Ed: - Listen Ninja, It's time you get back to the flock. We've had some good times together, but you can't stay in this cage forever.
Surprised pikachu face
Returning to the flock
After almost 3 weeks of convalescence, we (I) decided that it was time for Ninja to get back with the rest of the crew, and just see what happens. I will of course stop the experiment when the first drop of blood is spilled, but in the meantime, we have to chance it from time to time.
Ninja's wound has been healing pretty well, yesterday, I saw the rooster pecking her through the cage where she spent the last 2 weeks, but I am scared that if she spends too much time without the flock, she will eventually be left aside, and bullied again.
We've been growing fond of each other in the last 2 weeks, and she let me now come close, though she still fears me, there are probably some scars from the slaughterhouse that she will keep with her for the rest of her life.
I am not completely happy with how the back of her head has healed, but the scabs are gone, that is the most important factor, as our mean rooster will probably peck whatever's left on her neck, again...
Today, it's raining, and they chicken tend to enjoy it, they can scratch the ground a bit deeper, and don't have to hide under a tree the whole day. This might be the best time to try to reintroduce Ninja to the flock.
It went better than I expected, but Mickael Jackson aka MJ the rooster, is still being a complete dick with her, I swear this guy will end up in a pot sooner or later.
As you can see on the video, he doesn't let her eat, or even chill with the rest of the flock. It's really weird, because he was very protective of her in the past.
The chicken also discover the cage that Ninja has been living on for a few weeks, they of course eat everything that she stashed in it, without any consideration. Ninja observes the others from afar, not understanding why everyone is in her "house",
MJ keeps on staring at her with insistence, with that mean look that he seems to always have. You can really tell that he has bad intentions. and she also senses it, decides to avoid him at all cost.
Intense music starts...
There is a palpable tension in the air, Ninja find comfort from her friend and probable sister/clone Noodle.
The only way to distinguish Ninja from Noodle, is the comb on the top of their head. Ninja has a straight one, and Noodle has a skewed one.
Office chat at the watercooler
They are probably from the same batch, and arrived together in our household. It took me an entire month to to really be sure who is who.
From now on, Ninja and Noodle stayed pretty much together for the rest of the day. I think Noodle was happy to have her friend/sister back, and showed her the renovated coop.
I've changed the inside, made it more presentable, and borrowed shaven wood from my bud @rubido (sorry for tagging you all the time) instead of the hay, very cosy for winter.
I think they were probably having too much fun, and it pissed MJ off:
So he decides to block the entrance to the coop, and the cage, like a proper gentleman 😁, and then proceed to chase her around, but not for mating, just for sport.
...But Ninja is too quick
An unexpected Ally
Charlie the sheep dog, enjoys helping to herd the chicken. It's something that he does naturally, and it gets sometimes out of hand, especially when there's a cracked egg, but other than that, he is pretty trustworthy.
Every night, he has been helping herding the flock, and make sure Ninja goes back to her own cage, this is pretty impressive to watch. The chicken sometimes fight back, but Charlie doesn't budge and focuses on his mission....
I am currently trying to upload the short clip of Charlie blocking the rooster and preventing him to bother Ninja, but I have "Request Failed With Status Code 500", which means that I have probably reached the upload capacity in term of images 😂.
In short, I decided to keep them separated for the rest of the evening, until it was time to sleep. Tomorrow, we will give it another shot, I know that Charlie will be watching...
Cheers!
Edit: Ok we are back online! Here is the rest of the story in gif
MJ sees Ninja going outside the fence and enjoying life, gets seriously triggered.
He then proceeds to follow her outside the fence, only to be met face to face with Charlie, blocking the way. I love the quick glance that Charlie gives to Ninja meaning "I got you boo!"
We gave Ninja some treats, and kept her with us for the rest of the day :)
Alright, this time I am really done!
(doors open: Ed, you don't look like you're working?)
Glad to see that ninja is now doing well in the flock. By the way, do throw that rooster in the pot and make a good meal out of him!
We ate chicken yesterday, and my son Neo was like "Finally that rooster" 😄 but it wasn't him :)
I am going to find the perfect replacement first, because he still defends them from predators, and make sure they don't get lost...
Thanks for passing by!
