Beginning A Rooster's Road to Recovery

[aart]

Glad I said something, I hesitated to do so.

I've been lucky in the cockbird department but my hands on experience is very limited.
Hatch every year but get rid of the males by 16 weeks.

First one I got with my first flock, take him with his 5 hens and get 4 four month olds thrown into the deal.
Woman I got them from proved he was 'OK' by grabbing him up off the ground after cornering and calmly holding him....so I took him.
He never gave me a lick of trouble but I rarely handled those first birds except off the roost. He was huge and mellow, dark brahma mix.
Gave him back to her for her friend who needed a male...he was too good to stew.
His son was a PITA tho, and papa wouldn't school him.....that cockerel spent the fall/winter in isolation and was my first harvest.

Second one is Woody the Welsummer, raised from a chick. I handled him frequently until about 6-8 weeks old, then enough to know he 'wouldn't die'...haha!.
Handled his pullets a lot tho, as he got older he showed some 'concern' at their distress, but I just stayed calm, confident, softly talking and he got used to it.
He still comes running at their squawking but just cocks (haha) an eye and moves on.
Still don't handle most of them much except off the roost for inspection, but even if I have to chase one down he's cool with it.

Woody will be around for at least another year. Not sure what I'll do after that, thinking Marans chicks and keep a boy.
Will use same attitude as I did for raising Woody, if it doesn't work so well, not sure if I will apply any 'more physical' means of 'taming'.
Had friends cockbird come at me once or twice, not wanting to put my hands on anything like that.
Don't think I'd ever take in an adult cockbird.
Caught a 'stray' a few weeks ago, think it was from the neighbors, put up a sign, but he escaped and never returned...never got an answer to the sign either.

My, but I am verbose this morning.

 

[islandgirl82]

Like you aart, my rooster experience is also very limited.

My first rooster was over a year old when I got him. My neighbor's son had given her 4 straight run chicks for mother's day. I used to give them eggs and they loved the idea of having their own but all of theirs turned out to be cockerels. They weren't mean but they used to roost on her deck railing and watch her through the windows. It creeped her out so she paid me to take the 4 and threw in a 50lb bag of grain. I was down to 1 solitary hen at the time and 4 ducks. I had lost half my ducks and my other three hens to a fox so my hen needed some company. I kept one rooster and found a home for the other three. He was beautiful, quiet and great with my hen. Then I added a few more hens. He died protecting them from yet another fox.

My second was about 18 months old, never handled and was so terrified of people that he would chase my girls out into the road to keep them from me. He was a liability to their safety so he went elsewhere.

I brought the first egg one of my hens laid after rehoming the one who preferred to play in traffic to my son's kindergarten class and was surprised when it hatched (it had been sitting on my kitchen counter for about a week before it was set and I knew nothing - still know very little about incubating). It turned out to be a cockerel and he was the one that was SO awful to my girls. I brought him to a friend knowing said friend fully intended on eating him but he let him in with his flock of 30 hens and 2 other rather mean roosters and within 10 minutes had the other two rooster submitting to him. The guy still has him and says he does just fine with his hens.

Russell does intimidate me but I try not to let him see that. He doesn't give me the evil eye, he just tries to hide the girls from me and then stands between them and me. I do herd him away every time he does this. I will give him time once everyone is settled in under one roof but I'm relieved to know that the family he came from will take him back if I want or need them to.

 

[islandgirl82]

LG, these photos are especially for you - as you can see, Hola remains quite unwilling to share:

 

[lazy gardener]

What a bossy little hussy she's turned into!

 

[islandgirl82]

Hahaha! Russell's obviously happy to oblige her and her idea of a monogamous relationship. I think it was the real estate shopping they did together that was really the icing on the cake for her.

 

[lazy gardener]

Well, you gotta admit, as eye candy goes, some guys are attracted to the raven haired beauties! And, her age may be an asset. Given his advanced years, we can hardly relegate her to the ranks of "cougar"! She is simply, more mature, not prone to the foolishness of the young gals.

 

[aart]

I've missed the story line(not unusual)...... so Hola the black hen is chasing all the other girls away from the new stud on the range?

 

[islandgirl82]

I've missed the story line(not unusual)...... so Hola the black hen is chasing all the other girls away from the new stud on the range?

Exactly. She was apparently bottom of the pecking order in her previous flock but she's put herself in the spotlight now and is unwilling to budge.

 

[islandgirl82]

Well, you gotta admit, as eye candy goes, some guys are attracted to the raven haired beauties! And, her age may be an asset. Given his advanced years, we can hardly relegate her to the ranks of "cougar"! She is simply, more mature, not prone to the foolishness of the young gals.

She knows what she wants and sure knows how to get it. hahaha

 

[Kaylin]

She definitely seized on that opportunity!