Something to Crow About

Roosters may be the most misunderstood and under-appreciated animal on the planet. Our history of cockfighting only adds to their reputation as aggressive animals, but cockfighters have been bred, fed, and trained to promote aggression, and to fight with knives attached to their spurs. Despite being illegal in all 50 states, the brutal sport still operates underground. Paulie, the remarkable rooster memorialized in Kathy’s first book, was rescued from a cockfighting life and was an inspiring teacher to those of us blessed to know him. Not only did he not fight at CAS, Paulie was a peacemaker who broke up pig arguments.

Despite their many wonderful qualities, roosters are generally considered undesirable. They are literally a waste product in the egg industry, which gasses, crushes, grinds up, or suffocates them shortly after birth. Hy-Line International in Iowa, the nation’s largest egg-laying hatchery, grinds up 150,000 baby chicks every single day.  But even small farmers keep their rooster populations low by killing any boys they don’t want.

Imagine our delight, then, when animal lover Kathy Ruttenberg told us that she wanted two roosters. Beautiful boys Hans Solo and Frances will leave for her idyllic home today, where they will live out their lives in peace and comfort, crowing to their hearts’ content. Emmet, Jailbird, Hank, Rocky, Sandy, Oreo, Poseidon, and Henry are just a few of the scores of gentle, sensitive, affectionate roosters we’ve known. Roosters, in fact, were the inspiration behind our t-shirt, A Chicken Is a Bird You Can Hug. If you’d like to consider including adding an intelligent and loving rooster to your animal family, reach out to jenn@casanctuary.org.