One Fine Rooster

Move over Mel Gibson, Braveheart the rooster has stolen my heart. Braveheart is one fine rooster. He is everything a rooster should be: generous, brave, courageous, smart, protective, sacrificing...well you get the picture. Braveheart came to us quite literally as packing material (extra chicks to fill the box from the hatchery) and well, the rest is as they say is history. Braveheart emerged as the one to keep from the 12 other extra cockerels that were shipped with our first batch of chicks. Brave (one of his many nicknames) would storm out of the coop anytime a stranger was in the area checking to see if his girls were in danger. Naturally I handled the birds a lot and so Braveheart became very tame and tolerant of human contact. Braveheart taught me that roosters play a very important role in the chicken social order, he maintains the flock cohesion lording over his girls, calling them when there is good food (he is especially fond of raisin bread) and alerting them when there is danger. Brave can see a hawk in the sky way before I detect a predator is near. True roosters do crow in the morning but did you know they cock-a-doodle-doo when they are happy? When Mr. B (another nickname) hears my voice he begins crowing! Who could ask for more. Well there is way too much to say about Braveheart in just one posting. Stay tuned for Braveheart Part 2. Oh and by the way that is Paula Bloomer in the photo next to Brave.