Naughty roosters

Sadly, a couple of days ago we had to re-home one of our two roosters, because the duo was simply making too much noise for our long-suffering neighbors. As hard as it was for us to part with one of our guys, it’s better than having to give up chicken-keeping entirely.

We have an excess of roosters every year, and it’s never possible to keep them all – and always hard to say goodbye.

This coincides with what I wrote recently in my latest Mother Earth News post:

“It’s hard to be totally pragmatic and just weed out as many birds as possible when you have raised them from an egg. Plus, cockerels are fun and often so handsome it’s hard to part with them. It can be tempting to keep a “backup” rooster or two in case something happens to your alpha roo. 

The problem around here – and in many other backyard flocks – is that we always end up with too many roosters. We hatch chicks every year, and around half are male. This year we had about 60% male chicks.”

Author: Anna

An Orthodox Jewish wife and mother enjoying a simple life with her family and chickens, somewhere in the hills, in Israel.

5 thoughts on “Naughty roosters”

  1. This might not work for you, but when we raised chickens in town during more than half of the year, selling them off at the fair (as it the case for many doing 4-H)…but once the roosters learned to crow, I kept them in a box in my basement from 9 PM till about 9AM each day. Not the nicest smelling thing to do…but it kept the neighbors happier!! It is hard to have even hens in town…they can be loud about laying their eggs too!!
    Best wishes for solutions!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. We’ll make a “shut-up” box if we have to, but it’s rather high-maintenance for me to have to catch the rooster every night. I’d really prefer a hands-off approach.

      Like

      Reply

      1. Don’t your birds head to the roosts at night? I know you don’t need one more thing to do, but plucking a sleepy bird and popping it into a box might work. This might possibly be something your oldest daughter could do? Or your husband?

        Liked by 1 person

Leave a comment