However, when the pair reached a houseless shelter, staff had to turn the tiny chick away. They couldn’t accommodate his needs — but when we learned about Shani, we knew we could help.

When Shani arrived at our Acton, California Sanctuary, he was so tiny that his weight didn’t even register on our scale! He’d need to do a lot of growing before we could place him with a flock of his own.

It’s no secret: roosters can be boisterous. In many neighborhoods, zoning laws restrict ownership of roosters––one 5 a.m. crow, and they’re out on their tail feathers. Some guardians set them loose in the wild, thinking they’re doing them a favor, but then they’re at risk for predator attacks and starvation.

Farm Sanctuary receives hundreds of placement requests for individual roosters each year. Although we wish we could accept them all, we can only respond to the most urgent scenarios. And under proper circumstances, roosters can shine as dutiful and chivalrous protectors of their flocks.

Roosters are so much harder to place, so we prefer confirming a chick’s sex before welcoming them into our care (or finding a loving home through our Farm Animal Adoption Network). Arranging a coop is a delicate balance: There must be a certain ratio of hens to roosters (at Acton, we prefer at least 10-15 to one). Any more increases the risk of fighting among the males or overmounting—and wounding—their outnumbered hens.

Based on appearance, we initially thought Shani was female, which would be a good fit for our main flock. We go off secondary sex characteristics (feather pattern, head and foot size, and comb and wattle size) to determine if a chicken is a rooster or a hen. Still, these traits can take some time to manifest.

In the egg industry, sexing happens far more rapidly. Workers comb through assembly lines of day-old chicks, making quick decisions from the appearance of their vent: the reproductive opening and site of bodily waste removal. Perceived females are sent on to egg production. Meanwhile, millions of baby boys, like Shani—along with countless misclassified females—are gassed, suffocated, or ground up alive because they will not lay eggs.

At Farm Sanctuary, we see Shani as so much more than a byproduct: He’s an individual worthy of love, care, and life. And as soon as we welcomed him home, we began the care he needed for the best possible start in life.

Shani stayed in our Shelter office during his routine quarantine period. Quarantine is mandatory for all incoming animals to treat any incoming issues they have and ensure they’re healthy enough to live with others. Overall, Shani had a clean bill of health. But the tiny chick needed specialized care of a heating lamp, proper chick starter diet, and health monitors—and time to grow—before he could safely live with others.

But since chickens are flock animals, we worried he might get lonely in the meantime—despite our constant, lovestruck doting! To help him adjust to Sanctuary life, we started taking him on supervised visits to our main bird aviary. At first, Shani stayed in a crate to have a safe space while adjusting to the group. As he grew a little bigger, we let him out for longer and longer intervals to see how everyone got along.

After fully integrating our “hen” into the flock, Shani surprised us with a growth spurt and a big rooster glow-up! Thankfully, this arrangement is working well. He now rules the roost with his new best friend Li Mu Bai: a spunky, older silkie gentleman who is quite enamored with his new protégé.

Shani is kind, gentle, and a good fit with the flock. Should that ever change, we would need to move chicken groups around to keep everyone safe and at ease in their surroundings. This would be for Shani’s benefit, too. We promise him (and every animal we rescue or place) a lifetime of appropriate, individualized care—from medical treatments to careful provisions for their emotional and social well-being.

No matter what, Shani will always have a loving place to call home.