Handsome docile Blue "Americauna" (Easter-Egger) Cockerel to good home near SF Bay CA

[Christabean]

Classic story of improperly sexed chick in a no-roosters zone. "Chippy" is a lovely boy and is currently tolerating a rooster collar (which comes with him to a pet/breeder home -- over $20 value) but has decided twenty quiet crows are as good as a few loud ones. It's not all day, currently only from about 6:30-7am, but our neighbors let us know it's not going to work for them. He's from Belt Hatchery (via a local feed store) and was sold as "Americauna" but they sell mixed colors so he's likely got mixed background. He only has one red feather on his back that I've seen, and it's not noticeable. He was a very healthy and hardy chick and doesn't pick on our hens at all; here's some photos of him being easily handled by a 9-year-old. He's exceptionally pretty AND nice, so I'm hoping that can find him a non-eating home. He would be fine in a home a little farther from neighbors or with a more sound-insulated coop.

He was hatched around March 12th, 2019 and is wearing a collar in these pictures. So his feathers should get even prettier. Available for pick-up in Alameda County and could possibly meet in Sonoma County, too. (We're not in a Newcastle Disease area, thankfully.)

 

[Christabean]

He's being a very good sport about spending 12 hours in a dog crate each night, he could be a great 4H option! Tell your friends! We could even send him with some starter food or his crate (it's old and dirty but serviceable for keeping a rooster in a garage or on a drive) if that helps!

 

[Christabean]

Bumping this up -- I contacted the local retailer (no help!) and reached out to local 4H volunteers. So far I've only had one feed store willing to take him, and they were honest that he was gonna get eaten. He's very nice and comes with all he needs for successful quarantine and integration with your flock! Really nice boy, very pretty, if you have rooster space he's no trouble at all! We will deliver him if that helps him stay out of the pot.

 

[BlueBaby]

He does look nice, but I am too far away for you to deliver him.

 

[ironsightfarm]

I just went through this with an unexpected cockerel in my flock - it's not an easy thing to have to re-home a bird you've raised and love. Good luck with finding a home for him!

 

[Christabean]

Still no luck. I found only one feed store that would take him and they were honest he'd get eaten. He's very nice and I'd like to give him a chance at a pet or breeding home but I'm losing hope.

 

[Christabean]

In the last month of trying to re-home Chippy he's matured and needs new photos. I also have more information about his adult crowing potential (about 6 months old now).

STUPID PARROT -- free to good home!
Here is a list of reasons why Chippy is better than a smart parrot:
-MUCH cheaper to buy ($1500 savings!!)
-MUCH cheaper to feed (similar housing requirement)
-beak less sharp; less destructive and less bite potential
-larger and healthier, not scared of cats or dogs
-poor flier, will not escape even if you take him out for exercise
-quieter and less aggressive than a cockatoo, comparable or lesser volume than most parrots and is a pleasant "song" rather than screaming
-too stupid to talk back!
-too stupid to become bored, neurotic, or self-destructive
-larger and more magnificent plumage and crest (seriously, imagine you'd never seen birds before; his only competition is maybe rainbow macaws)
-pretty tame, kinda recognizes people
-you can hold him one-armed like a football, which parrots don't like
-only a 5-10 year commitment, not need to involve next-of-kin
He's shown below wearing his collar, which mutes him somewhat (maybe halfway?). One wing has already been feather-trimmed to further reduce flying. 4-foot fence probably OK. (Definitely can't get over 6-foot.) 6-month-old "Blue Ameraucana" cockerel with single red feather that implies mixed parentage (see below, on wing).

In the interests of transparency, I logged his crowing Tuesday (not a particularly quiet day and the hens were provoking him). As you can see, he crows an average of 8 times every couple hours, over the course of 2-5 minutes or so, plus dawn, dusk, and when the hens are being particularly loud. (Also for security lights, oven timers, or if you play the sound of a rooster crowing, as an experiment.) The quieter your house, the quieter he would be. He is quiet overnight unless you wake him up. Comes with collar & crate, like a puppy!! (And you can buy him a leash if you want to go all in!)
Crow log, 9/3
7ish am, several times (still indoors, didn't log)
9:30 am, several times (as above)
11:10 am -- crowed 14x
11:40 am -- crowed 5x (responding to hens)
2:10 pm -- crowed 5x
2:30 pm -- crowed 3x (responding to hens)
3:15 pm -- crowed 20x (responding to hens over about 10 min)
4:55 pm -- crowed 4x
5:50 pm -- crowed 7x
6:35 pm -- crowed 12x

 

[Christabean]

Posting a resolution for those, like I was, hopeful to find a non-eating home for a pet rooster. After six weeks of bringing him indoors every night, contacting the local 4H club and multiple teaching farms and feed stores, nobody would take him and the consensus was 95% of roosters at feed stores get eaten. You can't surrender them to animal shelters unless they're "stray" and they're usually euthanized. I also advertised unsuccessfully on Facebook with a homesteading group. I was warned that people lie about eating roosters.

Eventually we decided to drive an hour and pay a rescue $20 to take him. It spares the kids' feelings and prevents guilt, so it was worth it. If I had it to do over again, I would harden my heart from the first suspicion he was a boy, and take him to a local facility to be processed for food for $5. Definitely bringing him in was a bad choice as it made him more tame and us more attached! He started getting a little more aggressive at 6 months old which made it easier to say goodbye. He's got 15 acres and a barn now (it's a confirmed, legit facility) and I wish him well enjoying crowing 50 times a day. But to help others have more realistic expectations, we had to literally pay to get rid of him, and he's a nice and handsome fellow. Good luck to all others in the unfortunate situation of having to find a home for a rooster!!