I need a roo (or two) - what should I do?

[PearlGrey]

Thanks, ridgerunner, good to know. So since introducing a mature rooster to hens is easier than introducing an immature one, I will definitely wait until summer.

cafarmgirl - Will the chickens will be safe from the nocturnal predators (coyote, fox, coon) if I keep them in a secure coop at night?

If the chickens will stay in the horse pastures - as I hope they will, to eat bugs - then they should be OK since two of my horses will run off dogs. Right now, we don't have any free-roaming dogs within a few miles, although I did see a lab and a pointer running for their lives out of my pasture the other morning. Never saw them before or since. But I take this issue very seriously and immediately confine the dog and contact the owner when I catch them on my property. I have a 31 yr old gelding that no.dog.shall.chase if I have anything to say about it!

Snakes and hawks - again I would think, but have no experience - shouldn't take grown-up birds, right? I don't care if the snakes take the occasional egg. They more than repay me by eating up mice.

The thing I'm most worried about is the feral cats. It's a colony that lives in an old abandoned house about a half-mile away. Horses, of course, adore cats and would I'm sure be happy for them to eat my chickens! I don't have a perimeter fence, plus my climate is too hot, for a dog to be outside all the time. I'm figuring on some attrition from these beasties, but they don't run in packs and I don't guess they can pick off more than one at a time. Anybody have any suggestions for discouraging feral cats? I know this is straying OT - I'll peruse the predator and pest forum and see if I can glean any info.

 

[donrae]

Hawks will take full grown birds. And some of those "nocturnal" predators are pretty darn active during the daytime, believe it or not. We've had lots of folks report foxes and coyotes especially taking birds during the day, sometimes pretty darn close to a human supervising the birds. It just depends on your area, risk assessment and how devastated you'd be if you lost a bird.

Roosters do help, but as stated they can't drive off all predators. Their main function is to sound the alert, giving the hens time to hide. Of course, the hens need a place to hide

. Some roosters will distract the predator at the cost of his own life, some are little sissy boys and run and hide. Hard to say who will do which until it happens.

I agree on waiting and finding a rooster later. You'll thrill someone to death to offer a dream home to their mis-sexed bird! In my AO there's usually a decent breed selection mid-summer on on CL. I agree with Ridgerunner, a mature rooster should fit right in. Although, in my opinion, a rooster that's a tad younger than the hens is just fine, too. Gives the ladies time to teach him some manners

 

[PearlGrey]

LOL - I'll keep that in mind, about manners. IME, that's how it generally works with dogs and horses - the ladies instill respect for the rules.

Re a place to hide - I thought I'd do a pop door in my coop, but I guess that only works if the chickens are close enough to the coop to beat the predator there. My place is around 40 acres, most of it open land and pancake flat. Surrounded by forest. In which live all kinds of predators.

So yes, I have prepared myself to expect losses. *heaves deep sigh*

I wonder what kind of attrition rate I might expect? I'm putting a divider in my coop so I can raise a second batch to replenish the numbers if necessary.

OTOH, I have scads of wild turkeys roaming around the place and nothing seems to be denting their numbers! Of course, I didn't do a wild turkey census or anything, so I don't guess I really know how many there were to start with. But there are plenty left! Despite the best efforts of my mighty-hunter (snicker) BILs.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It’s not at all unusual to see coyotes and foxes hunting in the middle of the day here. Still those are not my biggest problem. People like to abandon dogs out here. That’s where I get my big losses. In any case locking them up at night in a secure place is a great idea.

It’s hard to say where your chickens will spend the most time. Mine kind of like spending a lot of time in overgrown areas, high weeds or under trees and bushes. I think they are more worried about a hawk than something on the ground, but although I have hawks all over the place, I’ve never lost one to a hawk. Other people have lots of problems with a hawk. Each situation is unique, it’s often hard to say why. And no one can tell you what your losses will be. My parents free ranged with all kinds of predators around, yet I only remember two problem animals when I was growing up, one a dog and one a fox that had to be dealt with. I've had a whole lot worse than that here, mainly because of people abandoning their dogs.

 

[jillyNkids]

Look on Craigslist

 

[cafarmgirl]

I would make one other suggestion regarding getting a rooster. If you want to get an adult rooster later this summer be very careful where you get one. Getting birds from auctions or off of Craigslist is a really good way to bring home nasty diseases to your flock, you know nothing of the background of that bird. You are far better off raising a rooster that you get as a chick from a hatchery or buying an adult bird from a reputable breeder. We've been the route here of dealing with respiratory disease and it's not fun. Once you have something nasty in your flock you are either going to be dealing with it off and on as long as you have those birds or you have to cull all your birds and start over. To me it's just not worth all the hassle.

As far as "nocturnal" predators? In my opinion that's a bit of a misnomer lol! Yes there are lots of predators that prefer to hunt at night and there may be more of them out at night but I have seen fox and especially coyotes take birds at any time of day. I have had a coyote pop out of brush within feet of where I was working to grab a bird near me and run with it. And especially if they know there is an easy food source...they aren't going to wait for nightfall and they will also keep coming back for more until the food source is depleted.

I agree with Ridgerunner re hawks. I've never lost a single bird to a hawk and they are thick around here. Other people have nothing but trouble with them so you kind of just have to see how things go in your particular situation.

 

[PearlGrey]

Thanks, y'all. That's interesting that your chickens like to be under trees and shrubs - which the books say make excellent perches from which hawks can stoop down on them - and yet, you've not lost chickens to hawk predation. I'm glad to hear y'all say that, because I am fond of my resident red-shouldered hawk, Janet. (She was the first thing I saw when I came out the door one New Year's morning a few years ago, hence the name).

My coyotes stay good and hid during the day. So do my foxes, for the most part. This is, I suspect, because I cannot convince my neighbor to stop shooting them. And he is a diurnal predator. (Say what you will, but no fox or coyote ever ate plants out of my garden. Rabbits, OTOH have done so. So I cheer for team canid.)

You know, ridgerunner, now that I think about it, my grandmother had a pretty large chicken operation - for her time. She dressed two dozen chickens for the curb market every Saturday. She free-ranged in the southern Appalachians of SC in the sixties, and certainly there were plenty of predators - as many as I have, anyway. So you're right - I just need to see what happens.

 

[cafarmgirl]

If you have a neighbor who shoots at the coyotes that will definitely help encourage them to stay away. That and a good dog who is big enough and capable enough to take then down are the only things I have found that will keep them away. Otherwise, the presence of chickens will bring them and everything else out of the woodwork. I am lucky enough to have a neighbor who owns a big male Catahoula dog who will run down and kill coyotes any chance he gets. We went from having coyotes right in the yard in the middle of the day to no coyote problem at all since Tex came into maturity and started patroling lol!

 

[newmarch2014]

Gotta love Catahoulas. I have 3 dogs all 1/2 Heelers and one of them has some Catahoula in her. I am not worried about the Coyotes (we never see them near the back fence anymore) nearly as much as I am worried about my pack eating the new flock...

 

[SillyChicky]

You can have mine! lmao! I thought it'd be cool to have a roo for the hens, and they do seem to take comfort in his protection... However, I'd like my boy to be able to look at his chickens without being a target for talons :-D I think I may just keep the jerk locked up in the coop during free ranging time until auction day.