Nearly every day now, Tom Brombadil the rooster, and the Little Red Hen boldly scale the high wall of the chicken yard and escape out into the yard together to roam free. They wander around the yard together making happy little clucking sounds and scratching at little bugs and seeds they discover together in the green grass. They seem to just want to be alone together. Perhaps they share a spirit of adventure which none of the other chickens in the coop can understand or share. Whatever the case, it is truly heartwarming to watch them spend their days together.
*An added note: Yes, he is named after Tom Bombadil, but the kids threw an “R” in his name. They’re creative spellers and namers.
This is not the first chicken love story in our flock. Last year, there was a romance between two of our spring chickens. Squeaky the rooster was getting picked on and pecked, and Marigold the Welsummer hen was attacked by an opossum with her fellow Welsummers and was the only survivor. We kept them separate from the other chickens in their own little chicken tractor and out free ranging the back yard all summer. They became inseparable. The kids said it reminded them of the love story between Eowyn and Faramir in the Lord of the Rings while they were recuperating from battle wounds in the Houses of Healing. They were obviously paying attention to the Tolkien they were reading with their father. Such Romantics! They were so excited to tell everyone they knew about our chicken romance. Even after we re-integrated Squeaky and Marigold into the flock when we moved out to the country, they remained inseparable and still hang together to this day. So, it’s true, even chickens fall in love.
I love this!!! And I love that you have a rooster named Tom Bombadil. I've always loved that name! 🙂
Thanks Taryn! Tom Bombadil is my favorite Tolkien character! I got some commentary on Facebook, so I added a note in the blog post to clear up the name. The kids added an "R" in there when they were naming him, and that's what we call him. But he is really Tom Bombadil 🙂