Small Roosters: Raising Awareness

Let me begin by saying that it has been FAR too long since I have even endeavored to write a new blog post!  I find that when I'm doing something productive with my life, i.e. going to school, I can hardly find time to write, and instead only find time for other unproductive things, like Facebook and video games.  However, in those seasons defined by unproductiveness, such as Summer, I can only guess that I feel so unproductive that it's a relief when I can manage to take time to sit down and write cool blog posts.  With that introduction, I hope you enjoy this first post since the new school year!  (It's also my last year of high school, I would point out!  I like to think that I'll have more time to do things like write and make music when I'm in college...but I'm probably kidding myself. ;o)  )

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Small Roosters: Raising Large Awareness for This Tiny Breed.


Small Roosters.  They're closer than you think.  In fact, the likelihood that a Small Rooster exists within a hundred-mile radius of where you live is higher than 70%.  And yet, if you're among 89% of the world's population, you've likely never heard of this small, peculiar breed of fowl.

Born from the eggs of select species of hummingbirds, Small Roosters are seemingly a biological anomaly.  Only about one in every 70,000 hummingbird eggs will develop into a Small Rooster, and upon discovery, the Roosters are almost immediately abandoned by their nest-mates and mother, leaving them to fend for themselves.  (It has been shown in multiple cases that the hummingbirds are not in fact the biological parents of Small Roosters, which has left many scientists scratching their heads as to how the Small Rooster reproduces.)

From the time it is abandoned, the Small Rooster begins a perilous life of wandering.  They will move from place to place in their search for sustenance, and will not learn to fly until at least six months old.  One Californian chicken farmer began to notice that his supply of chicken-feed was steadily dwindling, only to find a Small Rooster had found its way into his feed sacks and made a permanent home among them.  The Rooster was donated to science.

With a breeding cycle that occurs only once every seven years, and being by nature rather reclusive birds, Small Roosters practically lent themselves to remaining undiscovered, and were for centuries a species unknown to science.  Still today, for lack of a more accurate scientific description, scientists can come up with no better name for this tiny bird than Small Rooster—for it would seem by all accounts to be just that.

Most never grow larger than the size of your pinky finger, and yet its bright-red comb, annoying cackle and colorful, arching tail-feathers make the species unmistakably chicken.  Any doubts you might have had are instantly erased when you jump at the powerful cry of this diminutive rooster species.  Don't let its size fool you: Small as it is, its cry reaches a decibel level nearly equivalent to that of an air-horn. 


Small Roosters are so new to science that we still have almost everything to learn about this bird.  Unfortunately, its defining characteristic is what makes it most difficult to study.  The Small Rooster is, after all, small, and thus falls prey to such deathtraps as shallow puddles, small drop-offs, and spider-webs.  Indeed, falling is believed to be the principle killer of Small Roosters, off porch steps, creek banks, even curbsides, but most commonly, straight out of the nest.  In fact, most Small Roosters die within their first month of life, another factor which only complicates the study of these animals.

As previously mentioned, it is not altogether certain how Small Roosters reproduce.  Indeed, all Small Rooster specimens display that chief characteristic shared by all roosters: They are all males.  Though never observed in nature, scientists are left no option but to assume the existence of Small Hens.  (In this regard, science still remains perplexed.)

All this and more has yet to be revealed about Small Roosters, and yet even now they are becoming more elusive and ever fewer.  A gradual increase in the number of homes with porch-steps in the American and European Continents, as well as an unexplainable increase in small, perilous ledges in general, have greatly decreased their population over the last several decades.  Ponds, lakes, and puddles also remain an ever-preasent threat.  However, National Society for Small Rooster Research and Preservation (NSSRRP) is trying to change some of that.  The NSSRRP is campaigning to raise awareness regarding the plight of the Small Rooster.  In several towns across the nation, small, loosely-woven safety nets can already be seen on the sidewalk curbs and at many houses.  In schools all across the country, children are being urged no to jump in puddles, but to look for Small Roosters that might be drowning in them instead.

As more awareness is raised, more people are wondering what they can do to help this tiny fowl.  Well, the good news is much is already being done.  "In fact," says one expert, "There's not a lot that can be done that isn't being done already.  We'll just have to keep doing what we're doing and hope the situation plays out well for the Small Rooster.  I've only ever seen one in my life, and that was from a  distance, like a tiny speck in the sky, but when I did see it, it was a truly magical moment.  Since then, I've given every minute of my life to trying to rescue this species in peril, in hopes that maybe one day, I'll see it again, this time, closer."

As rescue efforts continue, the average age of the Small Rooster population is slowly but steadily increasing.  As more and more Small Roosters reach flying age, their chances of survival increase exponentially, a good sign for the future of Small Roosters everywhere.  Try watching for Small Roosters in your area, or go ask your local Game and Fowl authorities about Small Roosters in your region.

The more we learn, the brighter the future looks for Small Roosters.  Some have even said that if you watch the sunset every evening from the right place, you might see a Small Rooster crossing the horizon, heading home after one more day of Small Rooster life, alone, to its little Small Rooster hole.