I laughed watching the rooster stare at himself in the mirror. There was something oddly humbling about it. I also kind of felt a kinship with him because I also stare at myself in the mirror for long periods of time, without really knowing why. This was a lovely read, thank you!
At my place, my cousin cares for ~6 chickens, mostly Bantams, including 2 roosters.
I was under the impression that roosters crow at dawn, but I have heard the roosters crowing repeatedly in the dead of night. A friend hypothesized they mistake moonlight for dawn sunlight, but I'm not sure this explains all the nighttime crowing, or afternoon crowing. It seems the crow-at-dawn story is wrong, and I'm curious what truly motivates their crowing. Maybe it is as you say, about sensing/communicating with other nearby roosters, though this doesn't seem like the full story (most animals don't do this "short distance internet via crowing" thing, and crowing would alert predators to your location).
I am now raising 8 chicks, about 4 weeks old, all Americanas. I am told their eggs will be green. They are very energetic, flapping and hopping about and regularly knocking their water container over. I, and presumably they, are greatly looking forward to their debut outside, free to roam and flap and eat bugs in the grass.
Yes—I've noticed this too. My rooster friend crows seemingly all the time except from maybe like 8 p.m. to 3 a.m.
Maybe they can alert other roosters to them being still alive and being in a place which is safe, so that the other roosters can come here to the safe spot if a dog starts wandering around their spot—just a hypothesis.
That would be wonderfully altruistic (refugee roosters/flocks could draw the predatory dog to the safe rooster's spot). I've heard our rooster friends crow even around 11pm or midnight.
Thank you for reading—no, it doesn't. I was a vegetarian and vegan for over 10 years, in my twenties mostly. Now, I don't view eating animals as negative or undesirable. I think it's necessary for good health, and that it's how nature works. I look toward our aborigine ancestors—none of which avoided eating animals—for guidance on food. I think their way minimizes pain/suffering. Also, I don't think death is bad—I think it's a release from the body, and I believe in reincarnation.
I appreciate your thoughts. I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 16, which has been 41 years. I’ve always been healthy, but am very conscious about nutrition, have worked on farms, currently have a big backyard garden, and mostly do my own cooking. I agree that death isn’t bad, and in fact is good in many ways, but I still prefer not to make that decision for other animals if possible. I think the “nature” question is an interesting one. We seem to pick and choose which parts of our human ancestral past we want to continue and which we have evolved away from, as with our use of computers, cars, industrial agriculture, etc. Anyway, glad to hear you are thoughtfully considering the issues, I think most people, sadly from my perspective, don’t do that.
This cheered me up. Thank you. I'm glad the rooster was not harvested.
I am invested in this rooster. I actually love their little screams
My dog also really loves to smell bird poop. The fresher the better.
I love him!!!! Especially the mirror self absorption. It’s so concentrated and calm!
I laughed watching the rooster stare at himself in the mirror. There was something oddly humbling about it. I also kind of felt a kinship with him because I also stare at myself in the mirror for long periods of time, without really knowing why. This was a lovely read, thank you!
"limited kind of internet": this is all very charming.
thank you
Tao’s happy farm!
🙂
Why do you think the rooster poop was beneficial to your cats biome?
Just a guess.
cool guy
You write sitting on the floor. Isn't it uncomfortable or painful for your back? Or is it part of a search?
It's comfortable, not painful.
It doesn't look comfortable. Is it a tatami? If it really is, you should write about it. Your position in front of the computer is a relevant issue.
At my place, my cousin cares for ~6 chickens, mostly Bantams, including 2 roosters.
I was under the impression that roosters crow at dawn, but I have heard the roosters crowing repeatedly in the dead of night. A friend hypothesized they mistake moonlight for dawn sunlight, but I'm not sure this explains all the nighttime crowing, or afternoon crowing. It seems the crow-at-dawn story is wrong, and I'm curious what truly motivates their crowing. Maybe it is as you say, about sensing/communicating with other nearby roosters, though this doesn't seem like the full story (most animals don't do this "short distance internet via crowing" thing, and crowing would alert predators to your location).
I am now raising 8 chicks, about 4 weeks old, all Americanas. I am told their eggs will be green. They are very energetic, flapping and hopping about and regularly knocking their water container over. I, and presumably they, are greatly looking forward to their debut outside, free to roam and flap and eat bugs in the grass.
"It seems the crow-at-dawn story is wrong..."
Yes—I've noticed this too. My rooster friend crows seemingly all the time except from maybe like 8 p.m. to 3 a.m.
Maybe they can alert other roosters to them being still alive and being in a place which is safe, so that the other roosters can come here to the safe spot if a dog starts wandering around their spot—just a hypothesis.
That would be wonderfully altruistic (refugee roosters/flocks could draw the predatory dog to the safe rooster's spot). I've heard our rooster friends crow even around 11pm or midnight.
I really enjoyed this post!
Does your relationship to the rooster impact your feelings about eating chicken (or animals in general) at all?
Thank you for reading—no, it doesn't. I was a vegetarian and vegan for over 10 years, in my twenties mostly. Now, I don't view eating animals as negative or undesirable. I think it's necessary for good health, and that it's how nature works. I look toward our aborigine ancestors—none of which avoided eating animals—for guidance on food. I think their way minimizes pain/suffering. Also, I don't think death is bad—I think it's a release from the body, and I believe in reincarnation.
I appreciate your thoughts. I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 16, which has been 41 years. I’ve always been healthy, but am very conscious about nutrition, have worked on farms, currently have a big backyard garden, and mostly do my own cooking. I agree that death isn’t bad, and in fact is good in many ways, but I still prefer not to make that decision for other animals if possible. I think the “nature” question is an interesting one. We seem to pick and choose which parts of our human ancestral past we want to continue and which we have evolved away from, as with our use of computers, cars, industrial agriculture, etc. Anyway, glad to hear you are thoughtfully considering the issues, I think most people, sadly from my perspective, don’t do that.
Thank you. I appreciate your thoughts too and am glad we could talk about this without arguing and getting upset.
Likewise. Always happy to discuss further if you have interest in that.