Since most chicks are bought in late winter or early spring, (giving rise to the original Peeps, the nastiest but most secretly coveted items in every Easter baskets I've ever received,) the day of reckoning comes in early summer.
Our friend, Kate, purchased her chicks a month before we did, and we watched as one of her supposed girls turned into a boy. What to do? Of course, re-homing is the best option, but as roosters are about as desirable, (and prevalent,) as dirty socks, other alternatives must be considered.
Our family watched the rooster roller coaster play out at Kate's house with the kind of emotional distance afforded to people facing something in only academic terms.
And then, one month later, our very own Ruby revealed her true feathers. Yes, it seemed that Ruby was really Rueben.
We went through all the stages of grief, lingering a good while in denial. But a visit to our very adored neighbor, who offered to help dispose of the 18-hour/day noise menace himself, snapped us out of that.
Something had to be done, and so it was.
Meanwhile, on the 'women of the dirt' listserv that I subscribe to, posts for free roosters and laments over unwanted roosters, continue.
My favorite so far, which has been the subject of much listserv clucking, was forwarded from Craigslist:
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