Stray roosters

[stacyjay]

Hi! I've fallen victim to stray roosters. I do not live in a country area however I noticed a house about a mile or so away that has a variety of rooster type animals free roaming. Yesterday I came home from work to my landscape dug up and 3 roosters there. I put some corn (I feed the squirrels) out for them and now I fear they moved in. There's supposed to be artic temps this week and I worry about their well being. They did leave at sunset yesterday and returned at sunrise making rooster noises this morning. How can I figure out if they have a home, if they are strays, or what should I do to help them survive frigid temps? I'm not rooster savvy and have no idea what I'm dealing with. HELP!!

 

[shortgrass]

Wow! Welcome to BYC under the oddest circumstances I've seen anyone ever end up with chickens!

I'm sorry you're dealing with rogue roosters!

It was the corn. They love corn, and digging in your garden. If you watch where they roam off to at dusk, I bet you'll find their coop, and their owners.

If they have no owners, then they are feral, and I would call animal control or a game warden to round them up for you. They can be dangerous to try to catch if you're inexperienced.

They can withstand the cold rather well, but they might be at risk from predators without proper shelter.


In the meantime, maybe no squirrel corn unless you enjoy them. Then you can come back here and peek at how to build a coop

 

[stacyjay]

Wow! Welcome to BYC under the oddest circumstances I've seen anyone ever end up with chickens!

I'm sorry you're dealing with rogue roosters!

It was the corn. They love corn, and digging in your garden. If you watch where they roam off to at dusk, I bet you'll find their coop, and their owners.

If they have no owners, then they are feral, and I would call animal control or a game warden to round them up for you. They can be dangerous to try to catch if you're inexperienced.

They can withstand the cold rather well, but they might be at risk from predators without proper shelter.


In the meantime, maybe no squirrel corn unless you enjoy them. Then you can come back here and peek at how to build a coop

 

[stacyjay]

Thank you so much for the reply. They wait by my door to go out and feed them. They don't stop eating the corn! I don't mind them.... I guess i more so just want to do the right thing for them. They're awfully noisy for city chickens! I'll try to follow them at sunset

 

[junebuggena]

Corn really isn't great for them. It has lots of calories for them, but it's lacking in vitamins, minerals and protein. I agree that you should watch them to see where they go. Since they are all males, it's possible that someone dumped them at the house with chickens. They may have figured "Oh, I'll just leave them at the house with all the chickens, they'll be happy with all those other birds." People don't realize how territorial chickens are and they will chase off 'strangers'.

 

[shortgrass]

Thank you so much for the reply. They wait by my door to go out and feed them. They don't stop eating the corn! I don't mind them.... I guess i more so just want to do the right thing for them. They're awfully noisy for city chickens! I'll try to follow them at sunset

Well they don't sound feral, if they're brave enough to come to your door. I agree that they may have been dumped; its strange for a group of roosters to be roaming without a flock... Unless some of them might be hens? Hens have combs as well, but they don't crow. They're also smaller and don't have big pretty tails like roosters do.


Your neighbors chickens might just be out of bounds

 

[junebuggena]

Well they don't sound feral, if they're brave enough to come to your door. I agree that they may have been dumped; its strange for a group of roosters to be roaming without a flock... Unless some of them might be hens? Hens have combs as well, but they don't crow. They're also smaller and don't have big pretty tails like roosters do.


Your neighbors chickens might just be out of bounds

They all have very visible male saddle feathers. One is a Millie Fleur D'Uccle, a bantam breed, and since they are all about the same size, the others are probably bantams as well.

 

[shortgrass]

They all have very visible male saddle feathers. One is a Millie Fleur D'Uccle, a bantam breed, and since they are all about the same size, the others are probably bantams as well. 

Hahaha I didn't even see the other two roosters in that pic! I need new glasses or a bigger phone without a cracked screen from being dropped 100 times; probably both.... My most humble apologies, there are definitely 3 roosters in that picture

 

[centrarchid]

Odds are they are not moving more than 200 yards from their roost during the coarse of a day. They may not be moving even 100 yards. I suggest talking to neighbors within 300 yards to see if any know anything about the birds. Two birds on right do not appear to be representatives of any recognized OEGB color patterns.

 

[aart]

I'm betting they got dumped...or 'extra' males chased out of the neighbors flock.
Unless you want to start keeping chickens, call animal control maybe they will dispose of them for you.
Live trap with corn as bait will catch them.