Maine

[ashandvine]

I still have a female or two you can take. Free. I am butchering all the boys.

I have to say something that will probably be too blunt for most of you but here goes anyway: chickens evolved a long time ago to be what they are and we messed with it some along the way. Dogs bark, cows moo and chickens cluck and crow. If you don't want a bird that crows don't get a rooster or don't keep the ones you have. Rather than train or torture or kill them to suit yourselves, realize that they don't crow all that often and its for a reason. Having chickens means having chickens not two legged cats. I know, how insensitive of me, but really folks, you have chickens no matter how fancy they are or how you dress or house them.

 

[Widget]

Hey everyone, been a while! I'm on a mission:

I have three beautiful khaki campbell drakes. I want to rehome two of them, and get a few ladies for the one I keep. They don't need to be khaki's but something that's roughly the same size is necessary. Anyone want a khaki, or have ladies to sell/trade?

Thanks

 

[Jazor]

I still have a female or two you can take. ...

Ash, excellent! Will PM to work out details
Widget, PM for details--one of these guys is all yours. They basically just follow each other around the yard and horse around in the water. Entertaining, but I want eggs!

 

[Widget]

I still have a female or two you can take. Free. I am butchering all the boys.

I have to say something that will probably be too blunt for most of you but here goes anyway: chickens evolved a long time ago to be what they are and we messed with it some along the way. Dogs bark, cows moo and chickens cluck and crow. If you don't want a bird that crows don't get a rooster or don't keep the ones you have. Rather than train or torture or kill them to suit yourselves, realize that they don't crow all that often and its for a reason. Having chickens means having chickens not two legged cats. I know, how insensitive of me, but really folks, you have chickens no matter how fancy they are or how you dress or house them.

I agree. I saw on the news yesterday that in Cape Elizabeth some are complaining about a rooster in the neighborhood. They claim the crowing is causing problems with their childrens sleep. The town says there is nothing they can do since roosters are allowed. Really people? For centuries humans have kept chickens with a few roosters thrown in for good measure. And there were such things as farms. And guess what? Farmers had kids. And those kids had to get up to help with chores long before the sun came up. So do not tell me that a rooster crowing causes health issues with your kids.

 

[liquidequis]

Welcome, liquidequis. Always nice to have a new person to talk to. Sounds like you have an interesting flock. What breeds have you identified so far?

So far I have identified 1 Cuckoo Marans roo and 4 pullets, 3 Dominique pullets, 2 Black Langshan roos, 1 white Langshan roo and one pullet, 2 Partridge Cochin that I suspect are both roos, 2 Dark Brahma pullets, 1 Goldlaced Wyandotte roo and 1 pullet, 3 Buttercup pullets, 1 Salmon Faverolles roo and one pullet. The rest I am not sure about, and even these are open to suggestions I've made several adjustments over the weeks. They are 10 weeks old as of today (I thought they were older O.O had to re-count the weeks ha!). Here is a link to a short video where you can see just about everyone at once:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10101886923472089

and a few photos:

From left to right: wyandotte roo, dominique pullet, langshan roo, and I can't see the head of the last probably one of the buttercup pullets


left to right: first two are buttercup pullets (although one may be the wyandotte pullet) then the langshan pullet, and the dark brahma pullet


"the big *******" aka: the Marans roo and next to him is one of the dominique pullets


wyandotte roo

 

[liquidequis]

I agree. I saw on the news yesterday that in Cape Elizabeth some are complaining about a rooster in the neighborhood. They claim the crowing is causing problems with their childrens sleep. The town says there is nothing they can do since roosters are allowed. Really people? For centuries humans have kept chickens with a few roosters thrown in for good measure. And there were such things as farms. And guess what? Farmers had kids. And those kids had to get up to help with chores long before the sun came up. So do not tell me that a rooster crowing causes health issues with your kids.

agreed! glad I'm in a "rural zone"!

 

[dowgirl71]

A lady in my neighborhood had 3 roosters who had grown up together and seemed to get along OK. ( I guess, she didn't know they weren't allowed.) I used to hear them mostly in the morning and actually gave one of my pullets away thinking this one was the one crowing.:/

 

[Jazor]

A lady in my neighborhood had 3 roosters who had grown up together and seemed to get along OK. ( I guess, she didn't know they weren't allowed.) I used to hear them mostly in the morning and actually gave one of my pullets away thinking this one was the one crowing.

I have three Roosters. I gave away a large barred rock roo, since he was getting too aggressive to the wife. He was bound for the freezer, but instead I found him a home where someone wanted to breed pure barred rock. Works out fine.

I have a black silkie roo (I got him from Widget), and a buff silkie roo, and as it turns out my buff cochin is also a roo. They get along fine. The black silkie is the oldest, and chases the other two off when they step out of line. They all crow. My neighbors have never complained, but I guess that's not the same as them not caring. Maybe they just accept it. They also aren't all that close, maybe it's not audible. I have heard crowing from neighbors when I've been off hunting/scouting in the woods near the house--so I'm definitely not the only one in the area.

