Devastated

[Soon2BChixMom]

Sorry for your loss. A 6 month old male chicken is considered a cockerel and he won't have the experience to be a flock protector. He most likely will have an alarm call and such, but he needs more experience to be considered a rooster.
Also, if the hens are older it's not as easy introducing a cockerel as it is a rooster. You would want to do a look no touch integration before throwing him in there. Also, he needs to learn that your home is his home and if he can escape, he might not come back. Which means at least two weeks of not being able to free range - if that means he can escape your yard.
What happens if the cockerel turns out to be more than you can handle? Do you have a back up plan?

 

[Sricher91]

Yes her rooster she is getting rid of is a lavender buff Orpington. Very handsome.

 

[No More Empty Nest]

Cooper's hawks are small hawks and now come around human habitation because they have found easy pickin's at bird feeders. I never saw a Cooper's hawk till this year and we live in the city. Cooper's hawks were formerly known as chicken hawks, so even small hawks can take a chicken.

 

[GodofPecking]

Oh and I have a mute polish rooster too.

 

[GodofPecking]

Yes her rooster she is getting rid of is a lavender buff Orpington. Very handsome.

Grab him. Too big to carry off for any predator youd want to tangle with. Like if your wawtching tv and the room suddenly goes dark and you think what just shadowed the house, and you go outside to see a 50 foot eagle picking off your chickens, then just go back inside, let it be, just go inside. Getting the kids is maybe a good idea, but give that eagle whatever the h it wants is my advice. Same for two ton gorillas.

 

[GodofPecking]

In my experience you would not have problems putting him down in your yard, loose, as soon as he is home. He wouldn't need integration or conditioning for roosting, he'll just follow the girls home. The girls won't bother or object to him because in my experience hens left alone for long enough soon start jumping on each others backs to relieve the boredom. I kid you not. They'll be happy for the attention and nice to the only rooster they've seen for ages.

If there was an existing rooster, you could not do this.

 

[llombardo]

So you think a rooster is a good idea? I friend has one that’s 6 months old and I’m thinking of going tomorrow and grabbing him. When we first got our chickens we were advised not to get a rooster because I’d their loudness. That doesn’t bother me though, I want my girls as safe as possible. I really don’t want them caged 24/7 =\ I haven’t seen any other predators (like foxes or coyotes) at all and we’ve lived at this house for a long time. So right now I’m definitely most worried about hawks. All of big hens were smart enough to take cover under a large bush. I’m not sure what my little girl was thinking I think she was separated from the flock (which is typical like I said they don’t get along) and was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Can you put a net over a large area? It will give them free range ability with safety.

I have a couple roosters and both are good boys. They were suppose to be girls.

Mine are also pets. We had a bad storm and a branch took out my run. I know have chickens and ducks in the house until further notice. I have raccoons and possums living in trees 10-20 ft away from the run.

You can build a secure run and then have another area for some "free ranging". Mine are usually in the run that is covered in a heavy duty net, hardware cloth from top to bottom and on the ground 2 ft out, plus an electric fence all around. Next to the run I have an area that is just some wood stakes with a net over it that I let them out in for a couple hours while I'm out there. If I go to the bathroom, they go back into the run until I come back out.

I think the mentality needs to be that we always have to assume something will get the chickens and we have secure and protect them like they are in Fort Knox

I'm sorry for your loss and that Christmas card is beautiful.

 

[MissChick@dee]

All chickens sound alarms. A rooster won’t protect a flock. He may give his life for a flock. One time.
A sacrificial rooster is not protection.

 

[GodofPecking]

Well there is a large body of evidence over many years that suggests otherwise. In fact a good internet search for 'chickens are smarter than we think' will lead you first to many many news articles which then point to scientific studies which show just this.

A hen will almost never sound an alarm for a crow if she is in a sheltered position and has no chicks, whereas a rooster who is sheltered but sees his rival is not, certainly WILL. ( He wants his rival to get eaten )

edit: here is a fine example and a great read if you'd like to know more:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-016-1064-4

Chickens, too, demonstrate considerable complexity in their use of referential communication. When shown computer-generated animations of natural predators, roosters emit distinctive alarm calls. For example, when shown aerial predators (e.g., a raptor flying overhead), they give one alarm call, and when shown a terrestrial predator (e.g., raccoon), they give another distinct alarm call (Evans et al. 1993a, b). The strongest alarm calls are made when a large, fast-moving hawk appears overhead (Evans et al. 1993a, b). The differential responses show specificity in their alarm calls. Likewise, receivers of these calls react to them in specific and appropriate ways, showing that the calls have the same meaning for all of the individuals in the group.

To add to the complexity of this behavior, males often employ risk compensation tactics which shape their communicative behavior when a predator appears (Kokolakis et al. 2010). For instance, a male is more likely to make an aerial alarm call when a female is present, which increases the chances of his mate and offspring surviving (Wilson and Evans 2008). There is considerable flexibility—and strategy—in alarm calling as well. By varying the composition and duration of the call, the male can still alert his social group while also confusing the predator about his exact location (Wood et al. 2000; Bayly and Evans 2003). For instance, a male will more likely sound an alarm if a subordinate is nearby, thereby giving the predator more than one target to hone in on (Kokolakis et al. 2010). Moreover, males give longer duration alarm calls (which are easier for prey to locate than shorter ones) when under cover of a tree or bush, suggesting that the rooster may have some understanding of the visual perspective of the aerial predator (see Perspective-taking and social manipulation below). These and other studies show that chickens are sensitive to “audience effects,” that is, their communication behavior is mediated by who is available to receive the call. For instance, males call far more often when a familiar conspecific is present than if he is alone or with a member of another species (Karakashian et al. 1988). Taken together, audience effects are consistent with the suggestion that communication in chickens is volitional and shaped by cognition and social awareness. However, much more research is needed to clarify the cognitive basis for the behaviors described above.

 

[MissChick@dee]

Well there is a large body of evidence over many years that suggests otherwise. In fact a good internet search for 'chickens are smarter than we think' will lead you first to many many news articles which then point to scientific studies which show just this.

A hen will almost never sound an alarm for a crow if she is in a sheltered position and has no chicks, whereas a rooster who is sheltered but sees his rival is not, certainly WILL. ( He wants his rival to get eaten )

edit: here is a fine example and a great read if you'd like to know more:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-016-1064-4

Say what ever you feel the need to. I don’t need to read any link. My girls sound alarms. Period. Been there when it happens. Been there when there was a hawk. Been there when there was a crow or just someone walking behind my fence. So you do you and read all the sicentific threads you want. I don’t mean to sound snarky but I spend a lot of time with my hens. My facts come from first hand experience, not reading.
Best wishes