This past weekend on The Hill was full of activity; not only at the house but down in the chicken coop as well.
Seymour, our big, beautiful Buff Orpington rooster has always been the undisputed king of the coop. He was a master protector of his hens which necessitated me bringing a rake into the run with me to protect myself. He wasn’t really mean per se, just very protective of his girls. Most of the time he knew that I was the true boss and just made a big show of loud clucking and strutting in the pen while I was doing whatever I needed to do. But as soon as I left the pen and shut the gate behind me, he would charge the gate at full speed and crow loudly to tell everyone that certainly he was responsible for chasing me away!
Every once in awhile though he got a little bit braver and tested me with a charge and an attempt to spur me. At those times I would make a point of capturing him and hanging him upside down by his feet just to remind him of the pecking order here on The Hill. This did just enough to give him the idea, but didn’t humiliate him enough that he didn’t go right back to his loud displays of bravery.
On Saturday, Mr C. informed me that Seymour didn’t look right and that he wouldn’t leave the coop. So after the cousins left I went down to check him out. It didn’t take long to figure out what had happened…
He had been the victim of a bloody coup!
Oh the irony of the words printed on the 2×4 behind him!
While his injuries are not serious, clearly his spirit is broken. He barely even protested when I picked him up to treat his wounds.
The evil takeover was master-minded by Truman the traitor!
Truman is a beautiful Ameraucana rooster that we purchased along with several hens. We we’re told that Truman was a hen as well… we named ‘her’ Trudy. As Trudy began to grow up, it became clear that she was a he and hence the name change to Truman. Up until this past weekend he was very shy and polite and basically stayed out of Seymour’s way. We always marveled that Seymour was very tolerant of him and basically ignored him. Although it would have been the natural thing to do, Seymour didn’t attempt to fight with him or drive him away from the girls.
Life was peaceful. Until Truman decided that he wanted all of the hens for himself. He did not show Seymour any of the tolerance that was given to him! Oh no, now he is the one strutting amongst the girls…
While poor old Seymour cowers inside the coop…
It’s so sad.
We may have to ask neighbor Mike if one of our boys can come and keep company with his hens in order to give poor Seymour his dignity back.
