Four months ago, I hatched nine Silky chicks. They were/are adorable, and now they’re mature. I have them all in a separate coop, and it’s been fun to listen to the roosters learning to crow.
One of them sounds like one of those old “a-oooo-gah” cars–know what I mean? He’s really chesty and raspy and masculine.
Another sounds like he has asthma and can’t get his breath–or like he’s too intimidated to let ‘er rip in front of the others.
One of them does the “Get Smart” theme–“Er er errrrrrrrrrrrr er!” He really holds that third note. And a couple of them sound like regular roosters.
I will probably get rid of most of them, because you can’t have roosters with other roosters if there are hens in the same coop–you’d need about twenty hens to keep two roosters happy, and my coops aren’t that big. But you can have a rooster flock–as long as there’s no hen around, they’ll get along. (Are we surprised? I don’t think so!)
I still have a couple of Silkies in that coop that I can’t identify. Silkies are hard–they have long feathers, and some of them have “crinkled” feathers, so it’s hard to spot the telltale saddle feathers that roosters have. So every morning I go out there while they’re singing the Morning Song and try to figure out who’s who. And who’s what.
I know I have at least four roos, and I’ve already moved two definite hens to another coop. But until I can identify the others with certainty, I’ll keep listening and watching . . . and enjoying the song. 🙂
Have you ever raised chickens? Did you keep a rooster or two? How’d that go for you?
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I always learn so much from you, Angie! I love chickens. Happy, happy memories of gathering eggs on my grandparents’ farm. Would love to keep chickens in our backyard, but as much as we travel, I’m not sure how that would work. And we do see a fox and a coyote from time to time. That would be too heartbreaking!
We have possums, racoons, bobcats, and hawks galore . . . I’ve lost two to possums, I believe, and both times was because my coop wasn’t as strong as it should be. Chicken owners have to be vigilant about making sure the coop is like Fort Knox! But you would love having them. Such little personalities!
oh how fun. when we lived on the farm we raised a lot of chickens. some were kept separate for eating and some were kept separate for eggs. we raised a lot inside and we sold many. When we moved back here mom kept her favorite hens and roosters. we lived with a barn and had an area for them to run. there is nothing like one of these eggs.
I know! When we have extra eggs to give away, people always exclaim over the bright orange yolks and the taste. I haven’t cooked a store bought egg in years! 🙂
It’s exciting to hear you say your rooster chicks all have distinct voices. When I walked on El Camino de Santiago last Fall, there were chickens and roosters everywhere and I commented “The roosters crow with a Spanish accent.” They had a sort of rolled r sound in their voices which thought was hilarious. Thanks for the affirmation I wasn’t entirely crazy!
I love that! Yes, I can definitely tell them all apart (I gave three away, so it’s much easier now). One has a chesty ooo-gah quality to his crow, then there’s the Get Smart Roo, plus the regular roo, then little Red, who always sounds like he’s strangling. Tee hee. They are such individuals! I would love to hear the spanish accent roo!
I grew up a “city” girl (population 6,000), and was never around chickens. I do love your stories though and your pictures when you share them.
Thank you! I wish I could take credit for today’s pic, but I didn’t take that one. I do love letting them run loose and taking pictures, though. They’re only little for a few days!
Yes, we had chicks and roosters for several years. You are right to separate the hens from the roosters. We did have a big aracana rooster for awhile and figured he’d protect the flock from predators.
Sadly the other roosters went to the processor after a couple of months.
Enjoy your ladies and eggs!
Thank you! They do give me great pleasure–and great eggs. 🙂
Hi Angela,
I enjoyed reading about your chick adventures.
We had a similar experience the first time we tried raising chicks.
My husband brought home six “free” chicks with a bag of chicken feed one day. We figured we had 50/50 odds of at least some of them being hens. Right? We anxiously awaited for them to mature to egg laying age.
One day, I was sitting in our backyard and heard the most awful sound. I was sure some animal was dying somewhere on the property. Turns out it was our chicks learning to crow! And by the way. All six were Roosters. We found out later that when people actually purchased sexed chicks, the rejects (Roosters) went into the free pen. So the odds were definitely NOT in our favor…We learned a lot that first time. Totally worth it though. We did wind up getting some hens and I love having fresh eggs.
Blessings,
Kelly Hollman
I once hatched seven French copper Maran eggs–hoping to get some hens who lay those dark chocolate eggs. All seven were roosters! But I contacted the woman who had sold me the fertile eggs, and she confirmed that they were all roosters–then she sent me over 30 more eggs, just to be sure I’d get some hens! I hatched many chicks and gave most of them away, but boy, do I love those gorgeous dark brown eggs. :-). That’s a great breed, by the way–they’re friendly, too. Thanks, Kelly, for sharing your delightful “roo” story!