Corney (Ameraucauna rooster). Arrived: 18 August 2013
UPDATE: 10 February 2016
Our hearts were literally broken by the discovery today of our gorgeous boy, Corney, lying dead in the main room of our hospital barn.
Corney had been recuperating from a complicated break to his tibia late last October and subsequent surgery to insert a rod to help with repair. He has spent most of this time in isolation in one of the stalls in the hospital barn to allow him to rest and recover and let the leg heal completely, with a brief foray back into ISO in the main chook pen, but his leg got worse again so he returned to the more protected environment of the hospital.
Being found in the main room means he had managed to get through the bars of the stall or (unlikely) over the gate; there were a lot of feathers and his repaired leg was re-broken – we can only assume that something attacked him during the night and he tried to escape but re-broke his leg in the process.
We don’t know how he died – possibly from shock, possibly from a heart attack – there were no life-threatening wounds (apart from the re-broken leg) or blood. We are gutted that he experienced whatever it was that terrified him enough to try to escape. It torments us still to think that he died alone in fear and pain, we are just so sorry and gutted this happened to him, after all he had been through and given how well he was progressing towards full health again.
During his convalescence Corney became very close to Maree, one of the founders of HHFS – he would wait for her visits and when he was particularly poorly, would only eat when she offered him food. He allowed her to cuddle him and carry him to his outside day yard where he enjoyed some time in the sun. This was exceptional as Corney was well known for attacking almost everyone – including Maree prior to his injury.
When anyone goes through the trauma of illness or injury, it is amazing how they reach out to someone for comfort and care… even the surliest of creatures seem to share this trait and it happens with animals and people alike. This special bond is a comfort to the ill and it absolutely breaks the heart of the carer/friends when they leave, but we are all the richer for that special trust bestowed on us.
We will miss you Corney – so very VERY much. RIP sweet boy.
Corney was surrendered to us with roosters, Eddy and Barney at 16 weeks old, brought as chicks and turned out to be roosters not suited to suburbia. They all live together in the rooster bachelor pad (sadly this one doesn’t allow girls in).
Would you like to help us to take care any of the other animals still with us? One off donations and sponsorship gifts are available now to support our work. Thank you for caring about farm animals.
** Happy Hooves Farm Sanctuary – Where The Good Life Begins **
…and sometimes where a good life ends too