I'm glad to hear that ninja is doing well and is back with the flock. The introduction would be sooooo stressful. I'd be afraid that something would happen to her. It's nice that she found a few allies though.
Hey man!
It was entertaining, I don't own a TV so it's my Game Of Throne.
Wow congratulation on your biggest payday so far! It was 2000 words so I am not surprised hahaha
That's hilarious. But so true. Probably very entertaining.
Thanks. I'm working on posts number two and I'm getting that same error that you got - code 500 or whatever. I can't upload anymore photos 🙄.
Anyway, thanks for keeping us posted on ninja!
I wonder if It has to do with "mana". Back in the days it was cool "bandwidth allocation", it's basically the number of actions you can do in one day. The next day I could upload them
I like the rocky hoodie shot.
Always a pleasure buddy,When planing down wood there's a lot of shavings!
I need mooooooore
Oh I loved this tale of your farm animals @edprivat, just brilliant, needed a good old chuckle this morning!
It was a very serious article, you must have misunderstood. 😄
Enjoy your morning, I am on my second cup 'o coffee!
Too bad Ninja can't kick. I'll aim straight for MJ's groin 🤣
Very witty @wittywheat😅😅😅
I am going to train her and be her "sensei"
I accidentally kicked his butt yesterday, I don't even know where a rooster groin is in all honesty, or know if it's possible to find it 😄
😅😂🤣
Before you eat MJ, a few points to take into consideration. Poor bastard is just "jags", as we say here. He's also a good protector. Ninja is the favourite, so she has to bear the brunt of his horny ways but a recommended minimum is 8 hens per rooster so that's one part of the problem, he needs more diversion, haha. Not sure if you want more chickens but more hens will improve matters
That's some good feedback. Of course he wants more action hahah. It's not a reason for attacking the scabs of that poor Ninja. She was the favourite for sure, but there were a moment she was limping from his humping, I think he is eating too much and getting way too strong.
I just want a nice rooster who treats the ladies well, like this one:
Jeez, that auntie's voice is annoying, haha. You said that he has a rooster dance so he probably needs a bit more action and bigger hens that won't take shit from him. Roosters do need to be taught who's boss and especially if he starts on the kids. When I was a kid my grandparents had a giant brute of a Koekoek breed chicken who beat up anybody that came into the run. I never forgot being kicked by that bastard
She is damn annoying for sho ahaha.
Alright so yea, once again, good job on calling me out on what I said prior, he does indeed a "sideway walk" and has a dance, but he also attack them for no reason, or reasons that are beyond my level of comprehension. I am still bother by the pecking on the back of the head, my kids always play outside and for now he never attacked them, even when they bothered him like fools.
So at least, he isn't like Andre "Koekoek" the Giant, and I think he knows what happens if he does 😁.
So the solution is always more chicken, got it!
Well, it's normal for the rooster to grab a mouthful of feathers to keep his balance when he's doing his thing. The problem is that Ninja 's neck is bald so her skin gets it. All your hens are a bit bald and they will probably stay that way. So it's time for a bigger harem and hen hoodies, I think
We have 3 "bare-necks", that's the ones you are talking about. The others are gingers and got the full feathered coat 😄, until now...
There is 2 different types of behaviour, the one when he mounts them and peck, that's for sure, but he also try to hurt them when he isn't mounting them, I am sure of this. Either we can stop these bad behaviours, and keep the right ones, or just find a better suited rooster.
Has that guy a better voice? 🤣
I can't pick up my rooster like this haha.
Ya, this guy was a bit easier on my ears :) If you raise them from chicks and keep them tame, yes, they will allow you to hold them haha
I have a few comments about what he's saying there. The rooster he kept is still young and was fighting with the older, established rooster and was still the underdog. Now that his rival is gone, things could change...
Yes, you are seeing 2 types of behaviour, one mating and one dominance-related. As I said before, pecking order is a thing, it's normal for chickens to behave like that. More hens and more space for the persecuted ones to escape is the only solution. I have mainly kept bantams, who preferred to pair off and didn't operate in a flock and behaved more kindly towards each other but if you don't want to end up with a huge number of hens running all over, shitting everywhere and wrecking the garden then it's rooster stew time.
Oh my goodness!!!
What's up with this MJ?!!
I'm glad Ninja has Noodle ... and you :D