Walking into work yesterday, April 1st, I heard the darnedest sound. I could have sworn my little hen, Elsita, was hacking up a hairball.
Elsita’s been living in the hospital ever since she was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia. The three-times-a-day medication had meant of lot of scrapes and bruises once she got the hang of eluding me intelligently. In hospital things have gone so much smoother, as you can imagine. Extra hands and no hidey-places helps immeasurably––though she’s so messy!
Anyway, back to the point of the post: the telltale hairball hack.
After a few more loud tries at bringing up the biggest holy hairball I ever met, I finally got the April Fool’s joke: It wasn’t a hairball; rather, a rudimentary cock-a-doodle-doo.
20 points to the person who posted on this possibility in my first Elsita entry. You were right. I have a rooster.
I really should’ve noticed sooner. Elsita was looking so much bigger, huskier, her comb and wattles so much fuller and brighter, her plumage so much more lustrous and thick. She was evolving from a sick bird into a well bird, I’d thought. So much for the deductive powers of a clueless veterinarian. Vet school, schmet school...it seems I’m just useless when it comes to chickens.
Anyhoo...I now have an almost perfectly healthy rooster on my hands. He needs one more week of meds then a follow-up vet check at the bird doc’s before he can be declared disease-free. And then what?
Do I bring him back to my yard, where he’ll doubtless eventually interact with my soon-to-be-there hens? Or do I place him with a nice family of horse people who have already shown some interest?
After all, he won’t likely make a great pet if his sex hormones get the better of him. And it’s almost inevitable that they will. Sure, I can have him laparoscopically castrated. But is that cool to do to a chicken?
How is it that I manage the strangest dilemmas? As if my line of work didn’t already introduce the freaks and crazies and their wacky patient issues into my sight lines on a regular basis...now I have to deal with my own.
Oh, and by the way, it’s not Elsita anymore...it’s Elvio. (New photos pending.)
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Nothing better to me than a professional who can admit that they're human!! :O)
You do already have one male coming (and by the way - don't be surprised if you get more than one.. if you think sexing ill adult birds is difficult try sexing wee little baby chicks - believe me, I used to do it for a living). Provided there are more than enough females to go around so that he doesn't feel too territorial, and provided there is ample room for him to put space between him and the other male(s), you shouldn't have an issue.
Gina would be the one to consult on this though... and I think she'll tell you that not all chickens are destined to be pets, period.
What *I* want to see from this experiment is Dr. K picking up a clicker and working a chicken... would make for a fabulous blog post and it's a great confidence booster when you can direct something with a brain the size of a nut. ;O)
My vote - stick it out for now. No need to upset the applecart on the basis of sexism. Unless the little bugger turns out to be a testosterone charged pervert, that is... lol
Kim April 2nd, 2009 09:18:01 AM
I've got the perfect solution for you Doc and you can do it yourself I'm sure! Caponization or desexing a chicken.
Not a huge amount of info on the interweb about it that I can find right away
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_caponize_roosters
Chuck April 2nd, 2009 09:31:50 AM
Chuck: Thanks for the article. Most interesting. I think I'll leave that detail to the specialist, though. It's clear I'm no bird vet.
Dr. Patty Khuly April 2nd, 2009 10:06:54 AM
Oh my goodness ... the Rooster Dilemma.
While caponizing would solve the problem of Mr. Elsita fertilizing the eggs of your new flock, I don't know if it will much reduce territorial aggression or crowing. After all, caponizing hasn't traditionally been done for behavior -- it was to make de-sexed young roosters grow more quickly for the table. My homesteading book shows how to caponize, and apparently lay-people do it all the time -- or used to, anyway. Not in my skill set, but certainly in yours.
Seems it wouldn't hurt to try and report back on the behaviorial outcome. I know I'd be interested!
Roosters are the Big Problem of the backyard chicken boom. As Kim said, an order of "female" chicks will certainly contain a male, because sexing is not exact (except in color-linked varieties). The Atlantic Monthly recently ran a piece about heart-broken chicken-keepers in the city of Portland (hens only, please!) begging on Craig's List for "pets only!" home for their roosters.
