Gregory Peck

Gregory Peck was a lovely Australorp rooster.  He had lovely glossy black feathers that shone green and purple in the sun, and a bright red comb and wattles, and kind brown eyes.  In case you’re wondering, an Australorp is an Australian breed of chicken (or chook as they’re called out here) and developed from Orpingtons.  I got him as a day-old chick, with a few other chicks, who (thank the Lord) turned out to be hens. None of them had been sexed….so it was pot luck what you got!  Up till that time, I hadn’t had any roosters, hence the need to buy chicks….you don’t get fertile eggs without a rooster, so when Gregory grew up, he was ……The Rooster.  And what a wonderful rooster he was.  I have had many since him, but he was the epitome of what a rooster should be.  He was a perfect gentleman to the hens.  If he found any food, he would call them all to him, scratching madly till they arrived, and then he would stand back and let them all have their fill before he even attempted to eat himself.  By this time of course, the hens had scratched whatever it was he found all over the yard, and there would be precious little left for him.  He was also wonderful with my kids.  He would allow them to come into the yard to collect the eggs with nothing more than a cackle, and just keep a watchful eye on proceedings.  Other roosters would actually attack them, or at the very least act aggressively, but not Gregory…..he was just ultra polite.

He was a very typical rooster in another respect though.  He was constantly (or so it seemed…) chatting up the hens.  He would choose the one he felt amorous about, and he would strut up to her, then perform his little dance for her.  If that didnt win her interest, he would chase her round the yard a bit….she would usually allow him to have his wicked way with her just to get rid of him, and he would be off looking for another lovely hen…… Of course this meant lots of chickens were hatched in due course, so I had a constant supply of young hens growing up, and far too many young roosters as well……

I would find homes for the young roosters, and because I didnt want Gregory mating with his daughters, I found homes for them as well.  I usually was able to swap them for other young non related hens.  However, when Gregory was getting on a bit, I had taken delivery of a new unrelated rooster, for when Gregory went to the big chook yard in the sky.  I kept him in a separate yard, and the idea was in the mean time, I would let him cohabit with a few of the hens, moving them into his yard with him.  I hadn’t organised any of this yet, he had only arrived a few days before.  This young fellow really fancied his chances with all these ladies, and he managed to find his way into the yard with them…….and Gregory.  Poor Gregory was incensed.  He wasnt having this young upstart looking at his girls, so he prepared for battle.  And battle they did, in the time honoured tradition of roosters, with spurs and beaks.  It didn’t take long for the noise to catch my attention in the house, and I came rushing down to separate them.  They were completely exhausted, and the newcomers lovely white feathers (with black markings) were stained from his bleeding comb.  You couldn’t see the damage to Gregory, but I knew he would have suffered the same injuries.  They were so tired, that I was just able to walk over, and pick the newcomer up and put him back in his yard.  I headed to the garage to find some tools to help me fortify the fence to keep him there, and I heard a strange noise.  When I came out to investigate, there was Gregory, collapsed on the ground.

By the time I reached him, he had died.  I’m assuming he had a heart attack.  The kids were devastated, and we buried him with due ceremony.  I think they thought he should have had a state funeral.  He lives on in our memories, and in the fact that he was unique among all the roosters that came after him.  The kids remembered him as the only one who would allow them to collect the eggs unhindered.  And I used to wish the other roosters were as good as him……he definitely was a hard act to follow……