Another Weird Animal Story.

[hippywife]

As you all know we have chickens, we have fewer than we started out with due to dogs, owls, what have you. We have black Jersey Giants and blonde Buff Orpintons. And then there is Rambo. Rambo is a red cross of some type and was given to us by the neighbors across the road when just small. The teacher of their oldest boy (then 10) had all the kids hatch a fertile egg. Rambo road around atop of his head a lot of the time. His mother asked me once on the phone if we wanted Rambo because it seemed lonely. I encouraged her to get more chickens. Then one day he showed up with his dad and the chicken and asked us to take it. So we did.

Eventually Rambo grew a little bigger and we realized that it was a she. But she kept her name because she does respond to it. (The other chickens all look alike so it was really impossible to give them names. When I go out and want them to follow me, I call out in a high-pitched "Chik'n noodles!" and they all come running.) As she grew, she showed no fear of anything, even our dog, Babe. Actually, when I would get home from work and get out of my car to open the big farm gate, Babe would start heading out to greet me and if Rambo saw her would head right for Babe. Babe would take off running the other direction. She doesn't like the chickens and leaves them alone, but she hates Rambo because she follows the dog around all over the place and even eats her food if given the chance. LOL

Anyway, over the holidays we lost two of the buffs and were hearing a Great Horned Owl in the woods and figured that was our problem. And it still could be but sometimes you gotta share with Mama Nature. No matter how far they roam around here, they always come back in to lay eggs or when it's time for bed. It's automatic as can be so that's usually when we discover one missing.

Then Rambo disappeared. That was over a week ago. No sign of her anywhere. Bummer.

So, Bill was home from work sick Friday. It was my half day at work, around noon and I was just checking out at the grocery when my cell phone rang. He said, "You're never gonna believe who showed up on our door step." I asked who, and he said "Rambo!" So I get home and see no sign of her, nothing. I start teasing Bill that he's so sick he's having delusions. "No!" he says, "she came right up on the steps and checked the dog food bowl just like always." Still whenever I go outside that day, I try calling her name but no response or sight of her. Nothing on Saturday, either, and we further the joking that I must have missed her because we were still at the urgent care at noon and that's when she comes around. (Yeah. Uh-huh. Okay, sure baby. :eyes:) He's convinced she's gone feral and just comes back during the day when we aren't here and I'm convinced he really was seeing things.

Today I got up from a short nap to go to the pharmacy and grocery to pick up stuff Bill needs. (The pharmacy doesn't open until noon on Sunday.) I gather up my stuff to get out the door and lo and behold! There IS Rambo! :rofl:

I haven't seen her since I came back, tho. But she must be somewhere out on the property living on her own terms. Maybe back in the old shed where Babe takes refuge from storms, I mean she loves following her around. :shrug: It's been too cold to be out there and check it out. But I'm really glad she's okay.

Sounds like I need to call my sister with this story, too. :rofl:

ETA: The kid named her before we got her. Since she responded to it, we just kept it.

[Warpy]

1. My best guess is that she and Babe have made peace

and she's gone broody and is trying to hatch a clutch of her non fertile eggs in that shed.

[hippywife]

2. You're probably right, Warpy.

They're all really pretty good about letting me reach under and take them without too much fuss. Maybe she decided she didn't appreciate it.

She was always the first one around when I come home from work with bags of salad bar scraps. I think her big problem are the Jersey Giants. They pick on the others so horribly and try to hog the food sometimes. There are times I really don't like them, and we won't be having anymore of that breed, I think. :eyes:

[Shakespeare]

3. What a great story, and yay for Rambo!

Aw, man--I really miss having chickens. Someday, someday.

:hi:

[hippywife]

4. The wind finally let up and the sun is out

so it's warmed up considerably, so I went out back and into the old dilapidated shed. Warpy was right. There she was, up on a shelf, back in the far corner. Sitting. I bet she has eggs but I didn't try to bother her for them. Silly chicken. :rofl:

I wish you could have them, too. They really are a special treat to have around. :hug:

I think more people who can are having chickens these days. I know we have more egg producers in the coop. Eggs are usually one of the first things to go when it's time to go online and do order for the month. Last month, on the last day before the order was set to close at midnight that night, the coop prez sent out an email that there were still about 100 dozen left and encouraged folks to get out there and order them. That was totally unheard of even the month before! :wow:

[troubleinwinter]

5. I used to keep some chickens for their eggs

and for the contented sounds they make.

We had a li'l chick named Polyanna. Wasn't too very long before we had to change it to Polyester.

We had two geese as pets. Named Thanksgiving and Christmas. Was always fun to see the look of horror on visitors' faces upon hearing the names.

