A good Roo is hard to find....

[buck431397]

This is both a sweet and scary story....

So i have to little babies (about 3 weeks) which are the result of one of my RIR hens and EE rooster. However, the mamma sadly died when the babies were a few days old, and so they now live with me.

Well, i took them outside today for a little bit, and the flock immediately came over to investigate. ( this is interesting b/c a few weeks ago i had another batch of babies, which included a duck, and they kept their distance....i wonder if they remember them...) Well, the babies met their daddy today. It was so amazing! he came right over and they kind of stared each other in the eye. the babies thought about pecking, but i guess he convinced them not to, and a few seconds later, he was letting them peck at the food he was digging up, and just hanging with them like the rest of the girls. I swear i have the best rooster in the world! it was like they were immediately welcome in the flock.

Well, then, i took the babies back to the pen to hang with the little flock (8-9 weeks). Again immediately the white roo came over, and pretty much did the same thing, but was a littel more aggressive. I had to pick him up a few times, and then he just backed off and left them alone. all this time i'm wondering if hes the one ill have to get rid of.

In the meantime, my black and white speckled bird was just chillin with my black pullet, and im thinking... well, maybe she IS a hen, not a roo.... but then they came down from their post. s/he came right over to the babies too, only VERY aggressively, and gave a little peck. i chased him, etc. then he came over and was eying them up, and i watched.... then BAM! took a chunk of feather ( thank god). I immediately snatched him up and carried him around for a good long while. But the babies were so scared! they just came running over to me and jumped up on my hands when i scooped them up. Guess they had enough excitement for the day!

I know its a long story, but i think its just so interesting how they can all behave so differently! I absolutely LOVE and am so proud of my EE alpha roo! and i'm wondering what to do about these others.... and what if one or both of my babies turns roo? well i can't get rid of them! So my thought now is do i get rid of one or both of my medium roos. ( i really don't want more than 2 total) i was holding out that "Molly" the speckled one was a girl, but she sure acted like a rooster today....

 

[CheerfulHeart2]

What an interesting story. We are all so different. Good luck with the decisions.

 

[Sissy]

That was a sweet story.
but your right scary too.

 

[Olive Hill]

I love watching all their personalities at work -- hens and roos both.

As for the dilemma, if you're so attached you literally cannot get rid of the birds perhaps chickens aren't the animal for you -- or at the very least letting them go broody is not a good idea. We all have our favorites we'd never want to part with, but the whole flock? It just can't work that way if you're letting them breed and hatch chicks and/or buying new birds even occasionally. It's a rare flock that never has the need for a cull or two... or ten. Whether you choose to cull to the freezer or simply to sell, is your choice. But my advice would be to get comfortable with the idea that some birds just have to go in order to keep the peace and maintain balance.

 

[buck431397]

i realize that i will have to get rid of birds, i just would like to keep my two first home hatched. they are special, especially since their mommy died. the next batch wont be quite the same. of course i would love to keep them all, but if i can't i will find the best place for them to go.

 

[chicknmania]

That is interesting b/c our alpha roo is the same, he is very tolerant and careful with the young ones. He never bothers them. The other roos are different; we have had a couple of roosters lower on the pecking order who will try to peck and terrorize the babies if they can. And here I thought WE had the best rooster in the world! Ok, so we have the TWO best roosters in the world!!!!

 

[chicknmania]

Quote:
I am having the exact same problem with our four beautiful cockerels. And I have asked everyone under the sun if they want one. A couple of people have tentatively said yes,but they have to build a pen, yadayada. Feelings for your birds aren't any different than kid's feelings for their animals that they sell at the fair. I have been lucky in that I have never been faced with this problem, til now. It's a rough one, but we will have to deal with it, because it is unfair to our existing roosters and hens, to bring on any more new roos. And I want our pen space back that the youngsters are in. Hugs, I know all about that kind of dilemma, it's depressing.

For a while we resolved the problem by adding more hens to the flock, but now we are to the point where we are maxed out on chickens, period....

 

[buck431397]

Well, after seeing the way Molly tried to take a chunk out of my baby today, it shouldn't be too hard to get rid of him. And trust me, i've had my fair share of chicken death, dissapointment, and dismemberment. We just have to enjoy them while we have them.

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

We had one great roo, a B.O/delaware mix, and he was beautiful, white with golden stripes like a zebra... a fox ate him.

 

[buck431397]

Dang foxes.

I think every flock should have a rooster, then they would probably all be good roosters.

I think they get a bad rap and people are always hating on roosters. But they don't know the GOOD ones!