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What's up with Thai's love affair with roosters?


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Why do so many Thai's keep roosters at their house? I know some people keep them for cock fights but that doesn't explain all of them.

Is it because male chicks are not as desirable as females and they can buy a rooster chick for 50 baht instead of 100 baht for a hen? They keep it for a few months and kill it an eat it?

I can see advantages of keeping chickens, free eggs or more free chickens but as far as I can tell, roosters only $hit and make noise all day. Hen lay unfertilized eggs without a rooster, the people keeping roosters don't seem to have any hens.

All during construction of our new house the laborers kept roosters, when they left, the roosters went with them.

A month later we move in, no roosters.

A week later, one family at the other end of our small community gets a rooster. Today our next-door neighbor has a rooster in a cage right on the other side of our wall and now I see him building a cage as far away from his house and as close to ours as possible. I'm guessing "roosters".

What's the advantage of keeping roosters instead of chickens, aside from annoying your neighbors?

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All during construction of our new house the laborers kept roosters, when they left, the roosters went with them.

A month later we move in, no roosters.

I don't understand this. Why do you find it strange or remarkable that there were no roosters if the laborers took them with them?

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Keeping birds in cages seems to be a national pastime so why not cocks too?

Right on....I often wonder why so called bird lovers like to keep said birds locked up in a cage....if you really love them would't you love to see them free? On two occasions I was offered a caged bird by people that were moving. I told them "No thanks" I love birds too much. I'm forever trying to snap a pic. of them when they land in my garden. I have put out little houses for them to nest and feed in but no takers. My wife says that's because they have plenty of food all year round in Thailand, not like at home where we have snow and ice spells.

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So I just popped out for a couple of bottles of beer and saw that a neighbour was pottering about so stopped to ask. She is generally the person I go to regarding cultural matters. Many people believe that keeping a cock around when you have hens increases egg production. Many people also believe it brings good luck by way of merit for feeding an animal. Not sure how than pans out when the bird is killed and eaten at a later stage. She also said that people generally like having a few animals around and cocks are cheaper than dogs to feed.

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I wasn't puzzled by the fact that there were no roosters after the laborers took theirs. I was merely stating that none of the neighbors had roosters then, or up to a week after we moved it.

All during construction of our new house the laborers kept roosters, when they left, the roosters went with them.

A month later we move in, no roosters.

I don't understand this. Why do you find it strange or remarkable that there were no roosters if the laborers took them with them?
Edited by Guitar God
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Thais love noise, any kind of noise, hence keeping animals that all their usefulness in life

is to make noise... go figure, I see may people keep the Koel birds, the king of useless

noise makers...

Theres a thai guy who sits behind me at work,mid thirties, solid built southerner.... on a slow day he watches whistling birds in cages all day long..

bit of a change from the V8's doing burnouts playing on my youtube

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Our neighbors collect eggs and sell them. Nothing like a commercial operation which are just obscene. Just a couple of hen houses. They let them hatch sometimes. 50/50 chance to get hens or roosters. You get one 'cock-of-the-walk' and a bunch of bachelors. Once they're mature, their called 'free-range chickens' in Western terminology, and for eating, they are preferred by many Thais over commercially raised chickens. They occasionally fly over into our yard for the amusement of my dogs, well, until they stop moving. whistling.gif 'Good dogs! Chicken and rice for you tonight!'

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A friend of mine had this very same problem. He went over to his neighbor and offered him 5000 bahts to get rid of the roosters they were gone the next day. His wife got mad at him because she said she would handle it and he ignored her. Guess she could have put the 5000 bahts to better use. Be careful with this as like an insurance policy the premium could become due again next year.

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So I just popped out for a couple of bottles of beer and saw that a neighbour was pottering about so stopped to ask. She is generally the person I go to regarding cultural matters. Many people believe that keeping a cock around when you have hens increases egg production. Many people also believe it brings good luck by way of merit for feeding an animal. Not sure how than pans out when the bird is killed and eaten at a later stage. She also said that people generally like having a few animals around and cocks are cheaper than dogs to feed.

I asked my GF ,,,She said ""I like to have a cock around it keeps me happy "" I said OKAY I'LL STAY partytime2.gif

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