[hippywife]

6. It is fun to have them around, isn't it?

Why did you change the name to Polyester? Decided it was a rooster?

I love the names of the geese. :rofl: I told Bill if we would have been able to tell our other chickens one from another, I was thinking of naming them stuff like Kiev, Cordon Bleu, Ala King, Dumpling, etc. even though we don't eat them or intend to.

:hi:

[troubleinwinter]

9. Yes, li'l Polyanna turned out to be a rooster. Why else 'Polyester'? Best we could do.

Our daughter was about ten, and picked up a newly hatched chick and put it in her pocket and cared for it. I didn't find out til next day. 'Cinnamon' was a beloved family pet for several years. She loved lunch on someone's lap on the deck, and her favorite lunch was tuna sandwich and red wine. When we would arrive home, she would RUN to us.

We had an Australian Shepherd that would desperately try to herd her. That poor dog ended up being chicken-ridden every time.

I've had many pets that I loved, but I think I miss Cinnamon most.

I worked at a large renowned museum. The Director and his wife had a pet chicken that slept on the foot of their bed.
:rofl:

[housewolf]

7. Maybe she just wanted some eggs of her own

that didn't get collected by humans? Could be she's brooding a nest and will have some chicks following her around one say soon... :bounce:

That would be fun!

Glad she's okay.

:hi:

[hippywife]

8. We purposely have no roosters.

Bill didn't want them crowing all hours of the day and night. We'll have some new ones in the spring, around 2 mos old or so.

I'm really glad she's okay, too. I think she's just a loner. Doesn't like being around the other chickens. She mostly hangs with the buffs since they're pretty docile.

Good to see you, B! :hi:

[Arkansas Granny]

10. I'm glad that Rambo came home. I grew up on a little "mini farm",

for lack of a better expression. We didn't have much land, but we had some basic farm animals because my dad loved to raise them. Any animals that were not destined for the freezer were treated as pets. I always liked the cows and chickens the best. Your description of Rambo reminds me of an old hen we had who ruled the roost. She ate from the dog dish with impunity because the dogs knew better than to cross her. The neighbor's chickens knew better than to trespass on our property because she would chase them home with a vengeance. She seemed to enjoy human company and would come when called by name. She would even allow you to hold her and pet her. She laid an egg about every other day, but most of them were double yolked. She tried to set eggs one time, but my dad went to the feed store and got a few chicks to put under her, like he did all of our broody hens. She stood all night long with those chicks under her, pecking at the straw around her every time they moved, and as soon as it was daylight she "flew the coop" and never tried to set again. She decided she wasn't cut out for motherhood. She lived to be about 10 years old.

[hippywife]

11. That's a pretty interesting experiment, Granny.

I would have never thought she'd do that. Maybe she knew they weren't her own, do you think?

We only have 8 acres so ours is a mini-farm, too. No other farm animals but the chickens. I would love to have some others but don't feel right about taking on animals we couldn't afford the vet bills for.

[Arkansas Granny]

12. Daddy had a method that we used when we placed chicks and bunnies

with "adoptive" mothers. We would rub a little vanilla on our hands. Then we would touch all the babies we were transferring and also the beak or nose of the new mother. It didn't hurt the babies and the momma couldn't smell anything but the vanilla for a day or so. By the time that scent wore off, they all smelled like her babies. It worked like a charm.

We always figured that this hen just didn't have maternal instincts. She was 3 or 4 years old before she even tried to set the first time and she was the only one who ever rejected the new chicks. She was a tough old bird with a distinct personality and we still talk about her 30 years later and remember her fondly.

[yellerpup]

15. That's what I was trying to remember! Hen's set!

I said brood when I posted downthread while you were posting here.

[hippywife]

13. Well, it's a nice evening so

we walked back to the shed and lifted Rambo to see how many eggs she had. She was sitting on 18 eggs! They usually only lay up to one a day and some days none. She'd only been hiding out back there about a week and a half, two weeks top. I'm thinking the buffies were going back there laying, too, and Rambo has just been the sitter.

We left her two of them so she wouldn't feel so bad. :rofl:

ETA: The yolks in some of them rattle around when they are shaken so they have to be pitched.

[yellerpup]

14. Is she going to brood?

I could almost hear grandma saying that when I thought of the question, but now that I type it out it seems weird. Great story, hippywife. My brother used to carry his easter chicken on his head until one day.....poop goes the weasel! Time to go to grandpa's farm!

[shireen]

16. LOL!

thanks for sharing that story. I love it.

Your farm sounds like fun. Can i move in? :)