Keep rooster in suburbs

[4 the Birds]

I've been wanting to add a rooster to my flock for a year now. Problem is I live in suburbs and our neighbors are very close. Although I do live in the only area of the city that is legal to keep farm animals, I don't want to draw attention to myself and make my neighbors mad. I've heard of the rooster boxes but I can't do that as I go to work at 630am. So my idea was to keep him in the box until I leave for work and then let him roam in the shed until I get home at 345pm. Is that a bad idea?

You mention that you live in an "area of the city that is legal to keep farm animals". That sounds kinda general to me. If your neighborhood has covenants then it will be specific about what is and what is not allowed. I would trust a County Assessor with what is legal before getting "the scoop" from a Realtor. Be prepared to be disappointed if you start to ask for permission. If you know for sure that you are OK to have chickens then feel free to add a rooster. You mentioned that your next door neighbors are fine with a rooster. Keep in mind that if you want to hatch your own eggs then you may soon have ALOT of roosters.

 

[bobbi-j]

I've been wanting to add a rooster to my flock for a year now. Problem is I live in suburbs and our neighbors are very close. Although I do live in the only area of the city that is legal to keep farm animals, I don't want to draw attention to myself and make my neighbors mad. I've heard of the rooster boxes but I can't do that as I go to work at 630am. So my idea was to keep him in the box until I leave for work and then let him roam in the shed until I get home at 345pm. Is that a bad idea?

If you don't want to draw attention to yourself, you might want to forget the idea of having a rooster. I can hear my rooster over half a mile away from my house when it's calm . If you have close neighbors, they may not appreciate it - especially if you have neighbors that work nights and need to sleep during the day. I also think it's cruel to keep a rooster separated from the flock for all but a few hours during the day - especially if the majority of that time will be spent in a box or roaming in a shed. Chickens (like any other animals) should be allowed outside where they can get fresh air and sunshine. And with winter coming on with less hours of daylight, he would have hardly any time at all with the hens before they all go to roost. You also mentioned in later post that you think you "need to bring a little country" into the lives of your neighbors. My first thought was, if your neighbors wanted a little country in their lives, they wouldn't be living in the suburbs....

 

[shmccarthy]

Out of respect for your neighbors, I would disregard the idea of getting a rooster.
Yes it is your property and while you may be entitled to your rooster, it is not fair if the neighbors have to unwillingly deal with it.
I live way out in the sticks where there's only a few houses per square mile. More people raise livestock than not out here. According to where I live I could have 300 roosters if I really wanted to (not that I ever would! Hehe).
What you must know is that roosters will just as readily crow in tha dark and at night time, as they will in the daytime. The time a rooster crows is not dependant solely on light, but on the individual rooster's internal clock. Rico, my Sebright rooster, thought the best time to crow was at 2am, every single morning. My neighbors could hear it..I could hear it and I even keep all my windows shut. My other sebrights would start around 4am to 5am. My neighbors brought it up a few times and I got what they were respectfully trying to say. I rehomed all the early crowers and now my earliest crows don't happen until 6 or 7am.
Second, if you want to hatch, you obviously are aware that you will most certainly get cockerel chicks. You need to have a solid plan for them. Some of my young cockerels have started crowing at 6 weeks! Before we could even tell for a fact they were boys...you will have to be able to rehome them or be willing to eat them. Depending on where you live and with demand, you may have a hard time or an easy time rehoming them. This is very important to keep in mind. I would save yourself the hassle personally, and not get a rooster.

 

[Mtn Laurel]

I have a similar situation where it's legal for me to have a rooster but I don't wish to irritate my neighbors or draw attention to the fact that I've got chickens. I've got to live with these people so would prefer they not be irked at me no matter what the law states.

I'd like to have a hen raise a brood of chicks but I don't need a rooster to do that. Should one of my hens go broody, I plan to purchase fertile eggs to slip under her in the hope that she'll hatch and raise them.

The Buy-Sell-Trade section of this forum has individuals that will ship fertile eggs. I've already scouted out several that are fairly local to me so that I can even pick them up if needed.