A life filled with the joy of chooks

I’ve been fascinated with Elaine’s story since we ran an article about her a few years ago in Issue 134, and then I wrote about her in my editorial a few issues ago (OG 153). For those who missed the original, we featured photos of Elaine and her feathered friends out and about – getting a coffee, catching a surf break or riding a skateboard. But I’d always wanted to know more about how she trains them.

Elaine wrote to me recently to say her much-loved skateboard-riding rooster Squiggles had passed away. This sad news prompted me to ask why she first trained him to ride and how it changed his nature.

Elaine says for all chooks and roosters, like Hugo (picture above), life at her place begins by tucking them under her strong left arm. Elaine says this tells the chook ‘she is the mum’ and in charge, but also full of love and support. Even the wildest roosters melt when she holds them under her arm, she says.

Next, Elaine seeks direct eye contact, even if she has to turn their head her way, and tells them the life they will be coming into – which from what I can tell, is pretty damn good and more exciting than most. The story of Squiggles, who Elaine is still grieving, reveals how her chook connections work.

True feathered friends

“Sadness overwhelms me as I write this little story of Squiggles who arrived as a Frissle rescue rooster four years ago. He was as wild as a rooster could be, he could also look cute with his intense facial expressions and his multi-coloured feathers,” Elaine says.

“After two months of coping with his outrageous behaviour, the time had come to do something.

“I made a decision to harness his uncontrolled energy and teach him to skate. His lesson time was five minutes a day and no distractions. My voice and facial expressions also played a part in his training. Time passed, and I was elated with his progress. We were soon out on footpaths and general skating areas.”

Elaine says he could be distracted by bushy scrub, so she solved this by taking him to a nearby skating bowl.

“He looked fearless, and all this changed his attitude on life. He was now an important rooster and he could perch on the end of his board for hours and be able to look over everybody else. And I loved him for his skill and his perfect behaviour when we were out. Squiggles was also a good watchdog and if anything strange appeared on our territory he gave the warnings. He was the only rooster that showed his emotions and had to snuggle under my chin, or ear, close was never close enough. No one will ever replace him, he was a mummy’s boy!”

But it was a rescue chook named Flapper who began the whole chook outing experiment. Elaine had found Flapper and another bedraggled chook wandering down her road. She brought them inside and had an instant connection. Elaine decided to try Flapper out on a car journey through a noisy car wash. She didn’t budge or squawk. So Elaine started taking her to cafes, beaches and parks, and her quiet confidence drew people and conversation. She became a celebrity locally and in the media. She was even toilet-trained, which is handy at cafes.

There is so much more to the story of Elaine’s love for her chooks and roosters, and how they transformed her life, as told in her sweet book Under My Wing. But the whisper is, there is something bigger on the horizon.

Learn more about keeping chooks in your backyard here.