Star

Star was a great king. 

Along with Anna, Brownie, Stripes and several others, he was hatched in an incubator in 2009. 

As a chick, he was black with a white spot on his head that looked like a star shinning in the night. Once his feathers came in, he became a very handsome barred rooster with a few scarlet feathers evenly distributed throughout his plumage. 

I think that he is a cross between the now deceased Foghorn Leghorn, a dark brown leghorn rooster, and a Cuckoo Maran hen named Feathered Feet. 

After ruling the flock for a few years, Star was attacked on 7-30-14. 

I don't remember if we knew that he was roosting outside the coop that night, or if he had somehow gotten past us without being seen, but we were awoken by his screams. 

He was flapping around on the ground with a raccoon attached to his head. 

My dad reached him a few steps ahead of me and got the large raccoon off of him. 

The raccoon climbed a nearby tree and we never did catch him. 

The base of Star's comb was torn and he had a deep puncture wound in his chest. We treated him with BLU-KOTE, which is good for many different problems. 

I was worried about his comb healing because Foghorn Leghorn's comb was also torn by a predator, but was so bad that he had to be taken to a vet to get it fixed. S

tar's injuries were a lot less severe and he healed nicely, although it took several months before his comb would stand up again. 

 

Since then, he has sleep with his head on the ground and has scared us many times by thinking he was dead. Once winter came, Star had a hard time walking. The only thing that I could think of is arthritis. After we begin to bring him inside on cold nights, he started waling normal again. 

But he is still unable to take on the other roosters without loosing. 

While Star was recovering and separated from the flock, a younger rooster named Shelly rose to power. Star is no match for him now, and can not rejoin the flock because they would bully him. Instead of guarding the flock and keeping the other roosters in line, Star now cares for the elderly hen, his mother Feathered Feet. 

She is partly blind and fallows him everywhere. 

He watches out for predators, keeps other roosters from bothering her and finds her food. 

Once, I saw him carry a piece of corn over 15 ft, then drop it in front of her!

 I have never seen a rooster bring food to a hen any more then a step or two away, although it is clear that many roosters care deeply for their hens. 

They will call when they find something to eat, even if they themselves are hungry and even defend the flock with their lives. 

They are not afraid to take a threat many times their own size, if doing so may save their loved ones.