Load of Chicken

Haha.  Get it?  A load of chicken... giggle... No?  

Why is everybody on top of the trailer?  

Because there's a giant mean turkey on the ground!  Like a shark in the water, all the chickens were staying out of his way.

I took these pictures of the flock before we butchered the roosters.  I have to say, having a big free range flock of thirty birds, plus Poncho and the white hens, guineas, and turkey, was really fun.  

The roosters were so pretty.  I enjoyed having them, even though I was warned that having so many roosters would be hard on the hens.  I think we butchered them at just the right age though, because they were just beginning to cause problems.  Well, maybe not just beginning, since I had two roosters with who were picked on so much that their tails were plucked out at a young age. While butchering, I noticed that one of the tailless roosters, who the entire flock picked on since it was a chick, had only one tiny testicle.  The other roosters had balls the size of big grapes, but the tailless one had only a single bean sized one.  I wonder, did the other chickens pick on him because he was under developed, or did getting picked on shrivel his balls?  Could it be that it's better to select a rooster for your flock that has a more dominant position, since being the lowest might indicate lack of fertility?