Re-homing the Roo

It took a while for our rooster to get accepted by our established flock, and once he did, he kept to his own. After a while he started acting like a cockerel and mounting our girls... and crowing again. He stopped crowing after he was introduced to the flock, but once he took his place as the chicken in charge, he crowed. A lot.

Finally accepted, he would roost next to (or in between) the girls. Here he is sleeping on the far right.

Sadly, we have had to rehome our rooster. I made certain to check with each of our immediate neighbors, personally, to see if his crowing was disturbing anyone. I understand that we all have to share this space, and I don't want to be that neighbor. You know, the one that always annoys the others? Yeah, I don't want to be that person.

Every single one of the neighbors assured me it wasn't bothering them, but I told them if he ever started to bother them, please let me know and I will get rid of him right away.

Last week we had a surprise visit early in the morning. It was a police officer. Someone had called to complain about the rooster crowing, so they had to come out to let us know. Same sort of protocol as if someone complained about a dog constantly barking or something.



The whole interaction (which was pleasant, mind you. The officer was very kind.) saddened me. I wondered why someone just wouldn't tell me in person. I can only assume it wasn't one of my immediate neighbors that complained, as I know for a fact that some of them enjoyed hearing the crowing because it made them feel like they were in the country!



Regardless, one complaint is plenty when it's a situation we cannot control. I've heard of those collars you place on a rooster to prevent them from crowing, but I've also read too many instances where the rooster died after they placed it. (Yes, it specifically states how to put them on, but if the rooster can still crow they consider it too loose... and one of the reviewers tightened it a hair tighter and the rooster seemed to be okay but simply wasn't getting enough oxygen after that.)

I couldn't do that to my rooster, so I contacted the person that took the chicks (the other half of my younger chicks) and asked if they were interested in a rooster. For free, of course. I wanted him to go to a good home. They accepted, and quickly picked him up. I have been promised pictures, which makes me feel better. He wasn't cuddly after he started his cockerel duties, so it's not like I lost a chicken I could hold. Still, he was a handsome fellow and I will miss him.

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff is responsible for the content of this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own.