Every once in a while I look at the roosters and wonder if they are worth their feed. Frankly, Shing Hun is getting old and probably not so tasty and, obviously, he doesn't lay eggs. He is absolutely lovely and grand and the kids love him- but he's too fierce to be played with like the hens.
Shing Hun struts around, crows a lot, and is something of a dandy.
Then one day we found a dead hen at the barn door. The next day Mike went into the barn and found Shing Hun in a battle to the death with a 15 pound tomcat. The hens were in one corner and Shing Hun was between them and the cat- battling to protect them. Thanks to Mike's intervention- Shing Hun came out on top.
On days when I come out with chicken scraps- Shing Hun walks around the scrambling hens- too dignified and watchful to fight over bread scraps and the kids' left over oatmeal. At night, he seems to check to make sure all the hens are in their coop.
Most days the roosters have pretty light duty. Pleasant even. But we can rest a little easier knowing that Shing Hun has his eyes on things when we're not there and he's proven fierce in protecting his flock. And that's the value of a rooster.
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