Recently we wrote about our fear that we might have six roosters and two hens in our backyard chicken run. Well, about two weeks ago, friends Jack and Marylynn Leffel came over for dinner and the former confirmed that we do, indeed, have a half dozen young males.
What to do? Given the fact that two hens would not provide us with enough eggs, we purchased some16-week-old hens. We were able to swap our alpha male, Third Man, and two of those newly bought hens to a farm family in Franklin County. In exchange, we received seven dozen farm fresh eggs.
In spite of our best efforts to find good homes for several of the other roosters, we have had to dispatch two of them, which, we must admit, was a very hard thing to do, given the fact that we had raised them from chicks.
The good news is that the three remaining roosters, Little Jerry and two nameless males, are quite tolerant of each other...for now. And our now five hens, Ruby and Little Spotty Hen, which we raised from chicks and the three newbies, which Elaine has named Tallulah, Dot, and Violet, seem to be happier that several of the roosters, specifically the aggressive Russell, have, well, become the dear departed.
This leaves Little Jerry in charge of the backyard, and we believe he will be up to the task.
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