Red

On Sunday we heard a strange noise. My husband ran into the house saying, "what was that?" I said, "I think it might be Red..." Sure enough, we looked under the porch to see the source of the noise. The unmistakable "cock a doodle doo". A rooster crow.

Yes, we have a rooster on our hands. We have suspected for a while, but have been in denial up until more recently. Sunday's crow left no doubt in our minds. She is a He. City ordinances ban roosters where we live. So that means we have to find Red a new home. We will hopefully find someone who wants to have him as a pet; otherwise, we will have to eat him.

We had purchased Red thinking he was a she, but sexing of chickens is only about 90% accurate, and it is very common to get a rooster thrown in the mix. We pretty much knew for sure he was a rooster about a week ago. But we figured - no crowing, no harm. Until Sunday afternoon. And Monday morning. At 5:30 am. Six times in a row. :(

It is a very cute crow - unmistakably a baby crow. Soft and tentative and strange sounding. But definitely a crow. And it was funny - once he learned it he kept doing it several times in a row - like a baby finding it's voice.

We have a potential home for him, several hours away. Red is a rare breed called a Buckeye, and the breed is in danger of going extinct. His potential home is with a flock of Buckeye hens who the owners want to breed him with to perpetuate the breed. I couldn't think of a better home for him! He will have 10 acres and a harem of ladies to breed with. We will find out soon whether or not this will pan out.

We will miss Red. He is very friendly and curious and has much personality. He is also very beautiful with dark auburn feathers that glisten in the sun. It will also be sad to take him away from the rest of his flock, because they are a very tight knit family!

Here the six of them are snuggling in the yard.