Our flock of hens have been terrorized for the past few months by 3 roosters. It started out as two and then one of the chicks our bantam brahma hatched turned out to be another roo.
All day long the three boys would run about, crowing, chasing the hens, causing all kinds of mischief. Rarely did they serve as protectors or food finders and over time the hens have started to look worse for wear. Too many roosters, too few hens.
Well today marked the end of the rooster’s rein of terror. We packed up the youngest and the smaller of the original two, leaving our largest and most adept rooster.
Raptor, a large Americana, will watch over the flock. He takes the best care of the hens, allowing them to eat first when he finds the food, and calling them out of harms way when he sees a possible predator. Unlike his sibling, Rex, he never sneaks up on you… all puffed up and launching himself at you.
This morning, the roosters were taken in a dog crate to a local poultry processor. They’ll be returned to us later today, weighed, bagged, and in a far different form then when we dropped them off. It is yet to been seen how we feel about the fate of our roosters. Will we be able to eat them? How will the hens act? Will Raptor miss his rooster competitors?
