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| Frankie and the babies. |
I think I wrote late last year about how our little chicken, Frankie, just started laying eggs, then got broody. About that time we also added two new 8 week old chickens to keep her company, and moved her house to another section of the yard, so with the disruptions she snapped out of her broodiness pretty quickly. Then in December she went broody... again.
So naturally, we got her some fertilised eggs to sit on, as you do. Actually I don't know what we were thinking. But it seemed like such a good, reasonable, rational idea at the time. She had twelve eggs, so the worst possible scenario was twelve little roosters. Of those eggs, five hatched, and of those five, well we have no idea how many will be roosters. Or what we will do with the roosters. I'm sure we have room for a couple more hens, so a few can stay. And they are very cute.
Our son loves them. They are very cute, and there is something so completely amazing about watching new life unfold right before your eyes. And it forced us to fully cat-proof the chook run. And now we just wait and see who starts to crow.
Do you breed or hatch your own chickens? How do you deal with roosters? I think it would be a most unfortunate fate, to be born a boy chicken into this world.
sweet
ReplyDeletehehehe poor roosters ;-)
Yes, poor little roosters..
DeleteWe breed our own replacement chooks. I let three hens sit every spring (in theory), they have a total of ten eggs each. Usually we end up with only two or three chicks per hen (due to a variety of factors like, predators, bad sitting and hens stealing each other's eggs). We count on four of the six being roosters.
ReplyDeleteWhen they are adults we take them to a local (three hour drive) 'Pig and calf' auction, where they are auctioned off to the highest bidder (I try not to think about their fate). It is heart breaking to send them away and we often find ourselves with too many roosters.
Maybe you could check out your local auction scene?
We're thinking of seeing if the people we got the eggs from might want them, to sell at the market or whatever. It sounds like a good solution to us, lets hope they think so too.
DeleteI'd love to keep them but it's just not really an option for us.
oh oh oh i love baby chickens! mum and dad keep chooks for eggs, and they do and recently did - exactly this, put some eggs under a broody girl. they had the courtesy to hatch just before my christmas holidays, so i could watch them endlessly while i was down there - they are great time wasters, baby chickens, that's what we say!
ReplyDeleteand unfortunately, sooner or later, dad has to dispatch with the roosters - mainly because they fight amongst themselves or harrass the girls too much. if they behaved, it wouldn't be a problem and they could live long and peaceful lives!
that picture makes me smile - thank you.
Yes, if only roosters would behave and get along with other roosters! They really are their own worst enemy. We're pretty sure the big yellow one in the photo is a boy, he's been nicknamed Bertie. Sadly. It's harder to get rid of them once they have a name...
DeleteAhem.
ReplyDeleteWe're not vegetarian ;)
(I'll go now before I get linched!)
You know, if one of us could to the deed, I think I would actually eat them. My husband isn't vegetarian, but he doesn't want to do the deed any more than I do!
DeleteBarger, just lost my reply! I know what you mean, I think I'd struggle but I'd try to get someone in to show me how to do it so if I did it wrong there'd be someone to dispatch quickly if needed. At least if you keep your roosters to the tasty end you know how they've been kept. If you sell them on they're likely to become dinner but you don't know how they've been kept up to that point.
DeleteI wish we had enough land for meat chickens (and pigs. And sheep. Oh and ducks!)