A rooster showed up on our porch last Sunday -- what do we do?

[Skooz]

Hello,

I registered here because last Sunday a beautiful rooster showed up on our front porch. After some investigation, we found that he had been abandoned by his previous owner who had moved without him.

We live on the outskirts of the city--not really country but not the 'burbs either, so having a rooster is not a big deal around here.

My question is, how do we take care of the little guy?

We have a large backyard, but that is the domain of Django, my psychotically territorial Boxer. So, the rooster lives on the front porch and the front yard. He spends the night in a tree in the yard. But, during the day he wonders around the yard and porch. I worry for his safety.

We bought him a bag of chicken feed which he likes a lot and keep a bowl of fresh water out at all times.

I would like to build him a coop, but am not sure how to go about building one small enough for just him (he is small -- I think ya'll would call him a "bantam"). All the designs for coops I see are for several chickens.

Anyway, any advice would be appreciated. Please understand we know NOTHING about caring for a rooster.

My wife has just fallen in love with the little guy, so giving him away would be tough to do.

Thanks!

 

[cjeanean]

WHERE IS THE PICTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, chickens are flock animals, so you may want to get one more, DEFINATELY a hen. There's only so much entertainment a roo can get from looking at himself in a mirror!!! What breed is he??? Food and water are the basics, for just 2 chickens all you need is a doghouse that u can lock at night, or chicken diapers to keep them in the house. You can free range them (no fences, just let them wander), they'll come back to their food and water source. Somewhere for them to perch, or roost, is always a plus. Ummm....I don't know what's more basic than that.

BTW:

Also, in the bottom of his coop/house you will want to put down PINE shavings. If you stir the shavings and move them around a bit every day or two you won't have to change them out hardly at all. A house for 2 chickens is probably a little small to use the deep litter method (where you just stir and add more shavings until it's about a foot deep then clean it all out after a year) but you can definately let it go for a while if the litter stays dry. Dry litter, even though it appears dirty, does not smell. What are you feeding him??? I give my chickens the stuff called "All purpose poultry crumbles" cause you can feed it to ducks and chickens, then I just put out some oyster shell for my hens. Still waiting on the eggs, they're at 21 weeks now!!! Any more questions???

 

[mmajw]

He will be easy to take care of. He wouldn't need a coop larger than a dog house size. If you are worried about him being safe you could make him a coop about 3x4 in size (unless you plan on getting more than make it larger). Make sure he has airflow and plenty of food and water. If you want him sheltered while outside you could build him an outdoor run. Just make it fully covered with wire.

You may want to get him a couple ladies to keep him company, chickens are flock birds and love to be in a group. You can post a pic on here and we can help you figure out what he is.

If you are going to keep him solo you could always bring him in at night and put him in a cage in the house. Many people do this.

My Rooster is free range during the day and goes into a locked coop at night. My dog thinks nothing of him and looks the other way. Make sure your other pets are ok with him so he is not lunch.

 

[eggzettera]

Oh Boy are you in trouble, run, do not walk away, PLZ for your own sanity, just back away from the keyboard go to your main electrical breaker & shut down the power to the entire house. Go buy yourself a bird cage and start brainwashing yourself that he is an exotic parrot.

So repeat after me..

Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot

this is the only truly logical/sane response if this fails to take, you have a costly road in front of you.

Trust me on this, sure you can scrounge the materials for the coop, sure you could augment their feed with table scraps. Did I say they – yes because you can’t just have a rooster. You now need hens for his harem, you want him to be happy don’t you? Now that you have roosters & hens you will probably end up getting chicks......see how this works?

I told you – why are you still here?

 

[ratlummountain]

Quote:
as in Reinhardt?

nice!

sounds like you've got the basics covered, food & water. he's probably roosting in a tree somewhere nearby.
get him a few girls and a little coop and you're golden.

 

[dangerouschicken]

Roosters are fun to watch, and they have so much personality. He just needs some full-grown girlfriends. If you can find some hens in your area, you just might have a nice new project to enjoy.

Good for you!

 

[candyd]

LOLOLOLOL! Isn' this the truth!

So repeat after me..

Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot
Parrot

 

[bluey]

I think it would be incredibly rude not to have him for dinner.

 

[WisconsinChick]

Chickens cant be alone (w/ out other chickens) so yer gonna have to find a few hens or eat it.

 

[wegotchickens]

Quote:
I'm sure the 'guest' would disapprove!!

Skooz, welcome to BYC and the Wonderful World of Chickens. As soon as you post the pic, and someone figures out what he is, I'm sure someone else can help you locate a couple of hens. If you gather the eggs every day, then you won't get over-run and you'll have the best tasting breakfast ever!

It's karma. He showed up, you fed him, he's yours. So get a little doghouse and a couple of hens and go with the flow. It's a lovely experience, or BYC wouldn't have a bazillion members, and counting...