Learn About Our Special Animals
Meet Murray, a Bielefelder. Our neighbors call him Tigger, but when a rooster clearly tells me his name, who am I to question him? Murray was dropped off some time in 2020. The story we were told is that the family had hens in an enclosed run that backed up to a wooded area. One day Murray showed up out of nowhere, obviously attracted to the hens. They figured he was lost and would find his way back home. But Murray stayed. After a couple of nights, they became worried about Murray’s safety, so they gave him a temporary home. They couldn’t have a rooster, so they found us and brought him to the farm.
Bielefelders are gentle giants with a quiet disposition. Murray was exactly that. He was suddenly the largest chicken on the farm, but was the lowest rooster in the pecking order. He stayed mostly to himself, but eventually he got a few girlfriends. Some girls like the strong silent type!
Murray has always been an excellent protector. That’s what we demand when we “hire” them. Each of our roosters works in a different location of the farm to provide safety wherever the hens roam. Murray has always worked the back yard and garden area near the field. Last spring, Murray was near the garden when a coyote bolted out of the adjoining field. We were sitting in the house and saw it all. Complete mayhem. Murray sounded the alarm and hens went flying in every direction across the chain link fence into the yard. But Murray didn’t run. He stood his ground between the coyote and his girls, as if to say “If anyone dies today, you have to go through me first!”. The coyote was confused, and the two stared each other down for a couple of minutes, long enough for me to grab the rifle. I took a shot but missed, and the coyote ran away.
Murray saved his girls that day. We get a little choked up every time we tell that story because Murray would have sacrificed his life to save his girls. After that day, we saw a change in Murray. He had discovered his life’s purpose. He held his head a little higher. There was pride in every step. He crowed louder and more often. He gained a few promotions in the pecking order. And he had a few more girlfriends.
From the time he came to us, Murray has never gone to the coop at night on his own. He makes his way to the barn and jumps up on an old bookcase. We gave up trying to train him. So every night, we pick him up and walk him to the coop. On the way, I hug him and tell him how blessed we are that he found us. I’m sorry if someone lost their rooster, but I know Murray is living his best life.
If you visit, you might not see Murray unless you look in the back yard along the fence. If you bring treats, he really likes bananas.