Who's Who....Part 5

Years ago, when we decided to have hens for eggs,
we made it a point to avoid roosters.
We bought our hens as chicks at the feed store.
And all were hens.


And there was peace on the farm.

The next summer, we decided to increase our flock;
and ordered 25 chicks from McMurray Hatchery.
And from that group of 25, one hen grew into an "Amazon" chicken...
taller than the rest.


It wasn't long until it was apparent that a rooster had been slipped into the group.
That first "cock-a-doodle-do" gave him away!
Enter Elvis.


And still there was peace on the farm.
Oh, and by the way, I fell in love with the sound of roosters crowing in the morning.

So the next summer when it was time to order more chickens,
I made it a point to order another rooster.


This time I chose the breed that I wanted...
a very colorful fellow...
named Hank.


And there was no more peace on the farm.
Yes, Hank was the rooster from "%$#^$".


Once fully mature, Hank's daily entertainment was chasing down
and flogging whoever crossed his path.


Eventually, (after drawing blood) 


Hank was put to rest...humanely...by lethal injection.

And there was once again peace on the farm.

The next summer brought a group of fancy Polish crested chickens to the farm.
And amongst them...a crazy rooster named....
Rod Stewart.


Rod is still with us today.
He's been the favorite rooster on the farm,
(and many have come and gone in the mean time)
until this year's arrival of Elton.


Sr. Elton is a silky rooster who lives with the donkey girls.
He's the most people-friendly rooster we have ever had!

Along they way, there has been Ole Roy
(who is still with us).


Those 6 frat brothers (the Ameraucanas)...
of which only three remain.


And Henri, our gender confused Polish crested


who disappeared this summer.

With four henhouses, the seven remaining roosters are kept quite busy.
Luckily (for the hens) four of them are living the life of bachelors.

I am happy to say that at the present time...
there is still peace on the farm!

And so, for a farm that originally was to be a "Rooster-free" zone,
we have had our share of boys along the way.
Oh, the stories we can share about our crazy Roos!

Comments

Stephane said…
We have a silky rooster named Bluebeard, who is also the nicest rooster we've ever had. The meanest rooster we had was Speckles the barred rock. In addition to Bluebeard, we also currently have three juvenile buff orpingtons, we'll keep one and rehome the other two.
Country Gal said…
We never had this problem on our hobby farm when I was a kid having hens and roosters ! We had Banty's and Road Island Reds ! Yes I to love the sound of roosters crowing in the mornings as well ! Nice photos ! Hope the rooster behaves him self !Have a great day !
jean said…
So interesting! I love chickens. Hank looks more like a fighting cock breed. It's too bad you had to put him to rest. He was pretty. But, it's fun to have chickens. The crowing can grow on us chicken lovers, no?
BaileyWife said…
I was laughing hysterically reading this post...and had to bring in Baileyhusband to read it to him! This is so true of our life here too! I love me some roosters, and yours are no exception. Thanks for the laughs this morning! ~Kim
Unknown said…
I love all your roosters...they are all so beautiful...sorry to hear about Henri...such a handsome dude.
I keep wondering about my Maya...she is getting kinda' big. She is very docile so if she is a he....well, I just don't know if she is up for the job. Maybe she will be gender confused like yours.
Junebug said…
So enjoying this series of getting to know the farm animals. Hope you are having a fantastic time!
Looks like they kept you entertained!
Kris said…
Oh that bad boy Hank! Your arm looked awful! I would love to have a Roo, but I am afraid our neighbor, even though we are on acre parcels, might not approve.
: ( Kris
This N That said…
Sir Elton and Rod Stewart are my favs.Ah yes,Hank..not to be forgotten :)
They are beauties...
Connie said…
This was very interesting. I thought that if you had more than one, they would always be fighting with one another. I'm not a farm girl so I don't even know way I got that idea. I'm glad to hear that your farm peaceful . . . your roasters are adorable especially Rod Stewart (easy to see how he got his name).
Happy farming, Connie :)
Robyn said…
Your roosters are beautiful.. We also have a rooster and his name is Hank as well! Must be a rooster thing? LOL... Do yours get along with each other? We had another rooster and Hank killed him.. So we won't get anymore..
Robyn