No Good Ends

If you’ve seen one, you know. The anomaly is startling and somewhat revolting. Some say it’s bad luck. She lifts her head in the usual manner, but the ensuing blast is a mockery. My mama always said that whistling girls and crowing hens always came to no good ends. One old wives’ tale said that when a hen crowed, there would be a death in the family immediately.

A hen that attempts to crow is generally an older poultry, often nearing the two-year mark. She isn’t a rooster, and she makes an awkward screechy noise that sounds awful. She has stepped outside of her nature and is now only useful for the stewpot. 

Otherwise, hens typically only crow when there is no rooster in the flock. Some folks will try to shuffle the pecking order by putting a crowing hen into “chicken prison” to attempt to stop the aberration.

Isn’t it peculiar that when something refuses to act according to nature, they seem harsh and repugnant? The shriek the hen makes while trying to perform a rooster’s business isn’t pretty at all. Her crow serves no real purpose. Crowing hens have usually surpassed their peak egg laying days. She isn’t protecting the flock nor waking the farmer as her squawk isn’t loud enough to do either of those jobs. While these types of hens will often even grow long spurs, they otherwise only incompetently take on rooster-like qualities in their unnatural show of dominance. There may be explainable reasons a hen might take on the role of her counterpart, however it is undoubtedly unattractive, and always a mere curiosity.

The fact is that hens are happier with a rooster in the flock. They experience a state of order and liberty that they didn’t have without him. 

In the absence of a rooster, the more aggressive hens frequently become bullies and attempt to take over the flock. Roosters, while not designed to lay eggs, do perform an important service in the flock. While a hen can lay an egg even without him, his presence lends a peaceful existence to the ladies through his protection and provision.

It is said that a rooster was historically used atop weather vanes to remind the faithful of Peter’s denial of Jesus; denial thrice before the cock crowed. God provides us with so many lessons from nature, doesn’t He? We understand what we see around us as it is played out. We find that the best solution to a crowing hen is to introduce a rooster into the flock. Another best practice is to have an axe handy near the henhouse.

~Rhonda