Let’s talk about roosters. You either love ‘em, or hate ‘em, or have too many! Some are nice, most are actually. But there are always some that are holy terrors.
You want a teeny bit of terror in a good roo. Just enough to be a good protector of his hens. The rooster needs to know to not ever cross that boundary into thinking his humans are a threat!
I have 5 roosters in 3 coops. My daughter has one for her little group of hens. All have been home grown and hatched here.
Blinky, son of Rufus, is a very gorgeous, large, laid-back rooster. He rules what I call the slacker coop, one of aging large hens-dark and light brahmas, an Australorp, and one little cutie of undetermined parentage. Blinkie, unlike other roosters, does not alert his hens of food. He is first up top of the roof of their little house, begging for the choicest morsels before his ladies. I am an enabler; I give them to him!
The second coop has 3 adorable little silkie roosters, who co-exist quite well with each other. They have established their hierarchy with no bloodshed. Balthazar (my favorite) rules, Ren, is 2nd in line, although he thinks he is first. The gorgeous Syl is the peacemaker. I think he really is the ruler, but he doesn’t flaunt it. We had a roo who contested who was boss, against humans and the little roos, and he had to go to another home, where he happily rules the roost with his little silkie lady, and some other hens.
Another silkie /brahma rooster that I loved, went to live with a friend, because he was too large for the silkie hens. Tom Petty is living his best life, lording over 25+ hens, and is a good and kind protector. I recently added some Easter eggers to the silkie coop, and integrated a bathroom raised silkie biddie into the crew. There are enough hens to go around, and they are larger than the roosters.
The last coop has a new rooster, who was hatched here, but went to a new home with the other hatchlings. Having too many roosters there, as Sparrow reached maturity, he came back here to live. My beautiful Rufus had died, leaving the coop without a leader. I think the hens were quite happy without a man, but they needed one.
Sparrow, re-christened Jack Sparrow by my grandson, was bullied at first by the hens, but it only took him a few days to establish his place. Now, he is showing how good a provider and protector he is.
There are many videos and chicken communities online, and just as many rooster horror stories on there. There are too many roos, and not enough homes, many of them end up in the cook pot!
The other night, Sparrow decided to show he was boss. I was closing up the coop, not near the hens, and when I bent over, Sparrow took that moment to leap off the roof of his little coop onto my head! I was being flogged by a roo! The profanities clouded the night air! My guardian dog came running! Jack Sparrow was hanging in my hair, flailing his wings! I shook him off, and chased him with a glove, whacking him a few times! I let him know in no uncertain terms, that doing that to the human that feeds you (or any other human for that matter) is a big NO! No roosters were harmed by the whacking of the gloves!
After that, I opened the nesting box to check for eggs, and Jack Sparrow just stayed on the ground, glaring at me! After seeing some horrible photos online of injuries caused by violent roosters, I’m glad Sparrow is young, with no real spurs, and I had no injuries, except to my pride! He is testing his boundaries, and being in charge of his own flock now, he just needs to learn what’s ok and what’s not. I might wear a hat tonight, just in case Jack Sparrow decides to test me! LOL
I am really not a crazy chicken lady, although Mr. Green Jeans might beg to differ. The little velociraptors give me a lot of enjoyment and are a learning experience for my grandson in caring for the birds, gathering and selling their eggs.
All is well here at Mountain Meadows, with chickens chortling and crowing, horses neighing, a donkey braying, and Charlotte the pig snoring and grunting, as we count the days to Daylight Savings and Spring!
