Cock Chasing
What a bloody palaver. This morning one of our neighbours gave us a present of a cock. He’s a tall and handsome chap and the hens were very happy to see him. The dog however, was not. He immediately jumped up to grab him from Arūnas’s arms. Thwarted, he barked around the perimeter of the run all day. At least the cock was safe in the run, we though.
We thought wrong. While cooking dinner this evening I saw Arūnas shooting past the kitchen window towards the chicken run. He had spotted the cock standing on top of the run fencing and the dog going crazy trying to get at him. Before Arūnas could stop him the cock had hopped down onto the ground and the dog was in pursuit. I don’t think I have ever seen two animals run so fast. We tried to intervene but we just couldn’t catch up. Within minutes the dog had caught the cock by the tail.
As the dog was now slowed by his catch Arūnas was quickly able to catch him. After a swift rap on the nose he loosened his grip and the cock ran off. Alas, his tail feathers remained in the dog’s mouth. That beautiful, long black tail is now scattered around our yard. Apparently it will take about six months to grow back. Poor ole cocky.
Once we’d tied up the dog we set off to catch the cock. After a few tiring minutes running round in circles we were no closer to catching him. We commandeered reinforcements from passing neighbours. The cock hid in some trees, forcing Arūnas to scramble around in the scrub to retrieve him. He escaped again but boxed himself in and was eventually caught. He’s feisty, that’s for sure.
Tomorrow’s work will be to put a fence roof on the chicken run to prevent future escapades. I’m not sure my heart would take all that again. All’s well that ends well, I suppose – thankfully only his pride is hurt. The girls still love him, even without the tail.
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Wing clipping may help? Only one wing though, or they can still fly.
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Good idea, Ieva. I’ll keep that in mind for our next cock.
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I thought this was going to be a very different type of post 😉 Are you after my cock searchers?! Glad Cocky is OK! Very funny read!
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Cheers Linda! I was hoping the title might lure in a few new readers! Glad it gave you a chuckle!
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A good old cock mention always attracts a few 😉
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What a stressful incident – but it sure made for an entertaining read 😉
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Just making the best of a bad situation!
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If it is any help we went through months of this… and to be honest it still happens every time we introduce new feathered friends to the place especially with the male dog…. it’s just in his nature a retriever/pointer cross…
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Thanks Margaret – I guess it’s natural enough for dogs. If they can’t sort out their differences they’ll just have to take it in turns to roam free!
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Hmmm. Maybe you should put a fence around the dog?
Oh, I didn’t really mean that…. 🙂
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You may have a point, though! We want our hens to roam free, but it only needs to be for a few hours per day. If the dog can’t behave then he’ll just have to be tied up for those few hours. He’ll still be out in the fresh air, just not loose. That might make him learn the lesson! 🙂
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Quite an episode!! Not sure our dog wold welcome chucks either- he’s already terrorised my mums hens…. Hope all will end peacefully 🙂
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Thanks Mizz! Fingers crossed for a happy ending!
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Oh my, glad to hear that the cock is safe if not really sound. No cock-tail for this chap for a while it seems 😉 Seems like your dog is extra territorial and just can’t stand newcomers at all. Let’s just hope those two will make friends at some point – it would be shame if they kept on fighting.
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I agree, Asta – we’re going to have to work on their relationship as we want everyone to be safe and happy. It will just take a little time, I think.
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