No Tail to Tell

We have a silly looking rooster that doesn’t have a tail. It’s not that the other chickens have plucked out his tail feathers. He actually has no tail at all. I guess he hatched that way. His little hind end is rounded off, and he looks sort of like a bowling pin with legs. Even so, he thinks he is the best looking cock of the walk there is.

He is probably considered a cull, and that is why we named him “Drumstick.” But if he avoids the dinner table, and grows up to be a real rooster, I wonder what the other hens will think of him? Surely they can’t take him seriously as a rooster.

One of my coworkers asked me if he has trouble standing up without a tail? He doesn’t have any trouble standing up. He walks around just like any other chicken, scratching, backing up and looking for delicious things to eat.

He lives in the grow-out pen with all girls. I bought him on clearance at the local TSC. The whole group was labeled as pullets. All of them were supposed to be a rare breed. Lol! And he sure is!!!

He started out solid gray like some of the girls that came along with him. But now he has pretty colors developing in his feathers.

The girls are now a lavender gray. They have a single comb and light earlobes. They say the color of a chickens earlobes can sometimes predict the color eggs they will lay. I guess we will see about that.

One friend suggested they might be a breed called Sapphire Gems, and another friend thinks they might be Prairie Bluebell chickens. Either of those breeds should lay blue eggs.

Eggs are a thing of beauty. The way they are placed in an egg carton should be mindful. A dark brown egg complements all of the tans, blues and olive eggs. But a white egg makes all of the other colors “pop.” And that is one of the reasons why I keep a few leghorn hens. You know… like Foghorn Leghorn?

The other reason I keep leghorn chickens is because I have a customer who only wants to buy white eggs. I don’t think she has anything against blue eggs or brown eggs, but she seems to think white eggs taste better. She is an elderly lady. A friend of mine theorizes that she may not like brown eggs because back in the day, those brown eggs were what poor country folks ate. White eggs were "store bought" and therefore, upper class. And now, ironically, brown eggs are more expensive at the grocery store, and "store bought eggs" are only for those who have no other choice. And sourcing eggs from country folk is smart!

The egg shell color does not make up the quality or nutrition of the egg. That comes from the diet of the chickens. Eggs from pastured chickens taste the best, no matter what color their shell may be. Most of us keep a variety of egg layers because it makes us happy!

But let us talk a bit more about those leghorns. They are "flighty" chickens. They are not the friendliest breed. And they aren't the prettiest breed. Those are probably the reasons why they aren't the most popular hens to keep. But they lay eggs almost every day, unlike those lovely colorful layers who lay less frequently. Now that eggs are in short supply, I'll take any color egg there is.

Have you seen the price of eggs lately? Eggs are outrageous. There are jokes on social media about bartering eggs for a 2015 or newer jeep. And they say “don’t try to lowball me, ‘cause I know what I got.”

It’s true. The price of eggs is increasing. And that is because the price of everything it takes to raise and keep chickens is increasing. I don’t know where these prices are heading, but for now, Weise Farms is holding steady. We do our best to keep our prices low, but we also cannot lose money on something we raise to sell. That would be silly… kind of like that silly looking rooster without a tail.

It's almost time for Spring Chickens! If you'd like to try a home raised chicken for your next meal, we have a limited quantity available until our next harvest, with free local pick up and delivery!

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