With some sadness and some relief we said goodbye to our beautiful Ameraucana rooster Fluffy yesterday.  He had become increasingly more aggressive in the past couple of months.  I knew we were going to have to take him out but I kept putting it off in part because I wanted some chicks from him and Corabelle and in part because I just didn’t want to kill him.  We’d had him since shortly after we moved to the farm and I’d gotten attached to him.  Up until the last couple of months he and I had a good relationship even though he was ready to attack anyone else who was brave enough to enter the chicken run.

Yesterday SJ and I were headed back from the barn when we saw Fluffy and a few of the hens had escaped the chicken run and were sauntering down the “path” towards us.  They were pecking through the weeds and looked happy to be on a stroll, so I wasn’t immediately alarmed.  I told SJ to stick close behind me and we walked towards the hill to give Fluffy a wide berth.  But instead of continuing on their path, Fluffy came towards us.  I got SJ behind me and got ready to face him.  Roosters attack with their spurs – inch-long claws on the back of their lower legs that are sharp and hard.  They jump in the air and kick those daggers forward and it HURTS if they hit you.  They can break skin through jeans and put holes in rubber boots.  I was wearing shorts.  Each time he jumped at me I kicked him back, but he just kept coming.  TS heard SJ screaming (from the back room of our house halfway across the property!).  He came running outside in his boxers with a broomstick in his hand and swatted the rooster away from us so I could get SJ back to the house.  TS managed to get the devil bird back into the chicken run, but I was DONE.  I brought TS his gun (and his pants!) and that was the end of Fluffy.  I hate that we had to kill him, but dangerously aggressive roosters just don’t belong on our farm.  He’ll make a good meal and hopefully the Fluffy/Corabelle eggs that our Lavender hen is brooding will hatch.  We did have some chicks hatch in our incubator last weekend, though the duck eggs did not hatch.  More on that later!