Remembering the Roosters

This post is a little premature, as we have not gotten rid of any roosters at this point.  I've been a little anxious about them, because we never wanted roosters, and we're not sure how all of our neighbors feel about them.  We talked to one neighbor before we got them and said we wouldn't have roosters - now that we have them, they say they can't hear them unless they're outside.  I talked to another neighbor that mentioned the roosters recently.  I told her that we were getting rid of them, and she was disappointed and said that we shouldn't do it.

I've been trying to talk to yet another neighbor, but she's never home and we don't really know her.  The biggest reason for talking to her is that the coop is probably closer to her house that it is to ours.  Being behind our garage, the sound is blocked a good bit, and we can hear the roosters clearly inside the house.  I can only imagine what it sounds like at our neighbors.

When the week that I thought we would be getting rid of them was fast approaching, I recorded their crows in the early morning, and then I had to figure out which was which.  It turns out this is the rooster that crows the most.  I was thinking it was the other standard chicken, but I guess it's our "mysterious black chicken" that rules the roost.  When we first got them, he kept to himself more, a loner.  It didn't surprise me that he was a rooster - it did surprise me that he would be the most vocal.

This rooster was the one that I thought was the alpha. He acts the part, but I don't hear him crow as much as the black one.  He even has little skirmishes and standoffs with the black chicken.  So, he definitely acts like he the boss of everybody.

The silkie was the first one to crow - and the only one we didn't want to be a rooster -  Robin and Ella fell in love with him. He tries to blend into the flock now. He doesn't crow very much, and he doesn't fight for dominance. Not much of a rooster, but we like him.


We've been back and forth about getting rid of the roosters. No neighbors have complained - which we thought they would. One neighbor doesn't want us to get rid of them. At thins point we decided to keep them, or, at least, not get rid of them right away. After this weekend, I think we want to get rid of them. They're starting to crow all the time - all throughout the day. I know someone who has a farm in Georgetown who wants them, so that's probably where they are going. Say goodbye!