So, my mother in law has decided that she doesn't like her Cuckoo Marans rooster because he accidently hurt one of the three hens she has while mating, her wing got injured.
He is pretty large, btw. He's about 2 1/2 feet tall and I'm not sure how much he weighs, at least ten pounds, but she was keeping him with hens that are MUCH smaller than he is. He's about a year old.
Anyway, she now wants to get rid of him and if we don't take him, she's going to turn him loose a few miles from her house (we all live in the middle of a wilderness area and he would be food for predators in no time at all).
We've agreed to take him because I can't stand the thought of him being turned out like that. My problem is that our existing flock is made up of Silver Spangled Hamburgs, which are VERY small compared to him and I don't want to put them together even after the incubation period. I'll get him some hens that can handle his size, but I never want to have him mix with our existing flock.
We have a coop ready and will get a run set up for him so that he can't have access to our other chickens (they free range a lot of the time). My question is really about what type of hens to get for him, he seems very big even for a Cuckoo Marans roo. I would like to know what other breeds might work for him. Any suggestions?
He is pretty large, btw. He's about 2 1/2 feet tall and I'm not sure how much he weighs, at least ten pounds, but she was keeping him with hens that are MUCH smaller than he is. He's about a year old.
Anyway, she now wants to get rid of him and if we don't take him, she's going to turn him loose a few miles from her house (we all live in the middle of a wilderness area and he would be food for predators in no time at all).
We've agreed to take him because I can't stand the thought of him being turned out like that. My problem is that our existing flock is made up of Silver Spangled Hamburgs, which are VERY small compared to him and I don't want to put them together even after the incubation period. I'll get him some hens that can handle his size, but I never want to have him mix with our existing flock.
We have a coop ready and will get a run set up for him so that he can't have access to our other chickens (they free range a lot of the time). My question is really about what type of hens to get for him, he seems very big even for a Cuckoo Marans roo. I would like to know what other breeds might work for him. Any suggestions?
