I could get a close up of him because his colors are dark brown and black like a gorilla.
Tabor -- This was the first time I ever let Mr. Gibson set another nest before her chicks were thoroughly grown. I will be very careful never to do that again.
interesting :)
ReplyDeleteWhat I know about chickens could be held in a thimble, with room for 10 angels at the same time. You have taught me a lot!
ReplyDeleteIt's so good to hear you sounding like yourself, and on the mend. I'm going to repeat this message from your daughter: No Laundry! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI guess it makes sense that Jack Bauer would father rebellious children. They have inherited his personality.
Do feral chickens chase cats and dogs around at night??
ReplyDeleteThe good news is that when you get well enough to prowl at night. You should be able to find and apprehend them. Unless they're too chicken.
Hey, sorry to hear about Mr. Gibson...what, exactly, is a counter-terrorism rooster? Inquiring minds want to know!
ReplyDeleteashok -- My life has been very interesting since I took on chicken raising about 12 years ago. To study them is much like studying human nature.
ReplyDeletekenju -- Glad to help broaden your horizons:)
Sparkling Red -- Of course you are right!!! They know this is the group of birds that banished their dad and they don't want any part of it. Why didn't I think of that.
Cliff -- I am not planning to prowl at night even when I am well enough. However a nighttime shot of the renegade flock could be possible. Once they are down for the night there is no waking them. You can pluck them off the roost like picking berries. I had been considering getting on a ladder at night to capture the elusive birds and move them out of the barn rafters and put them in the hen house hoping they would awaken there in the morning and like it. However, no ladder climbing for me now.
Riot Kitty -- Let me direct you to my side bar to see the picture of Jack Bauer, Counter-terrorism Rooster. Or click on the link in this post and read all about it. I am shocked that you don't remember the tale.
I never realized that chickens and roosters had such distinct personalities. That's pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteOh no - sorry about Mr. Gibson (greatest hen name ever!)
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the passing of Mr. Gibson.
ReplyDeleteReading this post is so fun...like an epic heheheh....wishing all best of luck.