…to a new life an hour north of here.
They left in their “limo”, after lunch, each in his own cat box covered with a blanket to lessen their anxiety.
They were quiet all the way–well I would have been, not knowing where I was heading.
We were sad to see them go, of course; especially Chickpea, who the French would call un peu special (a little odd).
He approached all new arrivals with a sideways shuffle movement, which managed to signal “very pleased to see you” and “watch out!” at the same time.
To us towering humans it was amusing but might have been more worrying to your average hen!
The problem was the dawn to dusk chorus of cock-a- doodle-doos which woke us up and wore us down.
Chickpea being the bolder of the two would fly up onto the courtyard wall and proceed to the back of the house to start a conversation with Claude over the rooftops.
Cock-a doodle-Claude! Yes, I’m-Cock-a-doodle-here, Chickers!-cockle-doodleAnd so on.
A bowl or two of corn & oats with crushed madelines and walnuts only stopped them for five minutes.
If we’d understood the language we would have joined in.
All I could do was issue unveiled threats like muttering, “two for the pot” or “coq au vin” as I passed by–which fell on deaf ears, usually provoking an even louder “cock-a-doodle-doo” meaning “GET LOST–SEE IF I CARE!” as a rude rejoinder.
They had to go–sadly.
Here they are in their new quarters–much grander than we could offer chez nous!
Plus a harem of hens awaiting them and beautiful open air runs.
We think they’ve “fallen into the butter dish”.
–and first reports seem to confirm this!
They really don’t understand the whole movement! It’s much fun to cock- a -doodle(kukeleku in Dutch) all day long! Do the new owners know?
Love Caroline
Yes! Her chickens are a good distance away from her house. Our chickens’ chalet was right below our bedroom window!
I can appreciate your problem and applaud your solution! Years ago we had a similar pet problem….a cheerful little hamster who ran in her squeaky metal wheel off-and-on all night long. I had the brilliant idea of having my husband apply a little WD-40 to the wheel joint….and have kept the cause of Pickle’s mysterious death a secret from our sons for the past 25 years! (Hope they never see this post.)
When I saw the title, I thought the worst! But they are two very lucky guys to have such compassionate friends as you and Meredith. And perhaps their tough guy stance would have translated to tough inner fibers?
All the best,
Nancy N
Such a very cute story, Robin. You’re a natural story teller. Enjoying your vignettes from south of Washington. D.C. So sorry I had to miss seeing your recent appearance on TV, I’m sure you were quite the hit, especially if there were any Poldark era fans there!
Ann from La Plata, Md
Sent from my iPad
For a min there I thought they were going to be served with walnuts, phew!
Aww…how are they gonna run around without you folks & the cats to watch over them? But glad their new home sounds pretty comfy!! I hope you’ll let us know how they fare!
To Joy & anyone w/th a squeaky hamster wheel: just the TEENIEST amount of Vaseline (petroleum gel) is OK–but teensy, ‘cuz sometimes they do lick it.
Cheers & hugs!
As I recall, Chickpea and Claude were supposed to be future hens, when Meredith acquired them as chicks. They’ve had a patient upbringing, and it’s time for them to leave the nest. I’ll miss Chickpea’s colorful (though silent) presence in photos.
Maybe a few more lay ins for you now ……sure they will be happy
I’m so happy for them! What a lovely little story.
Enjoy getting some sleep!
UN-cockadoodledo! Sleep tight!
That was a funny post, Robin. When I saw the title with “Chickpea” in it, I thought, “Wonderful! My favorite legume! I can’t wait for the recipe!” But even though no recipe followed, you gave us an amusing story. Thank you! We have a similar problem with frogs in our water feature. Luckily, they only croak during the early spring. But it’s pretty nerve-wracking and never-ending at night!
From your Facebook description, I thought the butter dish they fell into was yours! HA! At least you have Meredith’s wonderful photos to remember them by.
Wonderful ending to a good story. They certainly are beautiful.
Crushed madeleines and walnuts would have kept me quiet a lot longer, perhaps I should come and sit on your wall and sing… 🙂
So precious! Love the last comment to Claude:)
They are so beautiful. I will miss pictures of them you put in your blog plus the stories you told about their antics.
I have dealt with the noise from roosters during my trips to San Salvador. My first experience was a 2AM wake up from roosters in the neighborhood where my friends and I were staying (houses in El Salvador are built close together) . We were horrified to hear this chorus since we had just fallen asleep 3 hours earlier. The prior day had been a long flight to El Salvador from the US. We were stunned to hear the chorus from the roosters joined by neighborhood dogs. We realized this was a trip where a sound nights sleep would not happen….a very depressing thought since we had only been in El Salvador 8 hours. However, the next day one of my friends found a huge fan in one of the dormitories (we were staying in a hostel) so we used it during the night and we slept! The fan provided “white” noise to drown out the other sounds. My friends and I have returned to the same hostel over the years. We always find the same fan in the hostel and we sleep peacefully. Now if the roosters were right out side our window… even a fan would not drown out their nasty tune.
Beautiful birds
A pair of very lucky boys! But I could see the end coming when “les poulettes” turned out to be “les garcons”. They always are very musical… Thank you for a lovely story, Robin. Such colourful birds. I regret to say: “You’ll miss them…”
Arrrrr, lovely story………….is there a children’s book in there somewhere?
Awww, but Chickpea was so-o cute!! But, as someone stated above, at least you have Meredith’s lovely photos to remember him and Claude by (and can now enjoy some “peace at last”, first thing). So relieved that “Coq au vin” wasn’t the solution though – and I’m sure they’re destined for a very happy new life, with their harem of hens – great that you found such a nice new home for them. Some years ago I had a frightful 5 a.m. experience of a cockerel in the Dordogne, when we got the last available pitch (wonder why…) near the barn on a farm campsite……. I suspect Cockadoooodledoooo was scrabbling about right next to our tent, now that WAS loud!!
Great story with a happy ending! Thanks for sharing it.
P.S. Is Mrs Tweedy still with you (there have been a few chicken recipes on here recently..!) – if so, are you going to risk acquiring some (‘female’, egg-laying) company for her?
Poor Mrs Tweedy is in hen heaven! We found her keeled over in the hen house one morning.
What she’d been up to we don’t know.
We buried her.
RIP
I appreciate you naming one of your roosters “Claude” in honour of my most beloved feline ever. They are gorgeous boys ! It sounds like “with a haram of hens” they will be very, very happy! I can understand you and Meredith wanting to get some sleep.
Oddly enough, in my sister’s neck of the woods- there is a Rooster who crows at dusk! Lol!