Of the 6 chicks we hatched this year, 5 survived. Of those 5, 4 were boys. When we got our new layers, 1 was also a boy. So, 5 new roosters on top of our existing 3 was too much. And as they have grown, they have started to try to figure out their place in the hierarchy.... The Barr Rock rooster has been living with the main flock and has started to mate with the hens. 3 roosters have been living with Amelia - all of them unusual and interesting too look at. And Little Man has been living with his parents, but it's only a matter of time until he wonders if he's stronger than his dad.
So we took the Barr Rock, Little Man, and 2 of Amelia's boys to the sale today. It's a weekly auction in Hagersville which is fairly close to us. There is always a variety of poultry on hand and it's always busy. Since all of our gents are "unusual", they will be bought as breeding stock almost certainly. It gives them a chance to go to a flock of their own and have their own hens, as opposed to living under the shadow of older, more experienced roosters.
It was sad to leave them there - I felt uncomfortably maternal about them and pretty guilty about giving them up. But really, it's the only way to have a successful and calm flock - there can't be hoards of roosters running around. So I hope that they went to good homes where there are lonely hens waiting for handsome roosters to come visiting!
We kept the handsome fellow that is pictured - he is the "mohawk" rooster, a frizzled cochin / polish cross. He is an exceptionally unusual rooster and should sire some amazing chicks down the road!
So we took the Barr Rock, Little Man, and 2 of Amelia's boys to the sale today. It's a weekly auction in Hagersville which is fairly close to us. There is always a variety of poultry on hand and it's always busy. Since all of our gents are "unusual", they will be bought as breeding stock almost certainly. It gives them a chance to go to a flock of their own and have their own hens, as opposed to living under the shadow of older, more experienced roosters.
It was sad to leave them there - I felt uncomfortably maternal about them and pretty guilty about giving them up. But really, it's the only way to have a successful and calm flock - there can't be hoards of roosters running around. So I hope that they went to good homes where there are lonely hens waiting for handsome roosters to come visiting!
We kept the handsome fellow that is pictured - he is the "mohawk" rooster, a frizzled cochin / polish cross. He is an exceptionally unusual rooster and should sire some amazing chicks down the road!
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