There's something genuinely heartbreaking about watching a flock you've raised get taken out by poison. Fred's owner, u/rocklovelysocks, didn't just lose chickens. She lost twenty birds she knew by name, birds she'd watched grow from hatchlings into full-blown canal-dwelling characters. And then, just when grief had settled in, Fred appeared at the fence. Alive. Lethargic, sure, and maybe not out of the woods yet, but alive.
That's the part that gets me. She saw him, thought he was a goner, then spotted him again the next day eating egg and bread. And then yesterday? He was *walking*. That's not just a survivor, that's a comeback story so improbable it feels like the universe owed her one.
Now, here's the thing about poison in a neighborhood chicken colony: it doesn't just kill the birds you're mad at. It kills the ones someone else loves. Fred's owner didn't ask for a rooster that follows her around like a feathery shadow. She just fed a mama hen's babies, and next thing she knew, Fred was her pal. He'd chill with her. That's not a pest, that's a relationship.
If a reader came to us and asked, "What would you do if someone poisoned the chickens you care for?" I'd say this: you're allowed to be furious. You're allowed to cry and pray and feel like the whole thing is fowl play at its worst. But what Fred's owner did next is the real lesson. She kept showing up. She fed him, watched him, and gave him a chance to prove he wasn't done yet. That matters way more than any revenge fantasy.
And frankly? That picture of Fred today, looking like he's been through the wringer but still standing? It's a reminder that chickens are tougher than we give them credit for. They survive hurricanes, stray dogs, and yes, even rat poison. But they survive because someone like u/rocklovelysocks refuses to look away.
So here's the concrete point: if you've got a Fred in your life, a bird that stuck around when the others didn't, don't take him for granted. Keep the feed handy. Keep the egg and bread coming. And if you see a neighbor reaching for poison? Have a conversation. Because Fred deserves to keep chilling by that fence for a long, long time.