Here in Sacramento County, it's well known that people who end up with roosters dump them in the bedroom community of Fair Oaks, which has always had a large population of feral chickens. Not cool, but done nonetheless.
Traditionally, of course, extra roosters became Sunday dinner.
Go go for the caponization and let us know. If neutering reduces territorial aggressiveness and -- most of all! -- crowing, why, you could be offering legions of pet chicken-keepers and option to ditching their boys.
Gina Spadafori April 2nd, 2009 10:10:15 AM
I think a bigger problem may be the noise factor if you live close to neighbors. I really don't want to be woken up when the sun comes up (besides I have cats for that) or everytime a car with bright lights goes by.
2CatMom April 2nd, 2009 10:33:14 AM
I would agree the main problem will be crowing. Suburban neighbors are *not* going to be cool with that.
emily April 2nd, 2009 10:41:43 AM
On the crowing: Between the roving bands of peacocks and the crowing of other roosters I don't think it'll be a problem. Everyone around here sleeps in hermetically sealed homes, anyway--except my parents, who live a block away. And they won't mind. ;-)
Dr. Patty Khuly April 2nd, 2009 11:11:19 AM
well, if you have peacocks then no one will even notice a rooster....IS there anything that make a worse noice than a peacock?...small ownder they are beautiful....it's a survival mechanism.
LorriM April 2nd, 2009 11:53:23 AM
Hah! I was just reading a real estate add and the property was listed as coming with several resident peacocks. I sat staring at the add wondering if they really thought tat would be a selling point?
Possibly for some one who has never actually been near a peacock
JenniferJ April 2nd, 2009 01:13:27 PM
Ugh- screaming peacocks. Roosters are a lot better than that. We've had a lot of pet roosters and none of them were ever aggressive to humans- once they're socialised and have hens they're fine. We even had a huge rooster who was perfectly content to be used as a doll by children- he was hauled around by all of us under our arms and would sit on laps, follow us, and travel around on shoulders. On one memorable occasion someone tried to put a t-shirt on him. A friend asked for him for her hens because he was so friendly, he didn't get as much handling as they were afraid of his size, and they had to kill him because he turned so nasty- he attacked them whenever the hens got nervous and scarred the dad's hands. His brother stayed with us and never hurt anything bigger than a worm, though he was more shy. It's not hormones- it's handling. If anything, I'd say hens are more aggressive to humans in my experience, especially when they have chicks. Handle or talk to him every day, feed him yourself (by hand if possible), and don't scare his hens until he knows you're okay. If he ever tries aggression ignore him or poke him in the chest with your foot gently as a reminder. Don't worry, he'll most likely be fine. C'mon, it's Elvio, not some mad fighting rooster!
Simba April 2nd, 2009 01:53:56 PM
@Doc Khuly
"
Chuck: Thanks for the article. Most interesting. I think I'll leave that detail to the specialist, though. It's clear I'm no bird vet."
What's the worse that can happen? First off you get to save some money doing it yourself. Secondly if you screw up....well you get to have fried chicken?
Chuck April 2nd, 2009 01:59:09 PM
@LorriM
"well, if you have peacocks then no one will even notice a rooster....IS there anything that make a worse noice than a peacock?...small ownder they are beautiful....it's a survival mechanism."
I remember I was 12 years old walking my dog on the outskirts of town and it was right at dusk. All of the sudden I hear this piecing shriek, and it's repeated over and over. I almost pooped myself! I later learned that the person who lived on that road had 4 or 5 peacocks. But for a kid in the dark.....
Chuck April 2nd, 2009 02:02:09 PM
Heh, I think it was me who suggested it(20 points). I am very glad to know it's a rooster - they can be real characters. I've had a few that were just as tame as hens, and fun to watch as they tried to herd the hens around the yard, and called to them when they found choice morsels (they think the hens are their harem, but the hens often have other ideas). Biggest problem is crowing, in my experience, but I've never found it to be a problem. Also - I found vet school to be worse than useless when it comes to keeping chickens. I've had to make some serious attitude and diagnostic adjustments with regard to poultry (no.1: chickens are not egg-machines or meat-plants. no. 2: not all ailments are due to viruses, sometimes it's just too cold (or hot, though not often enough around here) in the henhouse...)
brebis noire April 2nd, 2009 02:56:52 PM
Aww, how come nobody appreciates the, um, *unique* call a peacock makes? Maybe I'm weird, but I just love that sound. And crowing roosters, too! :) (Though I suppose an overly talkative peacock could be a bit trying......)
