Warning, this is a long post as I have 5 pages to respond to.
Well since I have an audience, I should take my time in the limelight and tell my story. Santa Barbara is a medium sized town with very high cost of living. The city has decided that since people have spent so much money for there property they dont want to be woken up by a crowing rooster. Roosters are illegal within city limits! Many people have very small lots but dream of having a garden and maybe a few hens for fresh eggs. Most people go down to the feed store and buy 4 or 5 chicks and hand feed them. The kids name the chicks and carry them around. These chickens are beloved family pets. Then one day one of these chickens begins crowing sounding like a teenager with a cracking voice. The kids try to convince the parents that the chicken is a hen not a rooster, but they cannot will a sex change. Some people try to hide the rooster in the garage; cross their fingers or try to cover the coop to keep their pets quiet, but after a while a neighbor calls and they must figure out what to do. The humane society does not have room, if you pay the adoption fee for one, they will give you several more for free. So people put an ad on Craigslist Rooster, free to a good home and say not for eating or fighting. Sometimes someone adopts the rooster but sometimes no one does. A week goes by and they still have the rooster. Now what? Once a month an ad is posted in Craigslist Wanted: Roosters of last resort So those who have no other option can bring their Rooster to me and I will take care of it. I try to be vague out of respect for these family pets but most people know what is going to happen. They come out with their kids on Saturday afternoon to leave, Rex, Rhino, or Gorgeous George on the Farm. The kids pet the horses, goats, see a beehive and play on the Ranch and go home happy.
I take 3 roosters a week because processing is not all that pleasant and takes time. If the rooster is large and healthy then I save money on groceries that week but most of the time they are not and are used for my German Shepard who is on a Bones And Raw Food Diet. The rest is used as fertilizer in the garden. I desire to be self-sufficient and self-reliant. I try not to pay anyone to do something that I can do myself. I am a promoter of backyard flocks; food not lawns and anything that helps people get closer to their food and eating healthy. I would be thrilled if others wanted to post a similar ad in other cities, but fair warning, you will get lots of people emailing asking for advice (which I enjoy). I wish everyone well and good luck with your chickens and may all your weeds be lettuce. ☺
