Grabau Farms and Gift Cards | Archive

Tribute to the Good, Old Rooster

On our farm, we keep a flock of laying hens. Presiding over the hens is one rooster. After the hens lay eggs for us for about a year we move them out making room for the new and upcoming flock. Most often the rooster moves out with his hens.

Our last rooster, however, stuck around. He was a big rooster, very protective of his ladies, and knew his territory. Many other roosters in the past tended to be of the arrogant, possessive type. They attacked human beings simply because they walked in or around the chicken yard. Some charged when they were in the “human’s territory”.

Mature white rooster, Gold Star rooster,

The Good, Old Rooster

Not so with this rooster. He protected the hens from coyotes, foxes, and raccoons, yet he knew that we provided food and shelter for the chickens, so he honored our authority. His attitude and demeanor were consistently trustworthy. For that reason he reigned in the chicken yard for about seven or eight years. Now that is a long time, if you recall they usually are gone in one year.

Last week, our good old rooster fought his last fight. He took on a fox to protect one of his ladies. His weapons in fight, spurs and beak, recently were reduced to single spur and beak. Yet he put up a good fight. But, sadly, he did not make it. We sure will miss that guy around here. It’s not often that we have found a rooster of his caliber.

photo credit: Wenda Grabau
photo credit: Wenda Grabau

The Great Turtle Rescue

Our dry weather gave us rest from mowing lawn for several weeks. Recently we got the blessing of rain. The grass began to grow all over the farmyard. Mowing had to be done. My daughter got the job.

She had been able to mow some of the yard with a riding mower. As she mowed the highest hill in the yard, she saw a huge turtle at the bottom of the hill! She could not continue mowing with him in the way, plus she thought it could be a snapping turtle.

She bolted into the farmhouse yelling, “Mom, where’s the camera? There is a giant turtle!”

She found it and raced out to tell her dad who was near by putting gas in the tractor.

I wiped my hands on my apron. I left my bread dough and made my way across the yard to see this giant.

Sure enough he was big! We were not sure what kind of turtle he was until he snapped at a stick my husband used to try to move him. He did not like our attention, but he could not stay in the farmyard.

The turtle had mud baked on his shell. He could have been hanging out in a patch of mud from earlier rains. The snapper eyed us with contempt. As my daughter moved toward his back side, he pivoted to keep her in sight. He was not a very trusting creature.

My husband maneuvered Mr. Turtle onto the loader of our tractor so that he could be safely moved. Mr. Turtle resisted, but he got on the loader bucket in short order. My husband set a straw bale in front of Mr. Turtle to prevent him from falling off of the loader when the tractor was in motion.

Before freeing him, we wanted to gather some hard facts about him. To do that, my husband unloaded the turtle into a pail that was large enough for him to sit in comfortably. He took the container to the feed shed where a large scale is housed. The critter tipped the scales at 15 pounds. His shell measured approximately 12 inches long and 10 inches wide, his tail was 8 inches long, and his claws an inch long. His neck could not be measured safely and besides, he kept it tucked deeply inside his shell.

Turtle With One Inch Claws

Mr. Turtle may not have enjoyed his encounter with us on Heritage Farm, but we found him interesting.

My husband took Mr. Turtle to a wooded area on the farm and let him loose to find his way in this world. He gladly scooted away into the underbrush of the woods. We don’t expect him to visit us again anytime soon.

Photo Credit: Bretta Grabau
Photo Credit: Bretta Grabau
Photo Credit: Bretta Grabau
Photo Credit: Bretta Grabau