On the same topic. Like Ash said: dogs bark. That's what always confuses me about people who complain. In this rural area I live in, there are half a dozen dogs that can be heard barking incessantly every single night. Two or three to the North, and three or four to the South. Does it bother me? No. They are dogs. They bark. Not sure what has changed over the last 15-20 years, but when I was growing up people weren't often afforded the luxury of complaining about someone's animals. Hey that guy has dogs that bark all night, maybe go ask him if he knows why, or if he wouldn't mind working on it. Doesn't mean he will--but you've said your piece. Something about the world we've shaped for ourselves makes us think we need to...no...have the right to go create (or in some cases edit) ordinances and laws or other 'legal' documents that say what a family can and can not have. Seems silly to me...

 

[ashandvine]

Great Points Widget and Jazor. I like logic but I also really like common sense and both are too few. Humans, dogs, cats and chickens and then horses have all lived together a very very long time. I think its probably more healthy for people to have roosters and hear them. From a sociological stand point as well as anthropologically. The things my kids learn are amazing and I am not just talking body parts and reproduction but social 'pecking order' and history, cooking and planning as well as some genetics. Moreover I like having a rooster get me up early. I don't actually need it most of the time and if their crow is one of those deep 'Barred Rock' crows I am in love. Even the squeaky wheel crow of the bantams gives me a giggle. I did have one bird here who crowed a lot and I can tell you those are the ones you don't want but not because of their crowing. The constant crowing is an indicator in this farm. I have observed links between 'over crowing' and aggressive behavior here, both toward humans and other species as well as their own. These ones are always the same ones who have huge testicles when they are butchered so I figure they are the ones who have too much testosterone to work out well in my farm. I am not into 'metro' chickens necessarily, I respect them for the jobs they do, but they can't be inconvenient. The regular crowing of a rooster has its place and purpose. The regular defense of a hen has its place too, esp in a young rooster who doesn't know better yet.

Dogs barking... oh man. I grew up with someone who hitched this dog out in the evening and it would bark itself hoarse and then keep going. It would rest part of the night and then start again till morning when they would go get it and bring it in. Now, I have a neighbor who lets their dog out early in the morning to do the same and again at the end of the day. Its the same one that barks at everyone going by and because its fenced up no one cares. Well... I suppose I am a nuisance too. Sometimes the geese and chickens get out near the road or on it but I will say I try to keep them from it. I apologize and I try. That is the point. I know my birds are a pain, though no one complains. The people who often are real nuisances don't apologize or appear to try. THAT bugs me. So if those are the kind of folks who want to pamper their 'kids' [probably teens they don't want to hear from first thing in the morning anyway and avoid parenting because its uncomfortable work] by letting them sleep in till 10 or 11 then they are the same folks I hope have roosters on all sides of them. There are exceptions, I know, but honestly my message has its merit and you know it.

 

[Grey Roo]

People say where we live is rural Maine as well. All lots around here are 8-10 acres. I had a rooster with the habit of crowing at 3am everyday. For the sake of my neighbors, I found the guy a new home north of Bangor where I think rural still might exist. We live in an area that use to be a farm of 100+ acres, 1 house, 3-4 dogs providing security for the chickens, cattle and anything else that went with the farm. Nobody could hear the roosters or dogs ever.

We moved here about 12 yrs ago, it was a quiet neighborhood, everyone has a big lot but still respected their neighbors. Then the A&&^%($^ moved in. He came from Augusta, thinks he lives in the middle of nowhere. He built a house on his 10 acres that is 250' from our house. He bought a monster tractor so he could push down 95% of the trees on his property, chasing the varmints and critters to the neighbors looking for shelter. He got a beautiful purebred german shepard that he lets out at 4am, and it runs around barking angrily, mostly at the deer taking shelter in our yard. He didn't like water flowing from my yard to his so he brought in 100's of loads of fill to change the direction of water flow by building a huge **** down our property line, my yard got flooded but he is ok with that.

So what's happened to people? Well last time I wasted my time talking to this fella, and I'm not kidding here, he stomped his feet like a little kid and said "but I wanna". Flooding us out is ok apparently as long as he can do what he wants. Waking up the neighbor at 4am is just fine too, and don't get me started on varmints and critters from his property.

Law's and ordinances are what we need because of people like this. Unfortunately for us, there are no laws that protect us from the flooding. But the dog noise is controlled by the local dog officer, luckily there are law's ordinances to deal with that, the sad part is the penalties are not great enough to stop our problem. I don't consider the dog to be the problem at all, it is 100% the owner, he sees no reason to work with his dogs behavior. Again, a barking dark is something he believes he can have because he wants it. As I recall 10-20 yrs ago someone would have shot his dog by now. It's not just us around here with this complaint, the dog is very loud, but I think it needs a more responsible owner before the situation gets uglier. Unfortunately for the dog he is stuck with an irresponsible owner.

We deal with this by sleeping with the windows closed, and the ac on. We do plan to move to our other property, but it's in one of those silly communities that doesn't allow chickens. I do miss rural living.