I am new to owning and raising chickens, so I will have tons of questions. I finally completed my coop and run, and tomorrow I will be the proud new owner of a New Hampshire red Rooster! Finding hens right now is almost impossible. So let me go ahead and ask my first few questions. Can I keep a lone rooster by itself until I can find him some lady friends? Should I keep him in his run area until he gets used to me and his new house? ( I'm guessing yes ) and do I need a feeder or can I just throw some feed out to him and let him scratch around for it? OK im done for right now LOL! Thank you all in advance for your knowledge and wisdom about raising chickens. I hpe to learn all I can from yall.
Chickens are flock animals and don't do as well alone. Also a rooster can handle 10 hens, so if you have just a couple, they will end up overbred and injured or worse. Hens will lay eggs without a rooster. You only need him if you want fertile hatching eggs. I think it would be better if you got a feeder for him - that way you know how much he is consuming. He also needs fresh water daily. Chickens should have 4 sg.feet of space per bird inside the coop, and 10 sg.feet per bird in an outside run.
Hi and I agree- he'd do better with a lot of hens around. I suppose you could keep him alone for thetime being, though he'd probably get a bit lonely. You'll have to hang out with him, lol. Yes, keep him in the run for a while so he learns where he should go to sleep at night, and where his home is. You can use a feeder or throw feed on the ground, it doesn't matter. We just scatter the feed on the ground and the chickens eat it themselves. We give them a certain amount every day (two spoonfuls. The spoon is like a ladle kind of thing), and so we can still control how much they eat. Enjoy the site and keeping chickens.
I agree with all that has been said here. He will do ok for a short time alone. I have kept lone birds before, and while they do need a social group for good mental health, they can survive for some time alone. But get some hens as quickly as you can. Spring is coming soon and you might want to check your local craigslistings and newspaper for possible leads. Many hatcheries sell started pullets as well. Good luck with your roo and enjoy BYC!
Welcome to BYC! Great to have you. Awesome advice above. Good Luck! Chicks and chickens will be popping up for sale soon with spring coming. So where are you located? Most states have their of thread and may be able to help you find hens.
Glad you joined us! A lone rooster will be fine on his own; chickens do best when there are more than one of them, but roosters are better off than hens with this.
