How do I keep neighbors rooster away from our girls

[Mikee3333]

How do I keep neighbors rooster from our girls

 

[speckledhen]

Not enough information. Do you have a fence? If not, it's a lost cause, maybe even if you do if he's a flier. Do your hens go onto the neighbor's property? If so, lost cause. You have to put up some sort of barrier. My hens have pens and even when free ranging, I have a good portion of my property perimeter fenced. If a roaming rooster got into my fence, he'd not make it out. That's a disease risk.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Not enough information. Do you have a fence? If not, it's a lost cause, maybe even if you do if he's a flier. Do your hens go onto the neighbor's property? If so, lost cause. You have to put up some sort of barrier. My hens have pens and even when free ranging, I have a good portion of my property perimeter fenced. If a roaming rooster got into my fence, he'd not make it out. That's a disease risk.

X 2 - Are these encounters taking place on your property or the neighbor's?

 

[Mikee3333]

He flys up on fence and over - we still have not let the hens out of the coop but every morning he is pacing in front of coop

 

[speckledhen]

He flys up on fence and over - we still have not let the hens out of the coop but every morning he is pacing in front of coop

Well, crud. That is a problem. You are going to have to have a talk with the neighbor about keeping him at home somehow. You have no idea if he's a carrier of disease and they may not know that either. Me, I'd treat him like any other predator, but that's just me.

 

[Mallory8502]

If you plan to allow your hens to free range then I would bet they end up in your neighbors yard at some point. You can't expect your neighbor to pen up the rooster and then let your hens be on his property - which will happen. Biosecurity is not easy when you are close neighbors with someone and you are both free ranging. I think the best solution is to build them a run, and only let them free range when you are supervising. Either that or reevaluate why you don't want a rooster around. Is it because you don't want fertile eggs? Are you afraid he will be aggressive? If he does show aggression then it is totally reasonable to ask that he is penned up or culled. But who knows, he might end up being a good protector for your flock.

 

[speckledhen]

If you plan to allow your hens to free range then I would bet they end up in your neighbors yard at some point. You can't expect your neighbor to pen up the rooster and then let your hens be on his property - which will happen. Biosecurity is not easy when you are close neighbors with someone and you are both free ranging. I think the best solution is to build them a run, and only let them free range when you are supervising. Either that or reevaluate why you don't want a rooster around. Is it because you don't want fertile eggs? Are you afraid he will be aggressive? If he does show aggression then it is totally reasonable to ask that he is penned up or culled. But who knows, he might end up being a good protector for your flock.

The OP said the rooster jumped the fence, but I'm not sure if the fence belongs to the neighbor or the original poster, come to think of it. Maybe he can clarify?

I must disagree with allowing a neighbor's rooster to consort with this person's hens. You never know if that rooster is a carrier of disease. I would never allow that to happen here. The rooster would be removed and, by that, I mean killed, if it kept breaching my fence, after I spoke with the neighbor about it. Around here, any rooster would have to come from a little ways, not directly from next door, so I wouldn't know who it belonged to and would cull it without trying to find out.

If this person decides in the future to get his own rooster for his hens, that will be a huge issue with the neighbor's rooster coming over. And when the coop is opened up, that rooster will be eating the hens' feed. I don't support animals I don't own-feed is way too expensive, IMO


Quote: If he doesn't show aggression, it's still reasonable to ask that he be penned up on his owner's property. By the same token, the OP's hens should be contained on his property as well.

 

[Mikee3333]

How about if we got our own rooster? Would the neighbors rooster stay at home? I don't mind the rooster coming to visit it's my husband who is getting protective and territorial

 

[cafarmgirl]

Getting your own rooster will not stop the neighbor's bird from coming over. It will just creat more issues when they start fighting over the hens. I agree with Speckledhen on this. Either the neighbor's keep their bird at home or he disappears. For me the risk of disease transmission is to high to put up with it.

 

[speckledhen]

Mikeee, sorry for calling you "he". I just read your last post and realize that you are a woman. Hard to tell with screen name sometimes.

No your rooster and the other would fight for dominance....and yours may just lose. At the very least, you'll be mopping up blood, trust me.