Ebenezer Scrooge – Ghosts of Roosters Past We here at Edgar’ Mission are chicken fanatics, poultry lovers and friends to the feathered ones. It warms our hearts to meet others who share our adoration of these clever, inquisitive and endearing creatures and many an hour do we spend singing their praises to all and sundry. However of late, more and more often, we have felt like the ‘scrooges’ of the avian world as we ask yet another well-meaning carer of young chicks, “But what will become of all the roosters?” Sadly, the lot of roosters in our society is not a pleasant one. With more and more poultry fanciers welcoming young chicks into their suburban backyards, with school hatching projects still a blight on the educational landscape and with over 16 million egg laying hens in Australia at any one time, one can begin to understand the reasons for our question. You see, with nature dictating that around 50% of eggs will hatch out as male, and with suburban councils, as well as the egg industry, unable to accommodate roosters (they will never lay eggs and grow too slowly to be ‘commercially viable’ meat birds) their futures, through no fault of their own, are bleak at best. Roosters born into the egg industry will not even live to see out their first day of life, whilst far too many of their suburban cousins are euthanased at a young age, once their gender becomes apparent. Such was the case with our latest arrival, Ebenezer Scrooge, a handsome, gentle, and inquisitive young fellow whose lot was to become a knife to the throat simply for being born male. And whilst it warms our hearts that we were able to provide sanctuary to the ever so lucky Scrooge, sadly he is but one of many who face a similar fate in backyards across the nation. And so, whilst we here at Edgar’s Mission adore chickens dearly and invite one and all to do the very same, we also ask those purchasing eggs or bringing young chicks or fertilised eggs into their home to consider our question, “What will become of all the roosters?” For all those who fail to consider this important and life changing fact will be haunted by the ghosts of roosters past. Do we wish to create a world in which these handsome creatures become the mere by product of our choices? Bah humbug to that. edgarsmission.org.au/34798/ebenezer-scrooge-ghosts-roosters-past/
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 09:23:06 +0000
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