Learn About Our Special Animals
We’re starting a new series called Spotlight Sunday, where we introduce some of our special chickens and give you their story. You hear us talk about many of them in our videos, or when you visit the farm. Now you’ll have a chance to understand what makes these birds so special.
Meet Crank, a Buff Orpington. Crank was dropped off in the fall of 2020. At the time, we were told he was 7 months old. We explained to the previous owners that roosters usually become food. They were OK with that. When Crank arrived, he looked like he was 4 months old. He was light, and had never crowed. We asked what he was fed, and they said scratch grains and fruits like watermelon. Scratch grains are a combination of things like cracked corn, oats, millet, and milo. It’s a treat for chickens, and not a significant source of protein. Crank had been nutritionally abused.
We couldn’t process him because there was no meat on him. We felt sorry for him, and Andrea even cried. We decided to keep him and feed him a good chicken diet high in protein. By the next spring, Crank had gained the weight he should have had, and began to crow and mate.
Crank came to us with the name Cranky, but he was never cranky with us, so we shortened it to Crank or sometimes Crankasaurus. If we sit on the back porch in the evening, Crank is sure to be there. He’ll jump up on a lap or the table and beg for a treat.
Last summer, Crank broke his top beak. We’re not sure how. Half of the hard covering was missing. He was in obvious pain when eating, so we made sure to hand feed him peanuts. Everything we read said he would grow it back, and that’s exactly what happened.
Crank is a wonderful addition to our team of guardian roosters. He’s good to his girls, protects them from aerial predators, and is friendly to all humans. You can always identify Crank by his crooked toes, which he had from the time he was dropped off.
Say hello to Crank next time you visit. He’s usually out in the front yard.