I am finally getting rid of my roo. It’s bittersweet. He is 5 years old now and I raised him from a chick… Every spring after he turned two, he goes bonkers and starts attacking but has always calmed down somewhat by summer. Last year I was ready to give him away but couldn’t find anyone to take him. This year the farm store is taking roosters again and he will be out of here tomorrow. I felt a bit sorry for him after catching him off the roost last night, he seemed so confused and miserable. But this morning he was attacking me through the bars of his cage when I carried him, so that cured me really quickly…
I can only enter the run armed with a bucket or rake and he still tries to get around those and at me… The hens look so peaceful this morning without this lunatic around trying to herd them away from oh so dangerous me. I was expecting some pecking order squabbles with him out of the picture but today it’s all harmony… Apart from being sooo tired of having to watch my back and fight off a roo all the time, what really did it was that I have chicks getting ready to integrate and I don’t want him to teach another generation to be wary of me, or punish them for getting close to me. Needless to say he was a great protector when they were free ranging, very vigilant. But I had to lock them all out of their run when I let them free range or he would have kept them all in there to be *really* safe, all the time….
I will miss his crow and his gorgeous looks.
Wesley, my bonkers Swedish Flower Roo.
I can only enter the run armed with a bucket or rake and he still tries to get around those and at me… The hens look so peaceful this morning without this lunatic around trying to herd them away from oh so dangerous me. I was expecting some pecking order squabbles with him out of the picture but today it’s all harmony… Apart from being sooo tired of having to watch my back and fight off a roo all the time, what really did it was that I have chicks getting ready to integrate and I don’t want him to teach another generation to be wary of me, or punish them for getting close to me. Needless to say he was a great protector when they were free ranging, very vigilant. But I had to lock them all out of their run when I let them free range or he would have kept them all in there to be *really* safe, all the time….
I will miss his crow and his gorgeous looks.
Wesley, my bonkers Swedish Flower Roo.