Ahem. That is a bachelor flock of chickens.
Driving home the other day, I spotted this sign in my neighborhood advertising “free roosters.” It’s a conundrum for many backyard chicken owners. You buy a few chicks and some grow up to be roosters instead of hens.
The problem is when you have multiple roosters competing for the attention of the ladies, things can get a bit interesting.
I used to keep chickens back when I was still vegetarian. One of my girls went broody. I had long ago decided that if any of my hens chose to be a mother, I would let her.
Francesca hatched 3 babies, one of which we realized was a male eventually.
The real problem began once Eggo grew into a mature rooster. He realized he had some competition from his dad, and they eventually duked it out. Dad was ousted from the flock as Eggo asserted his dominance.
This was solidified when Sir Fluffy, as the dad was called, started roosting on the fence of the run.
One morning, I was rudely awakened by a rooster crowing right outside my window. I looked out, and sure enough, Sir Fluffy was right there. It was 4:00 AM.
That was the day I separated the boys. Eggo had his little run, and Sir Fluffy was back with his flock. It wasn’t an ideal setup, but it was the best I could do at the time.
Since I live in a rural area with lots of farms, I can keep roosters. I tell my friends not to buy a rooster if they are interested in keeping chickens because sooner or later, someone they know will be looking to rehome one. You can be the one who saves that rooster from ending up on someone’s table!
I have only bought one rooster. He came with my first flock of 3 hens. His name was Roo. He was the most chivalrous boy ever, always finding treats for the ladies and calling them over. He also bravely sacrificed himself when our neighbor’s dogs attacked the flock while free-ranging. Luckily, his tail was the only casualty. Those beautiful feathers did eventually grow back.
My next rooster came from a friend at work. At that time, all of my girls had Italian names. It was the idea of one of my patients to name them like this, for I already had one named Isabella, the lone survivor from my first flock.
I did a quick Google search for Italian baby boy names and got as far as Alfredo, giggling at the thought of a rooster named Chicken Alfredo!
He was also a great rooster and took care of his girls. So much so that he really did sacrifice himself for them.
Now I had an opening for another rooster. It wasn’t long before one found his way to my flock. A friend of a friend had an Araucana rooster, which is a bit of an unusual breed. The hens of this breed lay blue eggs. This was Sir Fluffy.
I haven’t kept chickens since 2018. I stopped when I went vegan, keeping my last two, who were very adept at climbing out of the protected run until one day. a hawk found them. It was a sad day.
So I’ve had an empty home for chickens ever since. Although I have no interest in keeping hens for their eggs, the thought of rescuing roosters to keep them off the dinner table is appealing.
I recall that on one of my community’s vegan pages on Facebook, there are local residents who keep bachelor flocks. Apparently, as long as there are no hens around, the boys will play nicely with each other.
I do miss having chickens. They are such interesting creatures. And I wonder what would happen if I adopted a few roosters to live out their days peacefully.
My real children and I discussed this. The question was asked:
“What if we had a flock of hens and kept the boys separate, kind of letting one rooster take turns spending time with the hens?”
“You mean, like brother husbands?”
We had a good laugh over that.
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Still contemplating this possibility, and I think it would be awesome to spare some rooster lives. Plus, chicken boys are so pretty!
As always, I hope you all are safe and healthy.
Anne the Vegan 