Key West Lou / I HAVE COME TO LIKE CHICKENS

After 30 years in Key West, I have grown to like the chicken population. At first, I had a great dislike for them. Filthy germ infested creatures. Bothersome. Time and getting to know them have changed my thoughts.

Some of the things I have learned.

When the rooster crows, it is not to wake anyone up. He wants to have sex. The next time you hear the crow, look swiftly in its direction and you will see a nearby hen. She hears the sound and runs swiftly in the opposite direction. Sex is not on her mind as it is the rooster’s.

Can’t blame the hen. Gestation is a mere 29 days. She gives birth to a number of chicks. Then assumes the motherly responsibility. Yes, the hen looks out for her own.

I discovered along the way that the rooster is a good dad, also. My initial reaction for years was that once he got his sexual drive satisfied, he cared not for anything afterwards. Actually, he does. Look closely again and observe the hen with her babies behind her. If a rooster is nearby, it is because he is being the good parent and looking after the chicks.

I recall an incident several months ago at Date & Thyme. There was a 6 inch concrete step outside. The hen and 7 chicks. The hen and 5 of them were able to leap up the 6 inch rise. Two were not. I noticed a rooster nearby watching. Must have been the dad. He went over and took each of the two that failed and lifted them up by their necks the 6 inches.

Chickens were here before me and will be after I am gone. They are an integral part of Key West society. Treat them well.

Some interesting odd ball information re crowing roosters. They crow loud. The cock -a-doodle-doo has to be ear shattering for them. Does it harm the rooster’s ear drums? No.

Roosters have a natural ear protector. When a rooster opens his beak to crow, its external auditory canals close off, protecting sound from coming in and doing damage.

Something interesting recently learned. Hens lay eggs the same color as their ear lobes. While hens lack outer ears, they have lobes on the sides of their heads. The color of the eggs laid will correspond to the color of this wrinkly patch of skin.

Some tidbits of Key West information.

On August 11, 1941, Mom’s Tea Room near Fort Taylor was raided and 3 women were arrested for prostitution.

Mom’s was a popular place in the 1930’s and 1940’s. A bar with ladies of the night. Even in the day. A house of ill repute. A whore house.

Mom’s operated at different times at 3 locations. Two in Key West and one on Stock Island. The authorities kept closing Mom’s down. The local police were not concerned. Many were customers. The federal government’s concern was the Naval base located here. The base was large.

The Navy was puritanical. It did not believe it proper for their men to frequent a place like Mom’s. Also important was the cost to the federal government to medically cure the various diseases the Navy men picked up.

One of Mom’s other houses was located at 1016 Howe Street in Key West.

Key West needed another cemetery. It is estimated there are 70,000 to 100,000 bodies buried in the Key West Cemetery.

The Southern Keys Cemetery was opened on Big Coppitt to help the overflow. I visit occasionally, first to chat with Jack Baron and thereafter with Bob Burton when he joined Jack.

A comment in this morning’s Citizens’ Voice did not speak well of this year’s Lobsterfest: “This Lobsterfest crowd was the worst I have ever seen. Nasty drunks, vomiting in the street, golf carts full of clearly intoxicated people and rude, entitled customers. I hope the TDC Director can earn her salary by targeting new visitors before Key West turns into a low end dump.”

Enjoy your day!

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