true, he has to be with his ladiesHe gained energy and wanted to go outside. (His ladies are out there) he’s moving slowly, but he’s determined.
He’s a roo, what am I gonna do?!
Possum?
This is awesome!
This is awesome!
I said the same thing to a racoon the other day... Didn't have time to go get my gun tho, good thing my dogs were aware and chased it off!
Possum paid us a visit tried to get into the run. Was a no go for him I have bricks around it lol. Dogs scared him on the roof of the shed and hubby sprayed him with the hose.
I think you are worrying over nothing! He is still being good with the girls, looking out for them , tidbitting, etc. And trust me, he knows you are female! Don't go upsetting the apple cart with another Roo........ Didn't your vet say to 'stop watching them' of you and your horses? I think you need to do the same of your poor, but wonderful, Roo!!I don't know - maybe I need to get a young cockerel for him to dominate and feel manly...
I wish I could pop down and help you build… this is the one downside of the internet. You can meet such great people and have wonderful friends, so far always that you can’t physically do anything helpful. More hands make lighter work. It is predator season. I’ve had a couple hawk attempts here as well. Down working on the house, the chickens throw up an alarm, by the time I get back to the trailer you would think I don’t have any birds but for the chicken growling coming from under vehicles, the barn, trailers… and the brave little ones that burst from a rose bush and run to the hiding flock using the “funny rooster”’s appearance for cover. I did see the ravens drive off a smaller juvenile red tail a week or so ago.I was out, but I have a large flock, kind of broken up into 3 groups, and I can't be everywhere at once.....they cover about 2 1/2 acres. The fox came at the back/side most group while I was locking up the front most group (the very littles) (They sort of form a triangle - the coops of the 3 groups.) The littles are in a mobile tractor & run in the front yard, the main group in the back/side yard (to the side of but behind the house), then this group in the way side yard...again, they cover anywhere between 2 & 3 acres when they are out. The Geese and their 4 duck mates are in a mobile tractor & run between the back/side yard main coop& run, and the Way side yard mobile coop that has kind of become a permanent one with a temporary become permanent attached run. Honestly, I hadn't planned on me being so weak in late August and getting 30 littles (I have 28 as 2 were doa)...I personally think the mobile tractor & run is getting a bit small for them at this point....so I feel like I should let them free range a bit. And the others are used to free ranging and get upset when I don't let them. I didn't let anyone out today, and they yelled at me whenever they saw me.I feel like such a bad chicken mommy right now.
I have another permanent coop in process, but it isn't done yet. It is 10X4, and will be a double decker, ducks & geese on the bottom & chickens up top. This will be enough room, I think, for everyone for the winter, since the boys of the 'littles' won't be kept, but they are still way too small to go to freezer camp yet. I had planned on my main run being expanded by now, but I physically can't attach the auger to the tractor by myself, and my husband's parents have had numerous health issues, so he has spent a lot of weekends down there...so...no drilled post holes, so no expanded run. And this coop was going to be built in part of the expanded run, that will have a roof over it so there will be a little more run space that I won't have to shovel in the winter....so I didn't start building this coop until recently when I just got so frustrated at no movement on the run. It will be a pain to later build the roofed part of the run over the coop butI am just at my witts end at the moment....but I also can't be upset with hubby, either, as we really do need to take care of his parents...but them being 3.5 hours away means there is no splitting time on weekends between them and us....he is usually gone the whole weekend lately.
Sorry, I didn't mean to dump all this on you guys. I almost deleted everything...but sometimes I just want to cry. Then I think of people like @RoyalChick and @ValerieJ and @Kris5902 and I feel selfish thinking/feeling this way.
Selfish, feeling sorry for myself tax:
Some of my 'littles' enjoying the sun:View attachment 3299745View attachment 3299747
You have not broken your boy by handling him. You have had a couple close calls by predators. He knows that, so he is doing his job by not crowing and drawing attention to himself or his girls. He will crow again, and he may actually be crowing when you are not home. If you want a 2nd boy, I would wait until spring and let one of the girls hatch. You will probably end up with at least 1 boy. The lucky little dude will grow up watching and learning from his daddy. Already be fully integrated into his flock when his mom is done with him. When he gets stupid, he will have his dad and older aunts to put him in his place. Learning and watching his dad, will put him in a better position when he is older to take his place as his dad's 2nd in command.He is worrying me, he is tidbitting with the gals and seems fine, I don’t think he is molting, and he is eating fine. He make purring and growling noises and the cluck cluck for tidbitting.
But he is quiet otherwiseI am worried that he sees me as dominant bird and now won’t crow. I am going to try an experiment where I walk away from him if he walks near me. See if he actually is feeling submissive.
Also when he goes to bed tonight I will check him form lice or ticks - I don’t see them digging at themselves any more than usual…
If he hasn't crowed since then, sounds like he's taking the quiet approach. When he starts crowing again, likely the hawk has moved on.
