What Got Into Kuckoo?

This is a picture of a well behaved winning rooster. One that had spent the past two months indoors, out of the elements. He was given a bath and a blow dry without struggle. He went to four shows and didnt attack a judge handling him once. You saw me hold him while he slept on me in that picture. He got to where he was investigating my plate from the perch in the box as I ate my supper each night, and I would share with him! So what happened yesterday? I will tell you what happened.

There was an egg in their newly built pen. Probably a fertile egg. The beginnings of a new line of my show chickens. Like usual I opened the door of the pen, stepped in and closed the door behind me. Leaning over I picked up the egg and WHACK!!!

What the???? what was that??? Did I step on his toe? I wasnt even sure what had happened, until it happened again...and this time he hit home, home being the back of my calf on my leg. OWWWW!!! Dangit! I had been flogged! Ungrateful brute! Had he lost his mind? I KNOW he didnt just do what I thought he did!!!

I turned around and held him to the ground, getting his attention. I picked him up and carried him to the house, straight into the bathroom to have those long spurs removed (You can see them in the picture above), something I should have done before I put them back outside but didnt get around to. I also trimmed and filed his toenails. I learned by accident the spur on a rooster is just a cap of sorts over a tender one growing underneath, a smaller one. It slips right off with a little twist of the wrist and a firm grip with a pair of pliers. There is hardly any bleeding at all, just a few drops ooze from the soft spur underneath. Once that one hardens I clip the sharp end off the new short spur.

The whole time I am doing all this to him he is just taking it all in, not struggling. I looked him in the eye and he was just looking at me, like OH I know you. Maybe it was a case of mistaken identity. Maybe it is just Springtime and his testosterone is overflowing and he couldn't help himself. Either way, I had a hole in the back of my leg and a trickle of blood running down it. He really did catch me off guard. I never even thought he would have done that, but he did. Guess thats what I get for thinking...lol. Silly silly man bird.

Okay Donna, you can't leave me hanging like that! How did I save Secrets life??? I went for a visit at your place and saw all about the potatoes and Dennys, and everything. I am going back to read again and leave you some comments, but I didnt see anything about Secret, so please elaborate on what I did to save that sweet little cow! :) Also, I used to use Sevin dust on everyone. It is so messy though. I learned from Jerry and Beth that they use the Frontline Spray on their birds and it lasts a lot longer. They said usually about two to three months. Just a spritz under each wing and above the vent, once on the back of the neck, all under the feathers, on the skin of course, like you would do the top spot Frontline, and it runs off any bugs and prevents any for a long while to come. I have been using that for a while and it seems to work well. Back when I did Hank, I was at Mama and Daddys and didnt have any sevin dust available and I wanted to get him clean too...he SMELLED BAD! I forgot about that until just now...boy did he stink. I dont know why, but he smelled like garbage.

Shelby is actually up early today..so we are going to do school and get it out of the way...so I am off to play teacher. ;) Everyone have a sunshiny kind of day!