Got 2 chicks - now one's a roo. What to do?

[perl]

All hail the wise peeps of BYC! I've lurked forever but never had a question that was specific enough to me to post. So here goes.

We got 2 baby chicks to add to our existing flock of 2 happy ladies. The past 2 days I have figured out that one of our babies is a BOY. I am so, so upset, as they are illegal in our town. I'm desperately trying to place this little guy (who is 8 weeks old) but my main question here is about the new little hen. She is too young to go with the big girls, but I don't want her to be alone.

Should I keep Mr Roo around long enough to establish little hen with a new friend? Or try to get Mr Roo out of the picture as soon as possible then introduce a new (same age) bird to little hen? I'm just trying to figure out the dynamics to minimize stress for everyone involved (except for me - I'm losing sleep over this roo thing! I'd welcome advice on what to do with him, also, but I think it comes down to luck pretty much, eh?)

Thanks sooo much!

 

[midget_farms]

Usually the laws that outlaw roosters are because of the noise or fighting, having a young bird like yours he will not be crowing. At least not for another several months.

If it were me - I would keep him until you hear him crow & then move him out. It is different for each bird - but mine started to crow @ 5 or 6 months of age.

 

[Mrs. Feathers]

We keep our roos until they begin to crow...which is usually the time they are ready to take a trip to freezer camp anyways. If this is not an option for you you could rehome your rooster at the time the crowing begins. which would probably be when you could introduce your little pullet to the bigger girls.

 

[imthedude]

our two boys crowed at 11 and 16 wks. respectively. we also lived in town at the time (have since moved out of town) and they were illegal there too. they were tasty. if you can't go that route, craigslist is a good option for parting with birds. just know that someone else might not be as kind as you with sparing his life.

 

[perl]

Thanks, everyone. I found an awesome older post by little_grey_bantam about re-homing roos and I'm following her most excellent advice. Trying to sell them as a pair may make things easier (on the birds and on me!) so I've got several ads posted. Keep your fingers crossed!

 

[MrChicken207]

I couldn't resist this

have a roo
what to do
make some stew

Now that that's out of my system, I'll leave you to your other activities.

 

[perl]

Oooh burn! Nice one Mr. Chicken207!

Good news - chicks are gone. Just drove off in the back of someone's truck to their new home in the country. Whoo hoo! Thanks, all!