Oh man, they are crazy.
Bad weather.
You can't just have chickens running around in the kind of precipitation we've had lately. Our hen is mostly okay staying in the house. She gets extra cuddles in exchange for her loss of scratching and hunting for bugs. However! She also gets extra bossy with the kid.
Like, she's always bossy with the kid. She'll scold and peck and shake her tail until the kid does what she wants. Which is usually carrying her somewhere on their shoulder, giving them human food she's only supposed to have in small quantities, and/or laying down so she can stand on their stomach for a while.
Why that last one? No idea. But every now and then, that hen decides that it is belly sitting time, and the squawks will continue until it happens.
Chickens!
So, the rooster though. My dude is allllll verklempt. He can't run around because chicken feet don't do well below a given temperature, especially when that comes with frozen stuff on the ground. Yay mountain weather?
So, he's been camping on the porch since he won't pad train and refuses to wear a chicken diaper. Yes, you read that right. Tbh though, he has a foot fetish, so it isn't like we'd be overjoyed with him running around if he would. My dude will hump the hell out of any feet, but he particularly loves feet in crocs. It's this whole thing.
Now, he's usually a bit grumpy, and prone to acting tough and all aloof. But the last few weeks, me and him have hit this new level of sympatico. He can see the kitchen through the window, and chicken hearing is good. So, he gets super excited when he sees or hears me. I'm talking burbling clucks, his head stretching out to watch me, and jumping down to run for the door if I move that direction.
And he ain't happy until he's tucked under my arm getting his neck scritched under his feathers. This is an awesome thing tbh. He's always kinda followed me around and enjoyed my company from distance, but he's never been one to enjoy direct contact, much less seek it out.
The problem is that I fucked up my back a few weeks ago, and reinjured it again right before the damn storm came through. So I can't bend down to pick him up. I have to either get someone to come and hand him to me, or coax him up onto things where I can get him myself, which is like pulling teeth because he's as dumb as a brick lol.
It also means I can only really give him love for maybe five minutes, even sitting down, because the only places I can sit with him are painful as hell for me, and just standing with his weight under my arm is pretty brutal.
But it is something special to see him happy, just being able to not be all tense and looking for trouble like he does when he's in the yard because that's what roosters do. It's what they are. Their instincts to keep their head on swivel for predators is as strong as their foot or hen humping drive. He's relaxed most of the time, though he's also wanting to go out. I've tried letting him out for a little while, but as soon as those feet hit that cold stuff, he's noping back in the door asap.
I low key want the weather to stay rough a little longer just so I can have some time with my chill buddy as my back improves. But, maybe I'll get lucky and the new, more chill behaviour will stick with him when he's outside fully again.