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by Dennis Bright The hot days of summer have made an early riser out of me. The cool morning air offers a brief respite from the midday heat. Sunrise is one of my favorite times of the day. The first sound of the morning is our rooster crowing. This is no ordinary rooster, he is a Turken, part turkey part chicken part attack dog and stands three feet tall with the plumage of a chicken and the long bare neck of the turkey. He's inherited the meanness of a fighting rooster and the size of a turkey not a great combination for a bird who was supposed to be a barnyard pet and entertain a half dozen hens. About three years ago a cousin of mine Tom Hunt dropped off at the ranch a shoe box with two Turken chicks in it. Little did I know the number of people that little rooster would chase when he grew up and how many times my wife would yell at me to "pen that darn rooster up he's terrorizing client's again". That bird had a nasty habit of sneaking up on you when you were busy with a horse or tending chores and all of a sudden wham he'd be trying to hook you with his spurs and beat you with his wings. Up to a point I had secretly thought this old rooster's act was pretty funny, he always challenged anyone who tried to be nice to him and I'd tell them just kick him, he'll leave you alone. As you know there are certain people in this world who just refuse to get physical with an animal even if it means they are going to be chased and harassed by a mean old rooster. One of those people was another cousin of mine Eric Petersen, who spent last summer with us helping on the ranch. Now Eric is as nice a person as you would ever want to meet, a real gentle soul. He was convinced that if he fed and watered and was really patient with that beaked terror he would eventually win him over. Never happened, he spent the better part of the summer putting up with that rooster doing sneak attacks on him. I used to laugh like crazy as I'd watch that rooster hunt Eric down, I mean really go out of his way to catch Eric when he least expected it and Eric would jump and scream bloody murder as that bird would try and tattoo his leg. Finally for Eric it sunk in that old bird was never going to change his ways unless he started to defend himself. After numerous coaching tips from me on how to handle the two legged assassin, "just kick him in the head as he attacks you, you know like punting a football". He did just that, we were standing in the barn one morning shooting the breeze over a cup of my famous cowboy coffee, when out of the corner of my eye I saw our feathered predator begin his sideways attack, I was tempted to let him get Eric one more time just for laughs but I thought better of it at the last minute. I said "Eric watch out here comes the rooster", and just as I finished warning him Eric spun around and let go with a front snap kick that sent my ol' rooster airborne about ten feet and end over end. I don't know who was more surprised my attack bird or my cousin, they both kinda stared at each other for a moment an then that old rooster tipped his ugly old head sideways and let out a cockle doodle do at Eric as if to say I'm not scared of you and went about his business. That old rooster has outlived all of his original hens and lost a spur during a nighttime raid not to long ago, he still as mean as ever but I keep him locked up in the chicken coop now since my daughter started walking and exploring the backyard. That's one person that ol' bird will never get a shot at. Last modified: Sunday, July 28, 2002 |
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