Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RebeccaBoyd]

If he doesn’t work out in the yard with the girls, maybe you could make him an indoor rooster like Jaffar was?

Alex I need you to remain objective with me here. Thanks to your idiot neighbor or former tenants you know exactly what type of boy I am dealing with here. You have saw first hand how they can behave when it goes bad with another rooster. I adored Momma hen as much as she drove me nuts. There was a reason though I never kept ANY of her sons and she gave me plenty.

 

[rural mouse]

Ducks are usually bigger than chickens. Just keep an eye on any drakes.

 

[rural mouse]

@featherhead007 @rural mouse and @Ponypoor

No help you bunch of enablers.

Ok in all seriousness I have brought in dad on the decision as well. He is going to observe as well when he is out and put in his opinions. I can also trust his opinions, he will not look at him through rose colored glasses like I may be doing right now. I am grieving Branch, get attached to Roos and feel sorry for all of them. I cannot just up and say he stays, mom and dad, mostly dad have to also be on board.

Let's just say Randy is officially on trial. To earn a place in the flock he has to meet several criteria.

First, this truce with Bubba has to hold out. They start fighting, and if they do not stop he is gone.

He can never, ever show any human aggression, idiot phase or not. There are children of all ages in the neighborhood, I will not tolerate it. Even to adults. He does not have to like being held or even want to be held. He attacks a person though, he is gone.

He has to remain in the backyard. It must become his home base, he cannot keep going down to the barn and leading hens down there. If he chooses to roost in Momma Hens tree, fine. I would prefer he eventually roosts in either the coop or on the main roost with Bubba.

He must learn and learn quickly to be gentle with the girls. I know young cockerels can get rough with them in the idiot phase, but he WILL not hurt one of them. I really worry about Poppet my smallest. Poppet is gravitating towards him, I was watching out the kitchen window while I did dishes. He danced for her her but she dodged him. To his credit he did not try to grab her. He actually has not grabbed any of the girls roughly yet that I have saw. That said, he hurts a girl he is gone.

The chicks, when I move them outside the first few weeks they will be confined to the coop. Both he and Bubba and the rest of the flock can interact with them through the safety of the coop. When they are released at first it will be with my supervision. I will not tolerate any aggression at all towards the chicks. He shows aggression towards them he is gone.

As far as the chicks go, they are too young to sex yet and will not be so for a while. I want a cockerel in this group. In theory I should have at least 1. I have never had a all pullet hatch. So lets say I get the boy I want out of these chicks. He too will have to prove himself but mainly the only thing that will cause me to rehome him would be human aggression. When the possible boy hits his idiot phase Randy would be roughly about a year old give or take. Hopefully by then IF he is still here he has had sense whipped into him. He will be allowed to whip the new boy into shape as long as he does not maim or try to kill him. He needs to show tolerance, just like Bubba is doing with him. He does not he is gone.

To be fair I am giving Randy a chance, but he IS a game cockerel. He is not a small old english game cockerel like @Ponypoor has. He is essentially a fighting cockerel that whoever hatched and raised him decided he did not make the cut. That could be in his favor to be honest. I have to remain skeptical though. I NEED multiple boys, 2 to be honest. I am asking Randy to fit into a flock that goes against EVERYTHING he was bred to be. Right now, I will not kill him, I see potential. I am hoping he starts roosting in the coop that way he could be contained IF he crosses a line and needs to go. I should not have to bear the responsibility to rehome him if it comes to that. I will though, I will first try to find him a home if he does not work out for me.

That is his trial. And very reasonable. You are thinking this through and have your standards ste. The fact that he's standard size (to me) is in his favor. The alertness of the game fowl (like leghorns) says good things about his survival potential. He is on trial and you and your family make up the jury. His actions will be the evidence. Seems perfectly fair to me.

Would the person who has the Marshmallows be interested in him if he does need to move? Build wise, he would be a good fit with them. (Personality.....different issue)

 

[Desertvalleychickens]

Alex I need you to remain objective with me here. Thanks to your idiot neighbor or former tenants you know exactly what type of boy I am dealing with here. You have saw first hand how they can behave when it goes bad with another rooster. I adored Momma hen as much as she drove me nuts. There was a reason though I never kept ANY of her sons and she gave me plenty.

Maybe it would be a good idea to rehome him. Although I myself has two roosters, there can be deadly fights. BUT if he is a very good roo, and since you say he backs down from the older roo, he may be okay to stay. How many hens do you have? Fights are more likely to break out between rooster if there are not a lot of hens.

 

[featherhead007]

That is his trial. And very reasonable. You are thinking this through and have your standards ste. The fact that he's standard size (to me) is in his favor. The alertness of the game fowl (like leghorns) says good things about his survival potential. He is on trial and you and your family make up the jury. His actions will be the evidence. Seems perfectly fair to me.

Would the person who has the Marshmallows be interested in him if he does need to move? Build wise, he would be a good fit with them. (Personality.....different issue)

I’m taking his side of this argument. Will he even have a chance to be a rooster? Nobody is perfect! He is going to make mistakes.
He’s a roo, what ya gonna do?
He’s in need of a lot of attention and love. Seems like he hasn’t had much of a chance at that.

