Helinä rescued four roosters from slaughter—now they’re cherished family pets

Enthusiastic crowing erupts as soon as Helinä Ääri walks across her garden towards the chicken coop. “It’s me. Hello there!” Helinä greets her three roosters Aamu, Hipsu and Pulu as she steps into their enclosure.

The sociable Hipsu might hop onto Helinä’s shoulder seeking scratches. Sometimes Helinä herself picks one rooster up for a cuddle.

This time she releases the roosters into the garden. They scatter to scratch at the ground under the currant bushes.

When it’s time to return to the enclosure, Helinä holds her hand low and calls to the roosters. This is how she gets them to come to her. As a reward, they receive grains or bread crumbs.

On the opposite side of the chicken coop, in his own enclosure, struts the fourth rooster, the brownish Kapteeni (Finnish for “Captain”). He’s the eldest of the group and currently doesn’t get along with the teenagers Aamu and Pulu. That’s why he’s usually kept separate from the others.

“All four can roam freely at the same time if you make sure they each have their own activities,” Helinä explains.

Helinä often works outdoors, and the roosters keep her company. “People have strong preconceptions about roosters. Many assume they’re always aggressive. I see them as gentle creatures. I wish roosters would be valued as inherently worthy beings, just like dogs or cats.”

Mornings begin with crowing, but Helinä is so accustomed to it that she barely notices anymore.

“Young roosters like to practice their crowing throughout the day,” Helinä explains.

In winter, the roosters wake around nine, but in midsummer as early as 4–5 AM. Helinä typically lets them out only at nine to avoid disturbing the neighbors.

Every morning and evening, Helinä feeds the roosters and cleans their living space. Kapteeni has a chronic eye condition and therefore needs eye drops several times daily.

All these tasks take Helinä about two hours each day.

The roosters roam freely in the garden whenever possible. While Helinä does garden work, they wander nearby, scratching and foraging.

Sometimes Helinä simply sits and observes her pets’ activities.

Though the garden isn’t fenced, the roosters stay within the grounds.

“I never leave them unsupervised, though, to prevent foxes, white-tailed eagles or hawks from snatching them.”

During winter, the roosters spend brief periods outside but prefer staying inside their coop. That’s when Helinä joins them there, either just hanging around or working on her laptop.

Occasionally, the placid Kapteeni gets to come inside the house with Helinä, where he mostly rests on the couch or on the floor.

“Sometimes there are days when I notice that oops, 7–8 hours have flown by just hanging out with the roosters.”

The roosters help Helinä understand that our society isn’t exclusively for humans. They also provide practical lessons about vigilance and environmental awareness. “For instance, the roosters spot flying birds before I do.”

Helinä recognizes her roosters by their subtle color differences. “When you look closely, you notice they each have very distinct facial features too,” she says.

Helinä’s love for roosters and other birds was kindled in her childhood home, where the family kept chickens and turkeys.

“I grew up with them. Many of the important relationships in my life have been with birds from early on.”

Helinä especially remembers a rooster named Mustus. He was her friend for years and would, among other things, ride in a basket attached to her bicycle handlebar when Helinä, as a small schoolgirl, cruised along their driveway.

In Helinä’s childhood home, birds were primarily pets, but egg production was also welcome. Today Helinä follows a vegan lifestyle.

After leaving her childhood home, Helinä lived 15 years without birds of her own. She always knew she wanted to have birds again once she had found a suitable place and settled down.

Helinä Ääri’s grandfather Lasse Urho grew up with chickens. When he comes to the cottage, he often goes to greet the roosters first. “Curiously, Pulu isn’t afraid of him, even though he’s generally more cautious around people than the other roosters,” Helinä notes.

The seaside property in Masku has several buildings. Helinä’s grandparents bought the place in the ’60s as their summer cottage, and her grandfather, mother and aunt still spend time here. The place has been dear to Helinä since childhood.

In 2016, Helinä’s family approached her with a suggestion: what if she moved here? She was finishing her master’s studies in Turku and longed to live in the countryside. She was already one of the cottage owners, and living onsite would make it easier for her to help maintain the property.

