Happy new year everyone. One of the first things on my list of things-to-do-in-2012 is to improve these strategies.
The loaf of bread strategy:
Okay, you already know about Godfrey, the Godfather of ganderdom. Now, don’t get me wrong; I adore Godfrey, but it’s unrequited, so now I honk back at him when I am trying to pat MY geese, not HIS geese, and today I slapped him in the head with a loaf of bread after he bit me on the bum again. This was quite effective except that Godfrey took the whole loaf of bread and ran away, with the gang following. So much for their loyalty. I will need to perfect this strategy before I patent it. Oh, and don’t be fooled by the gentleness of this picture; it was taken months ago, before Godfrey became the Godfather.
The leg-shaking strategy:
Tina Turner is the Araucana rooster who seemed like a hen to begin with. Okay, so I got that wrong. Well, Tina has recently developed an antipathy towards me which he demonstrates by flying at my legs and latching on with his substantial claws. This is very painful, especially if you are wearing shorts. Now it has been suggested to me that his behaviour might be an expression of adoration but don’t think so. Anyway, this is how to do the leg-shaking thing. You just walk slowly towards the rooster, lifting one leg at a time and shaking it. If the rooster tries to get behind you and trick you, just keep doing the leg-shaking. Sometimes this means that you will accidentally kick the rooster but if that happens don’t worry as the rooster will recover. Incidentally, this is also a great leg-toning exercise.
I’ve used the following photo of Tina on this blog before but I haven’t been able to take another one because it’s hard to take a photo while you are leg-shaking.
The screech strategy:
This one is very good for Willy wagtails who are nesting in washhouses on old farms. In a previous post I mentioned how difficult it is for me to do the washing whilst being dive-bombed by screeching Willy wagtails. So now what I do is I run, screeching loudly, into the washhouse and continue screeching until I have put the load of washing on. I’ve learned that I have to screech louder than they screech in order for the strategy to work. What happens is that they will vacate the washhouse for approximately two minutes, so obviously this strategy needs a bit of tweaking.
This photo is courtesy of Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Willie_wagtail_in_nest.jpg
So there you have it: three very effective strategies for dealing with aggressive birds. I realise these strategies need refining, so any suggestions are welcome!
jmgoyder 
I hope the paddy wagon isn’t passing the washouse, or I’d be visiting a daughter in a straight jacket! M.L.
Oh, very funny….
Very funny (those strategies).
All I can say is I hope Son takes a photo of you doing the leg shaking one so we can all see your technique.
I don’t think I’ve ever had trouble with birds (even magpies) attacking me, but then I wear a lot of dark colours & have learnt to stand so still, I think the birds mistake me for a tree.
I will have to add the tree idea to my list of strategies!
Great strategies!
Happy New Year.
You too!
love it and love th e Tina Turner lookalike rooster!
Yes s/he is a character!
Leg-shaking’s your excuse for dancing to Abba in the backyard and you’re sticking to it…
Dancing queen!