 

[featherhead007]

I’m taking his side of this argument. Will he even have a chance to be a rooster? Nobody is perfect! He is going to make mistakes.
He’s a roo, what ya gonna do?
He’s in need of a lot of attention and love. Seems like he hasn’t had much of a chance at that.

If I still had Jaffar in my life, maybe my opinion would be somewhat different. I don’t know.

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Maybe it would be a good idea to rehome him. Although I myself has two roosters, there can be deadly fights. BUT if he is a very good roo, and since you say he backs down from the older roo, he may be okay to stay. How many hens do you have? Fights are more likely to break out between rooster if there are not a lot of hens.

I have 19 hens which is why I need multiple boys. I also have 7 chicks, pullets will definitely stay. I cannot send him to my aunt who took the leghorns. She hatched out 2 boys herself from their eggs that she is keeping. I could put feelers out to a few people who may help rehome if needed. The problem is they already have boys themselves. If he shows he cannot get along with Bubba I will not ask them to take him. Could I rehome in a heartbeat if I chose to not be picky and put his best interest at heart. Yes, yes I could. A game rooster would be snatched up in a second by many people around me. Would it be kinder to him to euthanize him if he cannot co-exist in my flock and a proper home not be found? Yes it would. I am giving him a chance to fit in. If he does not, I will try to find him a home. If only certain people want him, I will not send him to that fate, he will have 1 bad day.

 

[SimpleJenn]

@RebeccaBoyd You are putting a lot of thought into this, that's good. He's handsome and is currently happy as subordinate roo. Will he stay that way? Time will tell. If he misbehaves, then yep give him a humane end so he doesn't end up as a fighter.

Hubby and I are discussing hatching eggs...but there is no backup if the silkies reject them. We have no incubator and no plans to get one.
Storm Beryl will be in town the next few days so we might not get the coop set up by Saturday. I told him I'll ask the polish chicken lady. I'm sure if the weather is bad she'll be fine meeting a different weekm

 

[RoyalChick]

@featherhead007 @rural mouse and @Ponypoor

No help you bunch of enablers.

Ok in all seriousness I have brought in dad on the decision as well. He is going to observe as well when he is out and put in his opinions. I can also trust his opinions, he will not look at him through rose colored glasses like I may be doing right now. I am grieving Branch, get attached to Roos and feel sorry for all of them. I cannot just up and say he stays, mom and dad, mostly dad have to also be on board.

Let's just say Randy is officially on trial. To earn a place in the flock he has to meet several criteria.

First, this truce with Bubba has to hold out. They start fighting, and if they do not stop he is gone.

He can never, ever show any human aggression, idiot phase or not. There are children of all ages in the neighborhood, I will not tolerate it. Even to adults. He does not have to like being held or even want to be held. He attacks a person though, he is gone.

He has to remain in the backyard. It must become his home base, he cannot keep going down to the barn and leading hens down there. If he chooses to roost in Momma Hens tree, fine. I would prefer he eventually roosts in either the coop or on the main roost with Bubba.

He must learn and learn quickly to be gentle with the girls. I know young cockerels can get rough with them in the idiot phase, but he WILL not hurt one of them. I really worry about Poppet my smallest. Poppet is gravitating towards him, I was watching out the kitchen window while I did dishes. He danced for her her but she dodged him. To his credit he did not try to grab her. He actually has not grabbed any of the girls roughly yet that I have saw. That said, he hurts a girl he is gone.

The chicks, when I move them outside the first few weeks they will be confined to the coop. Both he and Bubba and the rest of the flock can interact with them through the safety of the coop. When they are released at first it will be with my supervision. I will not tolerate any aggression at all towards the chicks. He shows aggression towards them he is gone.

As far as the chicks go, they are too young to sex yet and will not be so for a while. I want a cockerel in this group. In theory I should have at least 1. I have never had a all pullet hatch. So lets say I get the boy I want out of these chicks. He too will have to prove himself but mainly the only thing that will cause me to rehome him would be human aggression. When the possible boy hits his idiot phase Randy would be roughly about a year old give or take. Hopefully by then IF he is still here he has had sense whipped into him. He will be allowed to whip the new boy into shape as long as he does not maim or try to kill him. He needs to show tolerance, just like Bubba is doing with him. He does not he is gone.

To be fair I am giving Randy a chance, but he IS a game cockerel. He is not a small old english game cockerel like @Ponypoor has. He is essentially a fighting cockerel that whoever hatched and raised him decided he did not make the cut. That could be in his favor to be honest. I have to remain skeptical though. I NEED multiple boys, 2 to be honest. I am asking Randy to fit into a flock that goes against EVERYTHING he was bred to be. Right now, I will not kill him, I see potential. I am hoping he starts roosting in the coop that way he could be contained IF he crosses a line and needs to go. I should not have to bear the responsibility to rehome him if it comes to that. I will though, I will first try to find him a home if he does not work out for me.

I like this approach.

 

[bgmathteach]

Something is going on in the coop/run. Two little ducklings have been hanging around my yard. I noticed that the water bowl was dirty and my chooks don’t dirty their water. This morning I found one of the babies swimming around in it, just having the time of its life! They are shy of me, but they are still hanging out with my chooks. I’m very surprised that they haven’t been eaten by the barn cats yet. (There’s several of them here too)

I told you, put out a 'pool of water' and they will come running,

did I not???