Helinä took up the offer. She initially lived in the summer cottage for a couple years. In 2018, a small house with two bedrooms and a kitchen-living room was built on the property.

Around this time, she started thinking about getting birds.

Initially, Helinä planned to have chickens and a few roosters. She changed course after coming across several sources about keeping flocks of just roosters.

“A major animal welfare issue in backyard chicken keeping is that roosters and hens hatch in equal numbers, but most roosters end up being slaughtered very young,” Helinä explains.

She decided she wanted to save at least a few roosters from this fate.

Kapteeni’s chronic eye condition requires treatment several times a day. “It can be challenging, but when you adopt a pet, you never know if they’ll develop health issues. You have to be prepared for that possibility,” Helinä reflects.

The roosters joined Helinä in February 2022. She got them for free from a private chicken keeper. Pulu, Hipsu and Aamu had hatched a few months earlier, while Kapteeni was from the previous summer.

“The younger ones were still skinny and wouldn’t have been ready for slaughter yet, but Kapteeni would have been slaughtered in the near future. He came to us just in time.”

Before the roosters’ arrival, Helinä and her mother built a chicken coop in the garden, carefully designing every detail with the birds’ wellbeing in mind.

The coop features perches for sleeping, and swings and bathing containers for enrichment. Mirrors and pictures hang on the walls. There are lots of windows.

“Chickens are highly visual creatures who enjoy observing things in their surroundings,” Helinä explains.

Besides commercial chicken feed, oats and water, the roosters always have fresh treats available for pecking, such as zucchini leaves, rowan berries or rose hips, cabbage heads or potatoes.

Tuutikki the cat, who came to Helinä through an animal welfare organization last summer, watches the roosters while keeping her distance. “The roosters and Tuutikki coexist peacefully, though I wouldn’t call it friendship. My main concern is preventing the food-loving Tuutikki from eating huge amounts of chicken feed.”

Helinä’s grandmother passed away a few years ago. “I really miss my grandmother. It feels magical that I get to live in a place where I see traces of her daily: the plants she cultivated, handicrafts she made, and furniture she chose.”

Helinä finds it difficult to imagine who she would have become without growing up among birds.

“Chickens have always been a big part of my life. I feel most authentic when I’m with them. Chickens are naturally pleasure-seeking creatures—they enjoy treats, bathing and sunbathing. Being around such beings has a calming effect.”

Unexpectedly challenging has been how her own roosters provide a daily reminder of the fate awaiting most rooster chicks.

“When I see images of egg or broiler production, I think of my own roosters. I get to witness them developing and maturing. Every rooster has that same potential. They could all become such remarkable individuals.”

Currently, Helinä is working on her doctoral dissertation examining broilers in Finnish literature.

“Animal production is a significant societal phenomenon that hasn’t received enough cultural analysis. It’s crucial to examine the attitudes and perceptions surrounding animal production and how they might be transformed,” she explains.

Helinä avoids being away from home for more than eight hours when no one else is there. The roosters need feeding, and Kapteeni requires his regular eye medication.

Managing time away is easier because her grandfather and aunt regularly visit their cottage on the property, and her mother lives there all through summer. They all help with taking care of the roosters when they are there.

“The roosters are our shared pets, not just my thing. During summer and occasionally other times, I might be away for days or even a week, and during those times, my mother takes primary care of them,” Helinä says.

Helinä’s partner, who lives elsewhere, also tends to the roosters when visiting.

“As an animal rights activist, my partner loves all animals and considers the roosters family too.”

The family has agreed that all buildings on the property are available for everyone’s use as needed. Helinä often uses the summer cottage’s kitchen as it’s more spacious than her own. Recently, her mother has been staying with Helinä more permanently while her city home undergoes renovation.

“I appreciate our home’s diversity—both multi-species and multi-generational. I believe a home can be shared by different kinds of people depending on circumstances.”

The priority is maintaining a safe environment at home.

“I strive to practice non-discrimination and non-violence, and I want my home to be a gentle space for these principles. Keeping roosters is part of my commitment to non-violence,” Helinä says.

Helinä shares ownership of the summer cottage and other buildings with her grandfather, mother and aunt. They all use the outhouse, and they’re installing a new composting toilet in the cottage.