Game Chickens

As a gift, I received thirteen Old English Game Bantam chicks. As it turns out, these chickens are neither bantams nor are they OEG (at least not pure). They look like mixed breeds: a little OEG, a little American Game, a little Modern Game, a little... Cubalaya? As happens, I have many more roosters than I need, and it seems like someone else discovers how to crow every morning.

Not a Rooster?

I had six "fawn" colored chickens, six "spangled" chickens, and a pure white chicken. The white one is definitely a rooster. A very LOUD rooster. A very loud and moderately insecure rooster.

Can You Find Five Boys?

Four or five of the spangled are boys, and at least two of the fawns are boys. This leaves me with more boys than girls. Ain't that always the way?

Rooster?

I have options - there's a goat sale every other Saturday and there are poultry swapped beforehand. I could take them. I can put a sign up in the feed store offering roosters. I can eat them. This seems the most useful option. They're really only good for stew or soup so I could skin them and not even worry about removing the feathers. Truthfully I dislike this part, I get hesitant and sad, which means I run the risk of hurting the chicken instead of outright killing it. And that makes me more nervous, which makes me even more likely to screw it up. I like to think this makes me NOT a sociopath.

There Are Definitely Two Roosters There

And truthfully, there are some cockerel that would be too hard to kill, like the ones you rescued from the bottom of the coop and nursed back to health only to find out they're boys.

 

Totally a Rooster. Dammit.