Behaviors of a rescued rooster

[MaeM]

I'm temporarily taking care of a rescued rooster who's been through some sh*t. He has some scars, a missing wattle, a red butt... And his rescuers told me that he was kept in a small cage most of the time.

Anyway, I brought him home two weeks ago and, at first, he crowed all day long, but once I was able to get close to him and pet him, he started following me around.

Now he tries to get into the house almost all the time. I allowed him to come in, jusst to see what happens, and he just roosts on a chair, preens himself/relaxes next to me, and then goes out to the backyard again. He forages a bit and then comes back to the house.

It's like he wants to be around me (or my boyfriend, when I'm not at home). I wonder if this means that he feels lonely and looks for human companionship because there are no other birds?

Luckily I work remotely and I can be around him most of the time during weekdays, but I wonder if this will work out long-term (I haven't adopted him officially but even finding a good family for him, with enough hens, can take some time around here).

 

[TOMTE]

I'm sure he's pretty lonely, and sees you and your boyfriend as his stand-in flock.

Rehoming a roo is hard because most people don't want one. Plus, not knowing his history with other chickens, he could turn out to be aggressive toward other birds. A human friendly roo can make a good pet but most people aren't looking for a pet rooster, which is a shame, because I'd take one in a heartbeat, if I could

If you're planning on rehoming him and care about how he ends up I'd be prepared to vet his future home really hard, because otherwise he's probably going to end up as a meal (the fate of most roos) or maybe even bait for other roos or fighting dogs.

Have you looked up if there are any farm rescues nearby? Some people will take in unwanted farm animals and give them a happy rest of their life.

If you're planning on keeping him, this article is a must read:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/