Debating about rooster, need advice

[mmww621]

Hey guys, have question and need advice about my flock. This is my first chicken raising experience so I'm sure making many newbie mistakes...

Until last night we had 4 hens and a rooster. Two of the girls and the rooster were almost 4 months and two hens are almost 3 months. I was allowing them to free range in the house yard which is very covered by trees and many bushes. Their little doghouse/converted coop is in the yard and they are secured at night. They have recently discovered horse manure in the pastures and have been spending much of the day foraging out there in the last week or two, which provides no natural protection.

Yesterday we went into town for 4th of July celebrations and upon returning home (late) and taking care of animals discovered only one hen had put herself to bed in the coop. Next morning, rooster and another hen came out but found feathers of two hens, including my favorite little girl

, in the pasture near the yard. Tonight, the two remaining hens put themselves in the coop but the rooster went out to the barn ( far out in the middle of the pasture) to sleep.

We are getting our chicken tractor set up tomorrow so the chickens will only be allowed to free range in the yard while we are outside to minimize chances of losing more in the future but my question is mainly about the rooster. He was an accidental rooster, as I had no intentions of having a rooster, but he's beautiful and very friendly. I was also letting him stay because for the protection aspect. But, if he's lost two hens and tonight left the remaining girls alone so he could be off by himself, is he a lousy rooster protector? He is only 4 months old, but is this old enough to feel the need to defend his ladies? I have been torn about him for a few weeks, since his crowing started. We live in the country but neighbors' houses are kind of close and don't want to annoy anyone.

Thanks for any advice

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Sorry about your chickens. The tractor sounds like a good idea. At 4 months, your cockerel is still immature and will not have mastered adult behaviors, like guarding. There are also individual variations, so not every roo will be a good protector (though most are) and some will be late bloomers. It's disappointing about your hens, but you can't blame the cockerel too much. Kind of like asking a boy to do a man's job. Probably be a couple more months before he matures.

Best wishes!

By the way, we gave away our 17 week EE cockerel. Too noisy and close to rural neighbors as well.

 

[mmww621]

Thanks for your input!!

Yeah, blame myself way more than him. Just bummed and wondering if he might still come around since protection was the one justification I had for keeping him. My husband keeps telling me not to worry about the neighbors but we're kind of new out here and I'm a worry-wort and don't want any issues. Sorry you had to give away your roo, we might be there soon

 

[Pele]

I agree, give him a few more months to put on his man-hat. Roos that are just plain bad at their jobs do exist, but they are generally rare.

In the mean-time, a nightly round-up might be in order. That's what I did when my hens were young. You know how teenagers are.

 

[mmww621]

Thanks!! Got their tractor all set up this evening!

Another question though about the young roo, he's a love now, lets me hold him and cuddle more than any of my remaining girls but is there a good chance he will become more aggressive in general in the next few months?

 

[Firefly1v]

Not sure about Australorps, but have had other roos turn bad after they got a taste of the ladies. These were usually from hatcheries... Yours should be ready in a few months.

My pure breed roos are sweet and stay sweet but we also cull anything nasty because the chicks seem to turn out nasty too.

I would give him a chance. My son picked out a huge EE rooster at a sale that didn't like my husband. If my son went into the pen the rooster would sit at his feet and let my son carry him around and pet him. (my son was 6 at the time). He even showed him twice at the fair and won for showmanship both times. The roo was nice to me too. Just not my hubby. You just never know....

 

[Mrs. K]

In my own experience, I lost hens occasionally to day time predators until my roo was a bit more than a year old. Mine free range in pretty wild area, and I have not lost a hen since he got that old. 4 months is just no where near old enough..... kind of like teen age fathers.

The other point, I do not think it is good to cuddle with your roo while he is younger, in fact it is better if he is a bit itimidated by you, always walk over the top of him, so that he moves to get out of your way. When they are cuddly, they lose all fear of you, and most often will become aggressive later trying to establish dominance. Not always, but often, this forum is full of these examples.

MrsK

 

[Wishing4Wings]

The other point, I do not think it is good to cuddle with your roo while he is younger, in fact it is better if he is a bit itimidated by you, always walk over the top of him, so that he moves to get out of your way. When they are cuddly, they lose all fear of you, and most often will become aggressive later trying to establish dominance. Not always, but often, this forum is full of these examples.

MrsK

I was thinking the same. There's a good article in the Learning Center about raising roos.

 

[mmww621]

Thanks all for this info!!

It makes perfect sense but never thought of it that way before. Will read the article about raising roos. Really hadn't given it much thought because initially didn't plan on having any boys.

Thanks again!!

 

[TFChickens]

I have had australorps for years and as a general rule they are not people aggressive - provided that they have a little respect. Ours are quite large and you can walk right up to them but they will move out of your way or follow behind if you have something good to eat. As stated above I would not encourage cuddling the birds, especially animals that you want to encourage to "guard" when they reach maturity. Sometimes they dont make the distinction between you and a threat to their hens and are just doing their job. Since they are a larger breed they are also a little slower to mature than other breeds, but are good protectors once they figure out what the girls are for. We have several older roos that will call their girls over if they find something good to eat and will sound the alarm if a hawk or buzzard flies over the chicken yards even though the coops are covered. If you are worried about the crowing, keeping him locked up in the coop will help damp the noise so he just really cant be heard until a more reasonable hour of the morning. We have over 20 roosters and thats generally the strategy - stick them in the barn to muffle the sound until everyone is up.

I would also suggest keeping a light on in the coop around dusk that you want them to sleep in to encourage them to go in . herd them up if they need a little encouragement. A few days of this training and they will get the idea and go in on their own. Even in the barn the rooster is vulnerable.