I ended up with 2 roosters out of my bunch of chicks so I had to find a home for them. I am sure my neighbors won't want roosters crowing. I have pretty good neighbors so don't want to put them out....and a rooster crowing at 4:30 am is putting them out a bit. I must admit I hate it too. I have always been bothered by a crowing rooster. It would be fine if they stuck to a 9-5 schedule but they sometimes get in a crowing jag in the middle of the night and I'm rarely wanting to get up at 5 in the morning. So I wanted to give mine away before they got too big. I asked a boy at school, Pavel, if he thought his grandmother would like them. Now I know that they do eat some of their chickens and if this was the fate of mine I could live with that but I didn't say that to Pavel. The next day he comes with a note from his mother that said they would like the roosters. I told him I would deliver them after school. He was very excited. As he walked back to class with a teacher he said to her, "Is it against the law to butcher chickens?" She didn't know so she told me what he said. I knew he was worried that his family might eat one of my chickens so when he ran by to go to recess I called him over and told him it wasn't against the law to butcher chickens and if his family wanted to eat the roosters I was OK with that He let out a deep breath, visibly relaxed, smiled and went on his merry way.
That afternoon I drove the two roosters over feeling very guilty. I really have no problem with them eating them. I eat chicken. I can't be a hypocrite. It is the act of catching them and putting them in a box and driving them over. Kind of like Dead Man Walking. When I got to the street I was greeted by a gaggle of children excited to see me in their neighborhood. They escorted me to Pavel's house where I gave a startled Russian man a box full of rooster. Pavel spoke to him in Russian and they headed on down the road to Grandmother's house. Pavel wanted to surprise Grandmother. As I drove by her house I saw a lovely yard with a very nice chicken coop in the back.
I would like to think that the roosters will live a long life with a large flock of hens.
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4 comments:
Guess what, Wendy...I wound up with two roos, too. Coincidence?? I don't know... :-)
I, unlike you, though...absolutely LOVE the crowing. It somehow makes it feel like a real farm to me. Only one of my roos is crowing right now, though, Roopert, and he's still testing his new voice. He seems surprised, himself, every time he crows. Pip, on the other hand, hasn't made a noise, despite his ever growing red wattles.
I love that Pavel's grandma had such a beautiful coop in her back yard! :-)
So, how many chickens do you have now?
I now have the ten young hens and I have 6 younger one that I picked up last week. They are Light Brahmas (love these) and Speckled Sussex. So 16 all together.
I don't think it was a coincidence that we both got two roos.
So, now you're roo-less. So bittersweet.
Well, even if those roos are meant for the dinner table, they'll probably live a great life quite a while in that beautiful coop and yard until they are fattened up.
When we got our first batch of 13 chickens I was also in tat mindset of giving away any roos that showed up. I don't know why it's important because there are alot of roosters crowing all around our neighborhood. And I don't mind them at all. Of course, they are far enough away that their crows sound like the distant sound of a train horn.
Having a rooster crowing at all hours, right outside your window is a whole 'nother story! hehe
But thankfully when my friend sorted the chicks, she gave herself 3 roos...and me none! haha
As you know, we now have 4 new chicks, 2 Silkies and 2 Polish. I'll have to see how I feel about it when/if the time comes, but if I do end up with a roo or two, I might decide to keep it/them. Or not.
By the way, I hope you enjoy your Speckled Sussex as much as we do.
They are so sweet, friendly, curious and nurturing.
Maybe you'll end up with a broody SS one, like we have.
She is laying on 5 fertile eggs right now and hopefully we'll see some chicks around June 6th!
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