My Confession

Hi, my name is Bev and I have 10 roosters.
(I know, it sounds like I am at an AA meeting.)

TEN!  
I cannot believe my own ears.
I have 10 roosters.

And very possibly, I have 11 roosters....
time will tell on that one.

Funny....
for a gal who only ever ordered 1 rooster...
a special order...
a flashy handsome guy named Hank.

For those of you who are new to my blog,
Hank was one big, bad rooster who terrorized the farm.



He held us emotionally hostage....
afraid to set foot in the farmyard without being armed with a huge supersoaker...
afraid for our lives, or at least for the safety of our eyeballs...
which I am sure Hank would have gouged out if he could have.


So, with utmost kindness and compassion, we did the only thing we could do.
We gave him a rather large dose of Euthasol and he quietly fell asleep....forever.


Now back to my present roosters...
the memory of Hank side-tracked me.

So, the point is...
I only ever wanted one rooster...
one big, flashy, handsome rooster who would crow me awake in the morning....
who would sit on the pasture fence looking over his hens,
safely keeping watch.

Somehow, though, fate was not in my favor,
and with each batch of hens that I have bought over the past few years have come at least one
unwanted rooster.

The first of these surprise roosters was Elvis, a big red Rhode Island.



Elvis was sweet and kind...my favorite rooster of all time.
Sadly, last summer Elvis passed away.

The odds just weren't in my favor.
A group of 12 Ameraucana chicks yielded 6 roos.
Karma?
Was this my punishment for putting Hank down?

All kidding aside, amazingly 10 (maybe 11) roosters seems to be working out just fine.

There's the barn henhouse, where Rod is lord and master.

With him is Henri, who remains unclear about his gender,


and spends his day dreaming of interior design.


Then there are Number 5 and Number 6 who defected from the Frat Pack (those 6 Ameraucanas).
These two boys are true romantics and spend their days snuggling with the Frenchies....


out of the sight of Rod!


In the upper henhouses (up near
the goat yards) lives Ole Roy


and Brad, his associate.


These two get along just peachy,
unless, of course Brad chases the wrong hen.
Then Ole Roy sets him straight and life continues on peacefully.

Numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 live in the Frat House
and have never ventured up to the barn to find their buddies, 5 and 6.


1, 2 and 3 spend their days full of adventure,
while 4 is a loner and prefers to add himself to the farmhouse landscaping.


Each night, all four head back to the Frat House and share stories of the day.

I can hardly wait to see what this little guy adds to the mix of roosters around the farm.
He was July's "surprise" chick.


And where am I going to put him when I move his hens up with the other chickens?
Time will tell...
time will tell.
And when that time comes,
I am sure there will be many stories to tell!

So, I have to admit,
while the idea of one rooster crowing in the morning was a romantic notion....
an idyllic, pastoral country scene that lived in my mind's eye...


having 10 (or 11) roosters has been surprisingly fun.

My peaceful morning crow, however,
has been replaced by a cacophony of rooster songs...
(as no two are alike!)
a comedic dissonance guaranteed to wake one from even the deepest of sleeps.

Arena Construction Update....


still no progress....
the equipment has not moved an inch.
Sunny skies ahead, though, may yield some progress.

PS....I made another pinafore apron.
You can check it out HERE!

Comments

Anonymous said…
I think Henri should have his own show on HGTV. Decorating A Hen House with Henri.
Country Gal said…
We had Road Island on our farm as well as Bantys , they are very comical. Loved the post and photos again it all brings me back to the days of our farm when I was a younger. Have a wonderful day !
I only have one rooster, Toby. When I let a couple of hens hatch out chicks last year, I got 2 roosters out of 5 chicks. So I found good homes for them. But with only one henhouse, I don't want to take the chance of getting another rooster. They are so handsome and full of personality. And Henri? Well, sometimes a pullet injures an ovary and their testosterone gets stronger. It could very well be that he/she is a little confused. Interior designing is good!
jean said…
Is't rather wonderful how God gave each chicken his/her own personality. Makes watching them so much fun! Your aprons are so lovely! You have beautiful sewing talent.
LOL... loving Rod and Henri the most... oh, those two. And yes to Henri's own show! House of Henri~
This N That said…
Thanks for the laugh..Interior Design :)..Maybe I could get some ideas from him...
Unknown said…
I love it that Henri is doing a possible redesign of the chicken coop! Love,love,LOVE that photo of the daisy and horse...all the guys are so beautiful...I want one but ..NOT!
Lady Farmer said…
I have too many roosters, too! So I am interested in this Euthasol! I suppose only a vet can have possession/administer it? Does it work for cats?
I am..
overrun but sympathetic!
:~}
(Someone is not teaching 'those people' to sex the chickens correctly anymore. Never use to have that problem when ordering pullets!)
Unknown said…
I am laughing and laughing.... can't stop laughing at your chicken antics.... we have chickens too and can totally relate your their comic relief.... love your blog.
Anonymous said…
That's amazing that you have 10 roosters and they are able to cooexist fairly peaceably.

I have been catching up on your blog and just read about your sweet potato harvest. What kind do you plant and when do you get them in the ground in the spring? I live in MD and my husband thinks our growing season is too short but i would love to be able to grow sweet potatoes, we eat so many of them.

Thanks and I really enjoy your blog.
Cathy
The Agrarian said…
Your roosters are just adorable. I would, however, not like 10. In fact, I only have four hens... No roosters here.

I, do, enjoy seeing and hearing all about yours.

Farmer
Teresa said…
Amazing you have so many boys that get along. I am down to just my one Naughty Rooster Boy, and hopefully, that's where we'll stay. So far I think all the hens I got this summer are actually hens. :-) I do admit, I love the sound of the rooster crowing in the morning!
Bee Haven Bev said…
Cathy, your growing season is a hair longer than ours is I suspect since you are just a bit further south. So growing sweet potatoes should be no problem. I buy my bare root vines at a local Mennonite greenhouse. But you can also order them online. I get mine into the ground when all threat of frost is gone and they look a bit sickly for the first few weeks. Then they really take hold and take off.....growing yards long. By the end of summer (September) they are ready for harvest. The vines are still vigorous at that point, but the potatoes are huge. So, I dig them up. Now, you can overwinter the ends of each vine....rooting them first in water and then placing the rooted end in soil and keep them in the house through the winter....planting them back out in the late spring. Not sure where I would keep them, so I plant to start over.

You will love having your own harvest....and they keep great throughout the winter!

Bev
Kim said…
10 or even 11, oh my! We have just one who was supposed to be a girl. He's very gentlemanly though so he continues to live here and add his crowing to the farm atmosphere. I have been blessed to meet a lady who is happy to take any unwanted chickens (roos or not) off my hands. I don't know what I would do with those "extras" if it were not for her.
Mary Ann said…
We have fourteen and I Love every last one of them! And oh, those CROWS!
Enjoyed reading about the roosters. All are very beautiful. I purchased six chicks in the spring. So excited to later find I had one rooster. No eggs yet from the five hens & no crows as of yet from the rooster. They are all very friendly & are more less just pets with out the eggs. I am feeding them cracked corn & layer pellets along with scrap veggie peels. Could I not be feeding them enough I have wondered but they sure are growing & have quite large drumsticks to walk about. At one time I thought chickens were just dirty creatures. I have found they are very smart & much cleaner than my ducks. They have been fun raising. Learned my lesson not to get to close to Grace (hen) while talking to her. I like my eyes to much. Blessings!
Lara