Vander

What a rooster. What a huge, beautiful, impressive rooster. Vander moved in to Lefty’s Place in early 2012. I wasn’t looking for a rooster at the time, nor was I expecting one. One day J came home with a box, a distressed look and some words that went something like, “I couldn’t leave him there like that” and then we had a rooster.

J saw Vander whilst walking through the market one Saturday morning. Apparently he was in a tiny cage, he couldn’t stand up and was heat distressed. I don’t blame him for bringing him home. Being chickens, markets don’t enforce basic animal welfare stands for them, because they’re “only chickens”.

Vander was named by J and he was named after an ex football player – Paul Vander Haar.

He was a huge, striking, young Rhode Island Red rooster. He was far too big for my little ex-battery hens so Vander ended up creating his family with the broiler hens. He loved his broiler ladies and was incredibly protective of them. Inevitably all of those lovely broiler ladies passed away due to their huge bodies and the issues involved with having such huge bodies and Vander was left all alone. Instead of him living a lonely life all by himself, I rehomed him to a great lady just out of town who had 20 big White Sussex hens and wanted a lovely rooster to look after them. Vander was the man for the job. I am terrible at rehoming animals and I refuse to do it often, this was a once off. Vander is still very happy living it up with his large white ladies over yonder. He thinks all his dreams have come true. I still visit to see him and he is still a magnificent rooster.

Please don’t use my images without permission. All images are Copyright Tamara Kenneally