What I know about Roosters

Roosters crow all day and all night … just in case you didn’t know that already!!!!!!

American cartoons have done a great disservice by suggesting that roosters crow only at the break of dawn.  So not true.  Granted, the crowing activity probably peaks around dawn, but roosters seem to have no problem doing a bit of a shout out at 11pm, 1am, 1:30am, 2am, and so forth. (BTW, it’s about 4pm right now, and I can hear at least 3-4 roosters crowing away!)  Additionally, roosters will wander around everywhere to crow.  At the first home where we were staying, the family rooster seemed to prefer a spot just outside our bedroom window.  When he got tired of this spot, he would move to a spot just outside our bedroom door.  Only when he was totally convinced that I was awake and up, would he move to the front gate.  Okay, he probably wasn’t truly targeting me, but as this seemed to happen morning after morning, it was easy to convince myself that the rooster had a certain morning motivation to serve as my personal alarm clock.  This would have been okay if I could have controlled the timing and could have found the “off” button.

(This rooster really does have two legs/feet.  Don't ask me why he's standing on just one!)

When we were moved to another house, I was delighted to note that this family has only chickens and no rooster, although there are still plenty of roosters in the neighborhood to provide a certain and familiar cacophony each morning and throughout the day and night.  However, in the last few days 1-2 roosters have shown up around the yard and act as if they belong here.  The host family seems unconcerned and I am too as long as the roosters do not figure out which bedroom window is mine!  I have since learned that one of the roosters does belong to the family.  As long as he stays away from my bedroom window, he can stay!

Chickens, on the other hand, provide lots of entertainment for watching, especially if they have a lot of little peeps.  One of the hens currently has 11 peeps which never stray more than a few inches away from momma hen.  If she is still for just a few seconds, they will burrow under her body or 2-3 will climb on her back.  Many PCVs are talking about getting hens after we move to our permanent sites.  For me, not sure I will want to do that … maybe!  Just like with any other “pets”, there is a certain amount of responsibility in taking care of them.