Remembering a great rooster

Most people have the same reaction when you mention a rooster. They think they are mean, dirty, noisy little devils that will attack you with no warning. I felt the same way, until I met Goober. We saved him from an untimely death after he trespassed to scratch up a flower bed. We almost didn't keep him, we didn't need another rooster! But keep him we did, and never regretted it.

Roosters will dip their wings to court a hen. They dip a wing, and dance for her. It's quite an impressive sight, unless you're the object of a rooster's affection. The next step he'll take is to start spurring you, and that hurts! Almost every rooster I've ever met has eventually dipped his wing at me. I've been spurred more times than I like to count. But Goober never dipped his wing to a person. He never thought about doing a courting dance to us, and he never spurred. Even young children, who roosters see as easy targets, never had to worry about him.

We got to the point where we stopped worrying about Goober, and really trusted him. He was just amazing. There was frequent conversation regarding Goober, and his personality. We were so lucky he was gentle, because he was so big!

If you can imagine this beautiful red rooster wandering around the farm yard, grumbling up a storm. And grumble he did! About everything! He wanted corn, he wanted his girls, he liked to grumble! It was a delightful part of his personality.

I'd like to say Goober loved us, but it may have been that we were keepers of the kibble. Goober always met us at the gate, and followed us around as we did our chores. He loved his corn, and his sunflower seeds. Around food came his only aggressive tendencies. He'd get along okay with his buddy Flyer, but would chase him away from the food. He wasn't aggressive towards us with his food, though.

When we let the hens out to free-range in the yard, Goober would get so excited! He would do his happy dance, and dip his wing to all the ladies. He watched over them so well. Any predators flew over, and he would issue a warning growl to tell the hens to take cover. If there was a disturbance in the yard, Goober would run over to see what was going on, and if it needed his assistance. He didn't miss anything.

Goober's hens lived in a separate coop with their own roosters. We let the hens out during the day, and put them back up at night. Goober slept in a separate area. We'd call all the hens in, and Goober would come in with them. He didn't want us to see him, so he'd hide in the cabinet in the pen. As big as Goober was, it wasn't hard to see him, really, but he always tried. When we shooed him out, he'd grumble all the way.

Goober was definitely one in a million as far as roosters go. I don't think I'll ever meet one as gentle and as full of personality as he was. I'll never forget running my fingers through his tail feathers, watching him free range in the yard with his hens, or hearing him grumble. Your spirit will live on, Goober, thank you for taking care of us. We'll miss you.