My Mom recently returned from a quick trip to the neighbor's house to find the chicken flock left alone. No Macho the Rooster in sight. She immediately knew something was wrong...
You remember Macho, right? He's the rooster that provided us with many belly laughs as he grew up into a beautiful and faithful rooster. He ate big, fat bugs to our disgusted delight and his everyday rooster antics were often hilarious.
He spent mornings peeking in the glass door, much to our cat's dismay...
My kids loved him.
Sometimes, he put up a show, coming at one of our dogs----or even us---- with his wing lowered, as if he was a matador, all side steps and shuffles. Macho. He was also known to get into sparring matches with our dog, Sammie----often resulting in a hilarious show with Macho riding around on Sammie's back.
But once Macho was picked up, he turned passive and friendly in your arms. He equally liked my Mom, defending her from one of the other, more annoying roosters. He was personable.
Though he could chase off the best of intruders, he fell victim to a local coyote pack. The fact that he was the only chicken taken in the attack attests to his defense of the flock.
At first, it was odd for all of us-----our anguish and sadness over his loss. He was just a rooster after all. But as much as our logic dictated something different, our feelings of mourning were ever so real. He was our pet. We gathered up what was left of his glossy white feathers and buried them.
Alas, it's still not the same around the chicken coop without Macho the Rooster but memories of his silliness still brings a smile to our faces, as does his offspring.
