Advertisement. Advertise with us

Life Sketches by Terry Berkson

Little Caesar Hits The Highway

Deporting an abusive rooster didn’t solve a plucking problem because my hens continued to lose their feathers and I was sure it wasn’t due to molting. Eventually, I caught Geezbrook, my prize Buff Orpington rooster, in the act with a telltale feather in his beak. I decided, as handsome as he was, that he would have to go to King’s Auction. Back on the farm, the remaining rooster continued the abuse, but I decided not to give him up because then I wouldn’t hear his crow in the morning, which always gives me a charge. Instead, I fitted a painless wire that amounted to something like a horse’s bit in his beak that allowed him to eat, but prevented him from pulling out any more feathers. I suppose I should have tried this with Geezbrook but that egg was already fried.

Still, the plucking problem continued and I came to realize that the hens were pulling each other’s feathers out. I called my chicken guru, Roger Vaughn, to see if he could come up with a solution. “Maybe you’re feeding them too much corn,” Vaughn suggested. “That could result in a dietary imbalance making them crave protein — and feathers are made of protein.”

But, I wasn’t feeding them too much corn. I did give them dandelion leaves and let them free range a little longer but to no avail. Vaughn suggested that I trim their beaks like you would a dog’s nails. “Then they won’t be able to pull out any more feathers.” This sounded like a practical plan and my son, Jonathan, who is a lot more agile than I, was up visiting and agreed to catch the chickens in order to perform the painless procedure. He delivered each captured bird as it squawked bloody murder while I clipped away. My wife Alice, who was repelled by the idea of trimming beaks, refused to chase after any chickens. All was going well until, Little Caesar, my favorite, most intelligent and noble bird, decided to make a break for it. I guess hearing all the squawking was too much for her so she jumped the fence and headed for a hedgerow with my son in hot pursuit. Being a bright bird, Little Caesar hunkered down somewhere and gave Jonathan the slip. We finished trimming the rest of the beaks with no sign of the escapee in sight. By nightfall I sadly figured my favorite chicken was going to be food for the coyotes.

The next day, I got a call from neighbor Marilyn Purcell. She said that while driving past our place she saw a chicken out by the road in front of the pines with her wing out as though she were hitchhiking. It had to be Little Caesar!
I immediately got some cracked corn and headed towards the road. “Here chick chick,” I called as I threw the corn into the pines. Just then a tom turkey bolted out of the trees and crossed the road narrowly escaping death as a passing pickup truck came to a screeching halt. A bearded man in camouflage hat and jacket sat behind the wheel with a puzzling grin on his face.

“You’ll never get a turkey that way,” the man said. “You want to use a gun.”

“No,” I said. “I was trying to catch…”

Before I could explain, the man rolled up his window shaking his head and was on his way.

It wasn’t long before Little Caesar appeared and began to follow my trail of feed across the lawn in the direction of the coop. When I finally got her inside the fence she was strutting past the other chickens like she had been on vacation.

“Look at that bird,” I told my wife. “Doesn’t she look like she’s showing off?”

“I guess she is,” Alice quipped. “She’s the only one without a nose job!”

Posted

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Related Articles

Hulse Hill Farms

North American Cashmeres, junior apprentice program among Hulse Hill’s treasures Christine McBrearty-Hulse takes a moment to check in with one of her farm’s North American Cashmere Goats The chickens, Christine McBrearty-Hulse said, were “the gateway drug to farming” when she thought it would be fun to raise a few. Hulse Hill Farm, on Route 28 midway between Cooperstown and Fly Creek, still has chickens, but also pigs, barn cats, a rabbit, and goats of various age gathered in spacious fenced-in fields, with the farm’s North American Cashmere goat herd at the core of her farm products. “It’s a true homestead…

Oneonta Councilman Larry Malone Announces He Won’t Seek 2nd Term

Oneonta Councilman Larry Malone Announces He Won’t Seek 2nd Term ONEONTA – Common Council member Larry Malone, a Hartwick College economics professor and protege of former Mayor Dick Miller, told his colleagues a few moments ago he won’t run for a second term this fall. “Working to improve our city with my fellow Council members has been tremendously rewarding,” he said at this evening’s Common Council meeting.  “Our successes come from casting aside politics and always putting the interest of Oneonta citizens first. “When my term concludes, I will continue to help others discover Oneonta, for a visit, for college, or for the…

LIFE SKETCHES: Made in the Shade: There’s More Than One Way to Curb a Rooster

Life Sketches by Terry Berkson Made in the Shade: There’s More Than One Way to Curb a Rooster I once had this beautiful tropical fish that was mutilating and eating up the rest of the fish in the tank. It looked like he would have to be flushed down the drain, but before doing so, I tried threading a piece of dental floss through his tail with a sewing needle to create a drag that would slow him down when chasing after the other fish. “Isn’t that cruel?” my wife, Alice, asked when she saw the streamer trailing. “It’s better…

Putting the Community Back Into the Newspaper

Now through March 30, new annual subscribers to “The Freeman’s Journal” and AllOtsego.com (or subscribers who have lapsed for two or more years) have an opportunity to help their choice of one of four Otsego County charitable organizations.

$5.00 of your subscription will be donated to the nonprofit of your choice:

Cooperstown Farmers’ Market, Cooperstown Food Pantry, Greater Oneonta Historical Society or Super Heroes Humane Society.