Goofy grouse

[Ybone]

We have a grouse hanging around who thinks it's human. I noticed it about a month ago when it didn't seem to be afraid of people. Since then it's become more and more tame. Today it showed up while I was cutting wood. It hung around while I was using the chain saw and loading wood then ran along side the atv while I was hauling the wood out and flew after me when I got too far ahead of him. It was under the car with my brother when he was changing his oil and follows him around when he's mowing lawn. It's landed on peoples heads and arms. It landed on my brother's atv handlebars and gave him a little cut when it pecked him in the face. He's kind of getting to be a nuisance to my brother and his wife since they can't even sit outside on their deck without the thing showing up and bothering them. We had another grouse just like this a few years ago who had the habit of flying after cars until one day he flew in front of one. I also remember a story just like this on Ron Schara's tv show, "Minnesota Bound".

[This message has been edited by Ybone (edited 10-14-2003).]

[This message has been edited by Ybone (edited 10-14-2003).]

[Diezel350]

"It landed on my brother's atv handlebars and gave him a little cut when it pecked him in the face."

This would have been the night I would have Grouse for supper.

[Fisher Dave]

When I lived in the city of St Francis about 16 years ago there was a grouse there that was equally as tame. It was obvious the bird was *friends* of the previous home owner.. it showed up the day things were moved in.

Within a week the bird was following people into the house. The *freak of nature* black lab my family had weighed in at 160 lbs (very little fat) and was a retriever.. believe it or not the dog never killed the bird, or tried to catch it... go figure.

[booter]

My father-in-law had a similar situation. The grouse followed him around like a dog. One fall day during bow deer season while my borther-in-law was in a tree stand, the grouse landed on his bow (several great photos taken as documentation). He shooed the grouse off his bow, it fluttered to the ground and into the jaws of the local cat.

[CornPirateKiller]

Two years ago when my wife and I were deer hunting in SE Minn., my wife returned to the truck at noon and told me that a grouse followed her from her stand. I looked around but didn't spot it. After lunch, though, I walked her to her stand and sure enough, that grouse appeared and followed us all the way. When I left, it stayed with her. She said it walked around her all afternoon and eventually flew up and roosted right above her when it got dark. The next morning, my wife heads back to the stand and at first light, she sees the grouse is still there. It even stuck around when she shot her deer and watched from about 10 feet away as we gutted it. It followed us back to the truck, pecking at bits of fat and blood clots as we dragged the deer out. I think it would have gotten in the truck had we let it. Crazy bird!

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Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati

[northwoodsman]

go figure who would want a grouse for a pet
they're not very smart birds

[grousegrits1]

i would love to see a grouse that would land one my shoulder. But if he did i would grab him and then snap his neak and make some grousegrits out of him.

[Sarge]

Several years ago, I was hunting with a friend near his home. We were "small game hunting" squirel, rabbit, and grouse. It didn't really matter if we got anything, we were just out.

This day the saying "a bird in the hand", got new meaning. After walking the grassy field to the edge of the woods without seeing any rabbits, we walked by a plum thicket, and spotted a grouse at the edge. It moved further into the thicket as we approched, you could see it, but we didn't think we could get a shot threw the brambly mess. So we started tossing sticks and rock at it trying to get it to flush, it wouldn't move.

So Bobby says he's going to crawl under the thicket to scare it out to me. I scoot to the otherside to set up for shot. Just a few seconds later I yells I got it!? I'm thinking what is he talking about, there was no shot, he didn't even take his gun with him. Bobby slithered back out of the plum thicket on his belly, with that grose tucked into his chest like a football.

He said it just watched him crawl up, and it bearly moved when he reached out and grabbed it. It didn't even put up a fuss when he handed it to me and I grabbed hold of its legs.(I raise a few chickens and turkeys all of witch are very tame, and this grouse handled better than anything I've raised.) It didn't care, it didn't even struggle to get away. We walked back to his house, carrying it like a parakeet on our fingers with very little pressure on its toes.

When we got back we put it in a laudry basket, gave it some water and put a few boards over it to keep it in. We went inside, had a beer and started to talk about what we should do with it. Soon we went back out to admire our catch, but the boards had been moved and the grouse was gone.

It was a wierd experience, we had a bird, caught it by hand, had it in our possession, but yet we ended up with what we started with -nothing.

I always thought, that, particular event was once in a milion, but after reading some of your posts, I see that its not.

I want to hear more!

[Guest]

I'll shorten this up...considerably! Many years ago I was Grouse hunting a few weeks before Christmas and happened to shoot a nice fat tridge. When I got up to it lying in the trail, I noticed there was no blood and the darn thing looked unhurt.It was lifeless though, neck floping every which way, so I stuffed it into my gamepouch. Several hours later upon returning home,I reached in the pouch to get the bird and out came a very much alive grouse. There was no struggle or fear whatsoever. I placed it on the floor and it began strutting aroung the family room. The two cats were astounded and left it alone. All of a sudden it took wing and landed in the Christmas tree, much to the delight of the kids. It was given a name, GUS ,and stayed with us until spring. He sure could put away the peanuts and seemed to enjoy picking them to pieces on the new carpet or the back of the couch while looking out the window at the snowdrifts. The whole family will always remember him, as every year when we get together during the Holidays we are reminded by the words in the song,"AND A PARTRIDGE IN A PINE TREE......"
TALKOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!