Found a rooster thinking about adding it to my flock

[jmalo2907]

My wife calls me this morning saying that she has found what she believes is a rooster in the middle of our downtown city and says its hurt. She says its docile and allowed her to pick it up without any hesitation. She is a lover of all animals and brings it home for me to tend to it. I inspect the roo and it appears to be limping but in good spirits as he started eating out of my hand and crowing as I had him in a cage in the backyard.
I have him quarantined at the moment but am interested in adding him to my flock. I believe he is a Phoenix bantam and was curious the temperament of the bird and also if since he is a smaller bird would he do well with my ladies. I currently do not have any Roos and have a mixture of hens to include Wyandotte, RIR, Sussex, and leghorns. Other than making sure he is not sick can anyone give advice if this is a good idea? Most of my hens are 6 months old with only 2 being over the age of 1.
Also very curious of the temperament of these birds as I know some Roos can become aggressive over time

 

[aart]

Hard to say how his behavior will progress...only time will tell.
If he's an adult he may work in fine with your girls, if he's a juvenile they may kick his butt for days before accepting him.

Bantams can defend themselves and dominate a large breed flock, but often cannot fertilize a large breed hen, they might be able to dominate and mount, but just can't 'reach' to 'deliver'.

Post some pics of him and maybe someone can determine his breed and age.

 

[Amina]

Does this rooster have a visible leg injury? If not, I would be seriously freaked out about having him on my property, because limping could be a symptom of Marek's disease. It can spread on dander by wind, or on your shoes and body when you go between him and your flock. And once your flock has it, even if you got rid of the whole flock and started over, it will be dormant on your property forever so that any new chickens you bring in will get it. See the link below if you're not familiar with Marek's:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

If he does have a visible injury on his leg, then ignore all that and good luck with your new rooster!

 

[Folly's place]

I would NEVER bring an adult or stray bird on my property! Move him immediately somewhere else, because it's fantasy thinking that isolation is really happening here. Maybe to a friend who will never have chickens? "The good of the many outweighs the good of the one" in this case, IMO. Mary

 

[Amina]

I actually wouldn't either. It's just too stressful for me, worrying about what diseases I might have introduced. I have gotten birds from a couple friends before, that I thought took good care of their birds. Both times I regretted it, if only because they had lice in both cases. At least that was treatable. I didn't bring in Marek's... but that was sheer luck, I figure.

I don't personally like buying from hatcheries just because I don't trust that the parents are kept in good, humane conditions... Now I have my own rooster, so I'm good to go for a while. But next time I need new blood, I am only buying from reputable breeders, and I am only starting with eggs, not grown birds, to minimize risk.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

The birds already there, and has been since this post was started a day ago. Would getting rid of him now do any good, from a disease standpoint? Probably not.

Sure, limping COULD be a sign of Mareks. Or, it could be a sign of a poor bird that's had a rough time. Maybe he was tossed out of a car because someone didn't want him, or maybe he narrowly escaped becoming dinner for a predator. I'm all for quarantine, I do it well away from my flock in the rare instance that I bring in an adult bird (I have 48 acres, quarantine is WELL away from my birds). What's done is done, and at this point, I'd give the poor guy a chance. Maybe he'll be the best chicken you've ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Best of luck with whatever you decide OP.

 

[Amina]

The longer he is there and exhibiting symptoms, the more virus he is potentially shedding, the more opportunities there are for biosecurity lapses, and the more risk to the existing flock there is.

If he has a detectable injury to cause this limp, then he could be quarantined and added later. If there is no detectable injury, the OP should consider getting a Marek's test done by a vet, and/or humanely euthanize this bird.

 

[aart]

The longer he is there and exhibiting symptoms, the more virus he is potentially shedding, the more opportunities there are for biosecurity lapses, and the more risk to the existing flock there is.

If he has a detectable injury to cause this limp, then he could be quarantined and added later. If there is no detectable injury, the OP should consider getting a Marek's test done by a vet, and/or humanely euthanize this bird.

Most chickens carry Mareks already, stress and other disease/injury can make symptoms present.
There's no treatment anyway and quarantines had already been broken.