Today I want to tell you a very strange story. (And please don’t be cross with the cat who keeps wandering into the shot.) First of all: this is not Taro.
A rooster with a bad reputation
Our Taro was a Rhode Island Red, and I know there are countless chickens of that breed in the world that look just like him. This rooster came to us fully grown, and I was told he wasn’t friendly. Rhode Island Reds are said to be a little aggressive and hard to tame.
When I went to pick him up, the man who was keeping him said, “He’s aggressive,” as he put him in the box — and the rooster bit and kicked his hands like crazy. Watching from the side, I thought, yes, he does look like a handful. I touched him before he went in the box, too, and got kicked right in the stomach.
Then we arrived at the farm. I opened the box, he hopped out, looked around as if to say, “Oh, this place is nice,” walked up to me and gave me a hug. Chickens don’t have arms, so I don’t know how he did it, but that’s what it felt like. His whole attitude flipped 180 degrees. Usually a chicken who is aggressive in one home stays aggressive in the next — if anything, moving makes them worse. I’d never heard of one becoming gentle.
Just like Taro
He snuggles up to me the way Taro did. Like Taro, he guards hens who have chicks, and he even looks after the chicks — not very rooster-like behavior at all. Most roosters have no patience for chicks that aren’t their own.
The other chickens who came from the same place are terrified of cats; even when a cat is walking far away, they make a huge fuss. This one marched straight toward Natsu and stepped on her tail. A little more caution would be fine, you know!
Meet Taro the Second
He’s been here for about three weeks, nearly a month, and we’re getting along. But he’s so Taro-like that I kept turning around and thinking, “Oh, there’s Taro!” So I decided to call him Taro. Taro the Second.
He’s always a bit grubby, too. The first Taro was bad at preening and always looked messy. Maybe that’s just the breed — I tried to blame it on the breed, anyway, but it’s still strange how alike they are. Do you believe in reincarnation?
Please say hello to Taro the Second. Thank you for watching, and see you next time!