We’ve been wondering for months now if Prim is a rooster so let’s look at the facts:
- She was a bully as a baby, but sometimes babies can just be bullies.
- She has continued to be a bully as an adolescent, but we all know how teenagers can be.
- Her comb is has grown larger than our ameraucanas and larger than Gimpy’s (our other Rhode Island Red), but that’s to expected given her breed and Gimpy is, well, gimpy.
- She has started watching our ladies lay eggs in their nesting boxes, which is kinda creepy, actually…but maybe she’s just curious and trying to figure everything out?
- She is super protective over Gimpy, but maybe that’s just because they are the two odd chickens out?
- She doesn’t have the notorious killer back talons of a rooster but do they all?
- She has some fabulous tail feathers coming in, but I’ve seen many a picture of Rhode Island Red hens with some pretty cool tail feathers!
- She is practicing her cockle-doodle-doing but…Oh. Right. Shit.
She is a he. Officially. This morning I heard it with my own two ears. Her…um…his doodler is not fully functioning yet, he still needs some practice, but it is now official.
Well, at least now we’ll learn how to butcher our very first batch of home grown stew meat.
I think while we’re at it, we’ll take out Gimpy, too. She will not survive the winter given her mutant toes and inability to climb up into the coop. We’ll get two for the price of one.
Ugh…now this is going to be an experience! Wish us luck.
xoxo,
M
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I have to ask – do you HAVE to eliminate the rooster? I have always found that the hens prefer to have a nominal head of household aka rooster. It leaves them free to do their job because he does his. We even found ourselves with a bantam size rooster for a flock of mostly brown and black laying hens that were at least 2/3 bigger than him.
Hi Lisa! When we have a bigger space, we will keep a rooster, no doubt. However, being in the city offers our first challenge. Our neighbors have been very patient with our noisy chickens and we don’t want to push the issue by trying to keep a rooster who crows at all hours of the night and day. Second, we notice that our hens are actually more on edge when we have a rooster. Now, we’ve only had two, one super kind one and one who was not kind at all, and despite their personality differences, the ladies were definitely more on edge and our egg production went way down. Hope that answers your question 🙂
I had forgotten you were urban. I wonder which city neighbors mind the most – the noise of chickens or that of a yapping howling dog.
LOL I often wonder the same thing! I’d much rather hear chickens and such than dogs!