Can a Rooster live alone? (Found a rooster, can't find him a home...)

[Diana_burns04]

Hello Everyone,
I am new to the website, having found a rooster in our backyard 6 days ago. After combing our neighborhood for any owners of lost chickens, followed by calling every chicken sanctuary across the state ( we are in Clemmons, NC), none of which has room for another rooster, it appears we may have a pet. This is fine- we don't want him to go to animal control after realizing roosters are incredibly hard to re-home, we'll keep him. On that note though......I have a few questions, as we embark on being chicken owners:
1. Can a rooster live alone?
2. Can a rooster live alone, outside (in a well-insulated/ventilated) coop?
3. Will he be happy alone?
4. If not, do we really need to find 8-10 hens for him to make his life complete?
5. Do PET chickens need vaccinations? We have small kids next door, and needless to say, the chicken being so sweet, they want to pet him. I want to ensure everyone is safe. We don't know anything about him, or any illnesses/diseases he may harbor- any reasons to be concerned ?
6. Random: If anyone can identify his breed, it would be much-appreciated! He is docile, sweet, and clearly had a loving family and was handled prior to winding up in our yard. He falls asleep in our arms when held, just the sweetest guy.

We currently are housing him inside/in our garage in a massive dog crate, and went to tractor supply to ask questions and get him the right food... so far, so good. Next step- building a coop.

Thank you all for any help!!

He's beautiful!!

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Firstly thank you for taking in this chicken. He appears to be a mixed breed cock, probably 2+ years old based on those sizable spurs.
Are you allowed to keep chickens where you live? Are roosters allowed?

 

[Diana_burns04]

I had a rooster and his name is patty

 

[Skippersnh]

He looks like a mix breed

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you're not interesting in breeding or keeping chickens for eggs, and roosters are legal where you live, I'd consider picking up another rooster instead of hens. Chickens are flock animals so most of them want companionship from fellow chickens, but nothing says he needs to have girls around. Much easier to find roosters as people are often desperate to give them away to a good home, and if there's no hens to fight for, they shouldn't have much issue getting along.

No vaccinations are needed. Not sure what feed TSC employees suggested but avoid layer feeds as he doesn't need to excess calcium in his system.

 

[afhschott]

Thank you all for your kind replies and suggestions!

To answer some questions:
1. We have contacted our village regarding ordinances, and we have no restrictions regarding the keeping of chickens (hens or roosters). We've spoken with our neighbors, as they were the ones alerting us of the chicken in our yard, to have buy-in since he's a rooster. All ok.
2. We've considered having chickens for several years actually, so this is not out of the blue, but more or less something that's happened, and if we can find him a home, that's the primary goal, otherwise, we'll keep him and get him situated properly.
3. Thank you for alerting me to the Buy/Sell/Trade forum- I will post information there on him to see if there is any interest.
4. We aren't approaching this as a 'hey we found a chicken and now we'll keep him!'- we are animal owners (dogs, horses, cats, fish (koi), rabbits- not necessarily all at the same time) and understand the time, commitment, and financial requirements that go along with keeping any animal- that's not an issue. We're prepared to take the time and effort to have a happy and healthy rooster/flock.
5. Thank you for replies on health-I should have asked this one instead: Any vaccinations he would need for his protection?
6. Crowing: He crows mid-morning, and then only if I play a you tube video of other roosters crowing (a suggestion from the tractor supply chicken expert). He has a good voice- not too loud, just right.
7. He is in a protected environment at this time- no drafts, dry /warm environment, proper daylight, clean water, fresh food, and is content.
8. Thanks to all who have kindly responded, it definitely sounds like the answer to my question is... Yep, this guy will need some companions.

 

[rosemarythyme]

5. Thank you for replies on health-I should have asked this one instead: Any vaccinations he would need for his protection?

Nearly all vaccinations for chickens are done immediately following hatching (and many people on here do not vaccinate anyhow). This fella... is a bit past that.

 

[aart]

7. He is in a protected environment at this time- no drafts, dry /warm environment, proper daylight, clean water, fresh food, and is content.

Make sure lots of fresh air......and doesn't need to be in a 'warm' place, as long as he's dry and out of direct wind.

Oh, and.... Welcome to BYC! @afhschott
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!

 

[centrarchid]

He looks to me like he has some game rooster in him which could explain his apparent docile nature. I would be getting him moved outside on first warm day. Mine are confined singly in pens that are roughly 4 feet by 5 feet by 4 feet tall with a roost pole between 2.5 and 3 feet up. The typical pen has a cover blocking precipitation and sun during heat of the day as well as something to block cold wind from north. I would always be looking for worm sign and provide him a diet that is varied and approximates a flock raiser formulation without the supplemental calcium used in layer feeds. After acclimating to the pen and you, it likely he can be let out to mess around once in a while and then called back using some sort of a treat.

 

[harmonyp]

It is true, chickens are flock animals, and he'd be happ"ier" with company.

First - good for you for deciding to rescue him. Odds are most other options you'd explore for rehoming him would end up with him being dead.

My very first chicken, and the reason I now have a flock, is about 8 years ago I rescued a fighting game cock who landed on my property after a fight was held in my neighborhood (which I turned in). I put him in a 12x12 stall in my horse barn, where he could see all the other horses in the barn. I spent time with him daily. He was amazingly sweet.

After a month or so, I decided I wanted more chickens, and got 6 hens. When they got big enough, I tried to integrate them, and it just didn't work - I never got to the point where he wasn't trying to attack them. So - he lived the remainder of his life, in a 12x12 stall in a barn, seeing other animals, with about 1/2 hr+ of my company every day. I walked with him in my arms around the property, I'd build little "turn-out" areas in the grass for him, and I believe he thrived.

Bottom line - you're doing a good thing here. Don't feel pressured into building a flock immediately. Let things progress organically - you probably will end up with hens if your family ends up enjoying him as a pet.