new baby rooster

Date sort Score sort
DeborahLynne14

DeborahLynne14

In the Brooder
Apr 6, 2015
21
1
24
Watson, Louisiana
So......I got a new rooster chick this weekend (before I read any rooster posts) and according to many BYC articles I am off to a terrible start. I have hugged and kissed and gotten very attached to Gus (named after Augustus McCrae from Lonesome Dove). Anyway - the reason I have babied him so much is because he cries all the time. The only thing that will soothe him is if I hold him. "Easy Listening" music on the TV does settle him down at night in the brooder. I think/hope he is just lonely. I am going to transition him to an already established flock of 10-week old leghorns and RIR chicks. He is a 2-week old Jersey Giant and will be the only rooster.

He eats and drinks well and has no obvious signs of injury or pain. Nothing is "crusty", "oosey", "bloated" or "bloody". The only true "distress" call he gives is when I walk out of the room. He is pooping well but I gave him a little olive oil just in case.

This is my first rodeo so I am going off of mama-sense not chicken-sense yet.

Are roosters just more verbal and chirp constantly or could there be a problem I am over looking? I know chickens are very social. Do I need to go get him a friend?

Thanks in advance for any encouragement.
 
He is lonely, chicks should always have a friend. He is crying because a chick alone in the wild is a dead chick, so he's crying to get attention and get someone to come to him. If he was being raised by a hen, that crying would get her to come looking for him and call to him so he could find her.

I also babied my first roosters while raising them, because I babied all the chicks and treated them no differently, and they all turned out fine :) I haven't raised an aggressive rooster yet, knock on wood.
 
His friend will be all those hens. I hope he works out for you. And I think he will. I don't keep roosters. just hens. It is my preference. Just keep it to 1 rooster and you should be fine. Multiple roosters are for larger flocks and different circumstances.
Look at things in a positive way and your results will usually be that direction.
WISHING YOU BEST. AND
welcome-byc.gif
 
cavemanrich said:
His friend will be all those hens.  I hope he works out for you. And I think he will.   I don't keep roosters. just hens. It is my preference.  Just keep it to 1 rooster and you should be fine.  Multiple roosters are for larger flocks and different circumstances. 
Look at things in a positive way and your results will usually be that direction. 
WISHING YOU BEST.  AND :welcome
Click to expand...


He will eventually be with the hens, but the way I'm reading it right now is since there is an eight week age difference, they are not being kept together and he is alone. That is why he is crying all the time. He needs someone his own age he can live with until he can go in with the hens. Plus, introducing him all on his own to a large group of birds that is two months older than him would be very hard on him when the time for integration comes.
 
Well the crying is very effective - I drop what I'm doing an go running every time. I am going to pick up a new waterer today and I may pick up another chick or two to keep him company and they can make the transition together.
Thanks so much for your response. I am glad to know that there is still a chance I haven't ruined him. I don't think I can stop the TLC.
 
Thanks for the warm welcome and the sage advice, caveman and pyxis. I am so excited about my new little family.
And yes, he is by himself - but not for long. I am going to get him a couple of friends his own age to make the transition easier.
 
You're doing just fine. Don't give the people who say you shouldn't handle baby roosters too much thought. Some folks are rigid in their beliefs about roosters because they're intimidated by them.

You'll just need to be aware that he may require discipline around age five or six months as he begins to come into his hormones. Large breed roos tend to be pretty docile, so I wouldn't worry too much.

Have you thought about making a temporary chick pen in your run and raising him in there with the rest of the chickens surrounding him? He would be less lonely and they would integrate him into the flock by proximity. You only need to probably supply him with a heat source at night since it's warming up considerably during the day most places. If it's 75 where you are, he would get by just fine during the day with heat just at night.

I let my three-week old chicks in with the big girls just a few days ago, and they're doing smashingly well. They have a pen with 5x7 openings so they can come and go but the big girls can't follow. Rig up Gus a panic room with a heat source for night time and he'll be fine.

If you want to see how another BYCer raised a single male chick, go read her thread on this forum. It's called "Mama-heating pad for the brooder." It might not be too late to rig him up a heating pad cave. My chicks did great in their cave out in the middle of their pen. I just recently moved the cave inside the coop they will be living in, but they've been in the run since day one.
 
thanks for the encouragement. I had read that larger breeds are typically more docile that is why I picked a Jersey Giant. I have put him in a kitty crate and put him out in the coop for a little while. I don't know who got more out of it - Gus or the girls. They were very curious. It was so funny to watch. Jane, the nosiest leghorn, was perched on top of the crate bent over and peering into the box upside down like she was an NFL center fixin to hike a football - soooooooooooo funny.
 
One of Azygous' posts on a different thread eased my mind a bit about a rooster since last week I found out one of my EEs is male. I can't remember which thread it was on but it was basically, "don't turn your back on him and show him you're dominant" type of post. I've primarily come across negative stories/advice concerning roosters (mostly if they're raised with the flock). I just worry about mine being over enthusiastic with the pullets even though theres 11 of them (I hope). Teenage hormones though.
 
When Gus was in the pen with the big girls, what was his demeanor? Was he content? Or did he still chirp his head off? I'm betting he enjoyed his little outing, and he's hoping you'll figure a way to make it so he can be out there with them, if only during the day. Did you read about Blooie's boy chick Scout? She may have some good tips on how to keep Gus from being lonely at night. Maybe I'll ask her if she has time to come over here and give us some of her sage advice.
 

Similar threads

WilderSkye
Cheeping chick
Replies
4
Views
491
WilderSkye
WilderSkye
TheChickenGirl16
    • Love
Very lonely chick. Sort of a sob story.
Replies
7
Views
745
TheChickenGirl16
TheChickenGirl16
BlueEggsAndHens
My 8 week old roosters sparing
Replies
3
Views
633
BlueEggsAndHens
BlueEggsAndHens
S
Sudden extreme aggression from one chick--possible rooster?
Replies
5
Views
780
Ridgerunner
Ridgerunner
L
    • Love
Juvenile Cream Legbars Adopt New Babies
Replies
1
Views
277
GodLovesU
GodLovesU

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom