RedMoxie
Songster
So, we got 15 babies around Christmas. One of our Australorps started getting more and more pretty: comb getting redder, saddle feathers prominent, lush tail feathers. In retrospect, we should have seen it coming.
Anyway, this morning *she* started crowing. And crowing. There was no practice crows that we heard over the last few months. Nothing, then today *her* full throated good morning had us jumping out of bed at 5 am and wondering about which neighbor would kill us first.
I kind of love him--he is gentle and calm and completely beautiful. With the number of predators we have around here I also like the idea of a rooster. I was telling my husband that we should try a crow-collar, our lots are big so its possible that we can bring the volume down and not irritate everyone in our hood. But...
We were hoping for a mountain of eggs every week--15 hens worth--and we have no idea how having a rooster will actually impact that. Will we be able to identify fertile eggs? Will we be risking cracking fertile eggs into our omelet pan? Is this easy to navigate, or do we just need to part with Bessy-is-Larry now?
Anyway, this morning *she* started crowing. And crowing. There was no practice crows that we heard over the last few months. Nothing, then today *her* full throated good morning had us jumping out of bed at 5 am and wondering about which neighbor would kill us first.
I kind of love him--he is gentle and calm and completely beautiful. With the number of predators we have around here I also like the idea of a rooster. I was telling my husband that we should try a crow-collar, our lots are big so its possible that we can bring the volume down and not irritate everyone in our hood. But...
We were hoping for a mountain of eggs every week--15 hens worth--and we have no idea how having a rooster will actually impact that. Will we be able to identify fertile eggs? Will we be risking cracking fertile eggs into our omelet pan? Is this easy to navigate, or do we just need to part with Bessy-is-Larry now?