Ellie April 2nd, 2009 03:16:57 PM
I feel for ya Doc. Tip of the week. Try taking off the baseball cap. (Wearing one automatically reduces ones powers of intelligence by 50%. ) You'll be back up to 150% instantly!
Evet April 2nd, 2009 04:38:03 PM
Here, get some real swag.
http://graduationswag.com/images/Mini%20Graduation%20Cap%20Elope.jpg
Evet April 2nd, 2009 04:42:35 PM
Elvio! Great April Fool's......how do you get in these predicaments? Barb A./NH
Pocket's Story from NH April 2nd, 2009 05:00:27 PM
The roo I raised became somebody's dinner at about 8 months of age. Gallian (is that a word?) adolescence was more than enough for me. I didn't take kindly to being spurred every day.
When my day-olds (straight-run) come next month, I'll pick a few pullets to keep as layers, but the rest will be processed. If there is actually a roo in the bunch that doesn't make me crazy, his life may be spared, but otherwise, that's what you do with roos.
9NA7P April 2nd, 2009 08:24:13 PM
One certainly can tell that I've had a rough day when I start going by a mix of letters & numbers instead of my name. *headdesk*
Julie in OH April 2nd, 2009 08:25:18 PM
Julie: It's "gallinaceous." At least that's a term used to describe birds of chickens' ilk.
Dr. Patty Khuly April 2nd, 2009 09:04:54 PM
Roosters make decent pets but they are a flock animal and are happier with a group. Doesn't have to be other chickens but cannot be other male chickens. We had two roosters who were cool together growing up. Slept together at night and was miserable when they were separated. Then came spring...... Most of the blood was theirs but a decent percentage was mine. We found them both homes where they had their own flocks to rule.
And yeah, when they first try to crow, it sounds awful! Funny as heck but plum pitiful!
We don't have peacocks running around this area (western NC) but we do have guineas. What a racket they can make!
PaulaO April 3rd, 2009 04:08:48 AM
Weird world - chickens becoming the rage, as long as they don't compete with the suburban life-sounds of loud vehicles, stereos, sirens, slamming doors, etc. Peacocks make a great noise. Partularly in the stillness of a gentle gloaming, forcasting a gentle night rain. Peace is a proud cock announcing ol' Sol's arising from his bed. Definately don't need none of that! Party til 1AM, sleep 'til noon, that's the proper life.
eli April 3rd, 2009 09:40:43 AM
Whew. Good thing you didn't eat any of the eggs, then!
Joe April 3rd, 2009 10:01:27 AM
I happen to love the sound of roosters crowing. Then again, I spent ten years on a property where there seemed to be a ritual competition between a donkey and a rooster as to who could make the most noise. To me, it makes me feel like I am in the country, and it makes the morning seem that much brighter.
I am currently raising 9 white wyandottes. They are straight run, purchased from a local 4-h auction of Duane Urch chicks, and I hope to get 3-4 pullets and a roo. The rest, well, I will put them up for sale for 4-h kids if they are good quality and the rest I will eat. I also got 15 broilers from a local farmstore who orders from McMurray. Four have crooknecks. I am not impressed.
Peacocks are noisy, but living here in the West I have a unique bird issue. Every morning three or so male quail sit on my roof and scream to the heavens. Good lord, while not as loud as peacocks I thought somewhere a cat was tearing a bird limb from limb.
jen April 3rd, 2009 11:21:30 AM
jen: Sometimes the peacocks sit on my roof and have their say. I like it. But then, I'm partial to animal sounds, too. The only thing that really gets me going (as in angry) are the people who lock their dogs out of doors for the evening so that we have to hear their muffled barks all night long. Not cool for the dogs, obviously.
Dr. Patty Khuly April 3rd, 2009 02:13:22 PM
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