Pullet: a young hen; specifically : a hen of the domestic chicken less than a year old
And yet I’ve suspected from early on that somebody made a little mistake in sexing one of mine. A slightly more conspicuous comb, a more than slight advantage in size and assertiveness left me open to the possibility that I was wasting food on a cock. This morning he confirmed it with his first juvenile attempts at a crow. Which is cute as can be, btw. And which will also probably condemn him to the stewpot.
I’m not against the notion of a rooster in the chicken yard. Landlady has her cock Brahma Mayor Quimby, who serves at least a marginal purpose. I’m still working on ways to keep my Rhode Island Reds sane with one another, which is one reason I wanted to increase the size of the flock, and maybe a rooster is just what the ladies need. But I’ve tried it before twice, and both times the cock bird failed to work out. At all. There was Upgrayedd, who thought my hens were punching bags. And then there was (shudder) Smithers.
So basically, this one will stay with us until he proves himself intolerable AND gets big enough to eat. And not a moment longer.
Which unfortunately brings me down to three new hens. Should have started with more chicks, and I knew it at the time.
(ahem) “A pullet surprise!”
gfa
Let him be the first one that you release among the reds. Just to see how it’s going to go…
So what now? Start more pullets right now before it get’s too cold or just wait until next summer?
I thought of you yesterday when I bought a very dead, but freshly cooked, whole chicken at Walmart for the princely sum of $4.95. I understand that your goal is eggs, not cooked chicken, but: How much does it cost you to buy a pullet and then feed it until it gets to eating size?
Ben, I don’t know how Tyson Foods does it at a profit. We raised five Cornish Mix birds last year – they only take a few months to come up to weight – and reckoned they cost 4-5 times as much as they would have brought in a supermarket. Of course there’s something to be said for knowing how your food is being raised, since commercial chicken is as appalling as cheap sausage. But cost effective they are not.
I hate to break this to you, but there are SOME hens that can indeed crow. A friend had one, and was very surprised to find that it laid eggs.
Mark is right. And she’s not doing it just to annoy you. Chickens, like most animals, are group think herd creatures and look for a leader. In the absence of one, someone will take over the job. If the only Someones you have are hens, one of them will often take on the crowing. Then the others will feel more comfortable and content because there is a Leader. You are fighting chicken psychology and biology by eating the crowing hens. Unless you really want chicken dinners. By spending lots of time working with your chickens you might be able to convince the crower(s) to stop but I don’t think it works often. You do not look like a creature they might listen to and believe, especially with the hatchet in your hand. Otherwise, good foam earplugs or earmuffs or a re-think of your need for early morning sleep might be helpful.
Poor misunderstood Smithers.