Free to a Good Home: New Hampshire Roo born Oct 17 2011

Define "fiesty" a little better.   Is he skittish with youngin's around or is it more on the aggressive end of the spectrum?  How is he with the rest of his flock?  Good with the ladies, rough, downright nasty?  And how is he currently housed/kept (free range, in a run or a barn, etc.)?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephanie739 

He is on the aggressive side, but I like him. He is really curious, no fear, eats out of my hand. Well rather he will grab the food out of my hand lol (ugh) I think he would be a great king roo, very protective, but I don't trust him around the children. He has jumped and used his claws a few times (on others, not me) I have a few other roosters and he is by far the most ornery. I've been told to make him (for) dinner, but I thought I would see if anyone wanted him first. If I lived out further in the country, I would want him for the protection that I think he would offer, but I have neighbors on all sides, and there are many children in the neighborhood. He free ranges, but I have been locking in the run/coop before the children get home from school for the last several days.     

     Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephanie739 

He is a bit rougher with the hens than I prefer, but not all the time. He has only been trying to mate for the last month or so. Sometimes he just shakes his leg and the girls move away, but he does grab them on occasion too. I'm not sure if he is any more aggressive with the girls than the others. They all seem to grab at times. Do roosters ever mate without grabbing?   

I'm tentatively scouting for a roo for our flock (5 hens); the older, the better to at least get a take of its personality (so I can make a good case to my husband ).  While we don't have any small children to worry about, we do take weekend trips a few times per year and usually one week long vacation.  When we're away, our neighbors take care of the house and chickens for us, and while they're both on board if we get a roo, they both seem skittish about the potential for being flogged by one (and I don't want to scare our sitters away, lol!).

Ours are in a fully enclosed run (which includes an electric perimeter fence) throughout the majority of the day on week days, with a few hours of free ranging in the evenings and a lot of free ranging when we're home on the weekends.  We're in a wooded mountain neighborhood where we can have chickens (including roos), and so there is plenty of local wildlife who'd love a chance at our flock, not to mention the occasional roaming dog.  So, I'm not opposed to a good flock guardian, just don't want one who thinks he's going to get away with challenging the pink two-leggers every chance he gets.

Everyone's different, but the youngin's do tend to be on the rough and ungainly side when it comes to mating.  Is he your flock alpha or is he the most ornery because he's always challenging his superiors for the position?

Thanks for taking the time to answer questions.  I'm just trying to get an idea as to whether he'd potentially be a good fit for our flock or not, and your location isn't outside of our range (mostly looks like an easy ride down I-81).

I think you may be right about him chilling if he didn't have any competitors, and that's a very generous insurance plan you're offering.   Let me put this before my other half and see what he thinks.  I'll get back with you either way this evening or first thing in the morning!

Hehe, I love the juvenille chick picks...they always look so fluffy and disheveled when they're a mix of feather and fluff.