Help with my Rooster

[knjlan]

Hello all,
I am new to BYC. I have 4 Road Island Reds and 4 Barred rock all girls about 8 months old, all are great egg layers everyday. We had 11 at the beginning. We never had a rooster until 4 days ago. We decided to get one for the protection of our girls. We live out in the country 15 acres of woods and started out with 11 baby chicks. I've raised then for the past 8 months. They come to me when I call them or when I ring the dinner bell. they let me pick them up, they follow me around in the yard, they are very sweet. Last month we loss another one due to a stray hunt dog. So I thought getting a Rooster might help with protecting my girls. The Rooster (Road Island Red) also 8 months old, we got from a friend who has a coop & that's where the rooster stayed every night. The first day we put him in our fenced in garden so he can see the other hens around him. I put food & water out there & treats. Well, he flew out and went into the edge of the woods. He wants to get close to the girls but they run him off. He also is sleeping up in a tree every night. We are supposed to get heavy rain and high winds tonight. The last few nights were mild, but temps are dropping and I'm worried. We spent an hour last night looking for him with a spot light and could not find him. He is hard to catch during the day, even treats wont bring him close enough to catch. I want him in the coop w/the girls. I want to clip his wings too, once I catch him. Any suggestions would be so helpful.
Thanks so much.
knjlan​

 

[RollTideChicken]

It sounds like you free range, yes?
Clipping his wings is not a good idea, in my opinion.
He does not know the coop is safe, let alone home. If you catch him, you need to figure out a way to keep him in your coop for a day or two before releasing him again. This will teach him the coop is a good and safe place. Do you have a small dog crate or something to keep him in? Is there a run Attached to your coop?
You might also chalk him up as a loss and find another, roosters are usually free. Also, RIR roosters are notoriously human aggressive, I've had two and culled them both. Best of luck to you!

 

[Butterscotchbitesfinger]

Well for one thing I would make sure water and food are only accessible in the coop that way if he wants it and he will eventually he will have to go in to get it make sure you catch him while he is in there otherwise he will get out again.
Sleeping in trees that’s not good

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. You will get many opinions here, but I would not clip the rooster’s wings. Some will trim one side to make them off balance, but I did that with my first chickens, and they could still fly up and over the 4 foot fence.

It is best to quarantine a new bird to your flock for 30 days to watch for any signs of illness. To get him to stay in the coop at night, the best method is to confine him inside the coop for 7 days, forcing him to sleep there and know where home is. That can be accomplished in a dog crate with food and water, where he can see the others. They will become familiar with each other, but no one gets hurt. Hopefully, things will work out. I would somehow try to get him into a dog crate with food and water set outside and try to capture him. Or place some food close to a small tree or fence easy to reach so you catch grab him off a perch after dark.

 

[knjlan]

Thank you so much for the suggestions. I'm willing to try anything. I'm desperate here.
KNJ

 

[knjlan]

Thanks everyone for your help. Our Rooster, "Cogburn" has been caught and in the run (8' X 8') now for the last 5 nights. He goes in the coop early to roost. He is still very skittish when I come in to give him fresh water, food and treats. I think the girls tolerate him just a bit better than before. BUT they still will not let him get close to them. I am going crazy having to babysit him. I have to look out there every 1/2 hour to see if one of my girls need to get in the coop to lay an egg. And they all lay at different times. No way I can catch Cogburn to put him in a crate so I can leave the door opened for my girls to come & go freely to lay. The coop is raised off the ground 24" and is 8' X 8'. So when I go in the run, he goes under the coop. There is no trust yet. My question is, how long should I continue to keep him locked up? Appreciate any suggestions.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks everyone for your help. Our Rooster, "Cogburn" has been caught and in the run (8' X 8') now for the last 5 nights. He goes in the coop early to roost. He is still very skittish when I come in to give him fresh water, food and treats. I think the girls tolerate him just a bit better than before. BUT they still will not let him get close to them. I am going crazy having to babysit him. I have to look out there every 1/2 hour to see if one of my girls need to get in the coop to lay an egg. And they all lay at different times. No way I can catch Cogburn to put him in a crate so I can leave the door opened for my girls to come & go freely to lay. The coop is raised off the ground 24" and is 8' X 8'. So when I go in the run, he goes under the coop. There is no trust yet. My question is, how long should I continue to keep him locked up? Appreciate any suggestions.

Has he been in the coop for 5days and nights or just the nights?
If you think he needs more time - wait until it's dark then grab him off the roost and cage him - this way you don't have to run back and forth letting the girls in.

Alternatively, he probably knows this is "home" by now - is he roosting with the girls at night? If he is roosting with the girls, then he will probably come back in with them each night.
You can make a good guess about their behavior, but a chicken will surprise you LOL

 

[knjlan]

Has he been in the coop for 5days and nights or just the nights?
If you think he needs more time - wait until it's dark then grab him off the roost and cage him - this way you don't have to run back and forth letting the girls in.

Alternatively, he probably knows this is "home" by now - is he roosting with the girls at night? If he is roosting with the girls, then he will probably come back in with them each night.
You can make a good guess about their behavior, but a chicken will surprise you LOL

Has he been in the coop for 5days and nights or just the nights?
If you think he needs more time - wait until it's dark then grab him off the roost and cage him - this way you don't have to run back and forth letting the girls in.

Alternatively, he probably knows this is "home" by now - is he roosting with the girls at night? If he is roosting with the girls, then he will probably come back in with them each night.
You can make a good guess about their behavior, but a chicken will surprise you LOL

Yes he has been in the coop for 5 days and nights. Mostly in the run during the day (correction on size of the run, its 12' X 8' ) Thanks so much for the info.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Nice!

I would probably let him out and see how it goes. If he's been in there for 5 full days, then he "should" consider that home. A male is not likely to stray too far from the
ladies Even if they are acting aloof.

 

[BGcoop]

I’m new to chickens, so not knowing better, when I got roosters I just tossed them(2 brothers) in with the girls(9) and kept them(boys) confined to the run several days. At night they would sleep on the opposite side of the coop from the girls and during the day, when in the run, would be as far away from the girls as possible. This lasted for a couple weeks, but slowly they integrated. I think it helped when they were finally let out of the run, because while they stayed back, they did still keep in sight of the rest of the flock. It also took a couple of weeks to earn their trust. I sit for a couple minutes daily with treats and they would watch the girls and eventually got up the courage to get some for themselves. Now sometimes they take the treats from me and give it to the girls as if they found it!