Rooster Explosion no more.

Three days ago we separated the little chicken run into a Rooster area and a Hen area. We just had way too many roosters and my little hens spent the entire day hiding, ducking and running. I've tried unsuccessfully to give my roosters away on Craigslist, but I thought this morning that it might be worth another try.

I put the ad up along with a picture of my white silkie rooster who is fluffy and cute. Sure enough, a few hours later, I had two cars pull into the farm anxious to take my roosters off my hands. Thankfully both wanted these particular breeds for their farms and I feel fairly confident that my roosters were not headed to the soup pot. After a lot of wrangling, crawling under the coop, coaxing, biting, squawking, and tears from my daughter, 17 of my roosters were successfully packed into two separate cars and off they went!

We kept Frosty, our big splash roo. My son would completely disown me if Frosty ever left the farm. We also kept Stormy because he is the first chicken we ever hatched, runs the show, and is very easy to handle. I forgot about Midnight since he was hiding under the coop at the time and out of sight, so he got a Huckleberry Farm pass this time. I realized I forgot about him when I looked down and he was on top of a very unhappy hen. Unfortunately everyone had left by then and we were stuck with him. For now, Midnight... for now.

I hated to part with my Giant Cochin roosters but I only have one hen and didn't need them. They were good boys. Good bye, Lemon Drop and Mr. Fancy Pants! I kept Butterscotch.  He's docile and frizzled and frankly too cute to give away. One of the people said they'd pay top dollar for him, but since I was giving them the other roosters for free, I figured their version of top dollar might not be the same as mine. So Butterscotch stays.

It's a lot quieter on the farm now. I'll miss all my boys but I think they are going to good homes and most of them left with their friends so they won't be too lonely. After things quieted down, the hens gradually started poking their heads out and looking around. Then they started coming out. Yes, ladies, it's much safer than it used to be! Enjoy the sunshine!

My eggs in the incubator should start hatching any day and now I have a much better idea of what to look for regarding gender. At the first rooster sign, all I can say is Adios, Rooster! I have a few select, pretty, gentle roosters for crowing purposes (honestly, what's a Chicken World without the lovely sound of crowing!?), and that's all I want. Hens 'R Us from now on.