A Story's End

I am afraid I owe you the ending to a story.
It's a story that I have avoided telling.
I hate to tell stories of the brutal side of nature...
but it's important to be honest.


You might remember that about a year ago our two farm friends Maggie and Macy
brought us four young white chickens.... sex unknown.


It wasn't long until we realized that we had 4 roosters.
And the fun began.


All was peaceful amongst the boys until the day that that awful testosterone got the best of them.
Wars ensued.
Then floggings became a way of life for us lowly farm workers.

The peace of the farm was gone.
Roosters had to be locked up when visitors came for fear of floggings.
It got uglier and uglier.
And I stopped writing about it.

Well.... months have passed and in the interim, we had to say goodbye to two of the boys.
Of the four, there were two who just refused to get along with anyone...
not chicken, nor man, nor beast.

Long story short... two of the boys are now crowing their hearts out in that big henhouse in the sky.

Peace once again prevails on the farm,
and we no longer live in fear of the "stomp, stomp, stomp" sound
that had once signaled the approach of a flogging rooster.


The two boys that remain each have their own henhouse and a bevy of ladies to care for.


They take their jobs seriously and spend their days looking after their hens.


They seem very happy and (unlike the other two...God rest their souls)
are never looking for a fight.


Peace is good.

Roosters are handsome... but, oh my, they can be trouble!

Comments

Dawn said…
You did well to stick it out as long as you did, a viscous rooster is a force to be reckoned with and can inflict some nasty injuries.
Louise Stopford said…
Such a shame it had to end that way - but for the happiness, wellbeing and safety of the rest of you, I can understand why. It's still sad. You would think that they would be happy and well behaved having a beautiful home - but that's us humans putting human emotions onto animals.
daisy g said…
Maybe these two are well-behaved because they heard about the other two through the chicken grapevine? Totally understandable.
Enjoy your weekend. Hope spring comes to visit.
Portia said…
Thank you for sharing the truth. It keeps us aware that all is not sweetness and light in a farm setting.

I often envy your life in a very mindless way. Your blog makes it clear,though, how hard you work every day. And posts like this show another side of life and death on the farm. So thank you!
When you first told us about accepting these guys on your farm, I remember thinking this "won't end well." Roosters can be such a pain if they're aggressive. We're lucky to have only one and he's a sweetie pie, but we've had the other many times in the past and they've all ended the same way (soup!)
NanaDiana said…
It is hard to make those decisions sometimes. I still have some scars on my back that a rooster gave me when I was about 4 years old and he 'attacked' me. People that don't 'farm' have no idea the damage that can be exacted by a mean rooster. xo Diana
You do what you have to do in this life.
Lynne said…
PEACE is best . . .
(thanks for the story/update)
The JR said…
I don't miss the roos we had. I think I told you we ended up with 4 too. Had to separate them all into separate kennels. One got a serious chickin' whoopin' one day for jumping at me with his spurs.

From then on he decided my stick was mightier than his legs.
Gayle from Oklahoma said…
While not the happiest ending, it's for the best and the future of your flocks. When we become livestock keepers we accept that as a part of it, it's hard for sure. I hope peace reigns in your chicken kingdoms for a long time!
littlemancat said…
Perfectly understandable! A rooster attack - make that two roosters - is no joke.
Thanks for telling us - just a part of keeping it real.
Mary
This N That said…
I guess it was an inevitable ending..My guess is that you gave it a lot of thought and if it hadn't been for the girls, those Roosters would have gone to Rooster heaven a little sooner..You really had no choice. Glad the last two behave! Have a super weekend..
jaz@octoberfarm said…
these things happen! i had a rooster when i was young and he was one mean mother clucker. he had to go too. it was us or him.
Carine said…
can roosters been neutered?
GeorgiaHoneyBee said…
I have to confess - I was wondering!! A rooster can be terrifying. When I was a child, we were frequently terrorized by the roosters in our flock. Eventually, the roosters became a part of chicken and dumplings. I still do not like roosters (up close and personal) even now. I was recently in Colonial Williamsburg and they have a program to preserve rare and heritage breeds. One of the breeds is the Old English White rooster. Very beautiful, large, and regal - BUT you should SEE their SPURS!!! DANGEROUS! On another note, they have a special kind of sheep there - and they have a LOANER program! They use it to manage their herd - and to help the breeds gain popularity for more people. If you are interested, I have the contact name of the lady that runs the program. I'd love to do it, but we are not ready yet.