Maine

[oldfartfarmer]

I'm guessing all girls. Did you hatch yourself? Are they SR or pullets???

I bought them at the Buxton "Ace hardware store" they had a bunch in a big box by the door as you walk in,

 

[islandgirl82]

Hello Maine. I hope everyone is doing well!

It's been a long time since I've been on and a long year here, beginning with adopting an abandoned westie and just a few months later losing him to cancer, followed by losing an egg-bound hen to more recently losing our beloved Silver Laced Wyandotte, Audrey Hepburn to a break in by a couple of stray dogs who killed her and severely injured my Golden Spangled Hamburg who has pulled through marvelously but it was touch and go for a few days. The loss of Audrey has caused a major shift in flock dynamics and only two girls (whom never really bonded with us) are laying now whilst bullying the rest of the girls. I'm debating rehoming them as a result to someone with a less passive flock.

This morning however, I brought home a rooster who was dumped off in a nearby quarry. He made his way to a friend's house who has their own flock and he was quite distressed and noisy yesterday but seems much calmer since he got to my house. He's in pretty rough shape; his comb is covered in scabs - as though he's been pecked at a lot and he's missing all of the fluff around his vent and it's very red. His legs are also quite red in some areas and have other spots that look like bruising. His scales, however are nice and flat. I will give him a closer inspection when he settles down for the night. I'm hoping this is due to being picked on but I'm concerned about it being health related. I certainly don't want to contaminate my own flock (he's currently in my quarantine coop). If anyone has suggestions about what may cause these issues, I'd love to know.

He is a lovely boy and seems very quiet and sweet so far. My friend's 8 year old son was even hand-feeding him this morning and he (rooster) was very gentle about it - not afraid or aggressive. If this is his normal personality, he may have found himself a permanent home here with us but time will tell. He looks like a Plymouth Barred Rock on the bottom half of his body - although the barring seems more brown than black and his top half is a lighter, creamy color. He's also very large. I will get photos soon.

 

[buckabucka]

Hello Maine.  I hope everyone is doing well! 

It's been a long time since I've been on and a long year here, beginning with adopting an abandoned westie and just a few months later losing him to cancer, followed by losing an egg-bound hen to more recently losing our beloved Silver Laced Wyandotte, Audrey Hepburn to a break in by a couple of stray dogs who killed her and severely injured my Golden Spangled Hamburg who has pulled through marvelously but it was touch and go for a few days. The loss of Audrey has caused a major shift in flock dynamics and only two girls (whom never really bonded with us) are laying now whilst bullying the rest of the girls.  I'm debating rehoming them as a result to someone with a less passive flock. 

This morning however, I brought home a rooster who was dumped off in a nearby quarry. He made his way to a friend's house who has their own flock and he was quite distressed and noisy yesterday but seems much calmer since he got to my house.  He's in pretty rough shape; his comb is covered in scabs - as though he's been pecked at a lot and he's missing all of the fluff around his vent and it's very red. His legs are also quite red in some areas and have other spots that look like bruising.  His scales, however are nice and flat. I will give him a closer inspection when he settles down for the night. I'm hoping this is due to being picked on but I'm concerned about it being health related.  I certainly don't want to contaminate my own flock (he's currently in my quarantine coop).  If anyone has suggestions about what may cause these issues, I'd love to know.  

He is a lovely boy and seems very quiet and sweet so far.  My friend's 8 year old son was even hand-feeding him this morning and he (rooster) was very gentle about it - not afraid or aggressive. If this is his normal personality, he may have found himself a permanent home here with us but time will tell. He looks like a Plymouth Barred Rock on the bottom half of his body - although the barring seems more brown than black and his top half is a lighter, creamy color. He's also very large.  I will get photos soon. 

Maybe you have a golden cuckoo Marans, islandgirl. I'll bet a lot of his issues are pecking/fighting. My rooster is quite red around his vent. He is not missing all his fluff, but I do see the hens pull at his fluff frequently, and they ate all the feathers off his legs.
Does your bird look anything like this? (His comb would be bigger, but mine had frostbite.)

 

[islandgirl82]

Hi @buckabucka , he looks quite similar though his legs are bare but if the feathers have been pulled out, that would explain the red areas on them This boy's tail feathers are darker and barred but with very little contrast in color, though there are a few that are the lighter cream. He does have quite a substantial comb. I will get photos.

I don't know much about Marans (if that's what he is or a mix of). How would you describe their personalities and if you have a mixed flock, how are they with non-aggressive breeds? He was discovered at my friend's house roaming around with her free ranging laying hens, not bullying them or anything, just trying to woo them into the bushes to keep him company but not trying to mate with them. She said he didn't even follow her girls into their coop last night but chose to roost on the highest point of her children's playset when they got him to put in a kennel for the night. He's old enough to have 2" + spurs so he's not a young cockerel who hasn't figured out what to do with the girls.

 

[islandgirl82]

Maybe you have a golden cuckoo Marans, islandgirl. I'll bet a lot of his issues are pecking/fighting. My rooster is quite red around his vent. He is not missing all his fluff, but I do see the hens pull at his fluff frequently, and they ate all the feathers off his legs.
Does your bird look anything like this? (His comb would be bigger, but mine had frostbite.)

This is the photo I got as soon as I got him home. It's not great but I'll get more soon.

 

[MistyMae]

Hello Mainers! We are just finishing up our new coop and run. Do we need to paint the inside of the coop?

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Hello Mainers! We are just finishing up our new coop and run. Do we need to paint the inside of the coop?

No but it'll last a lot longer if you do, look nicer, and, if painted dark, will help retain heat in the winter.

 

[buckabucka]

Your new rooster is pretty islandgirl!
It does not look like a true golden cuckoo, but maybe it is some kind of Marans mix. I have another large rooster that is a Marans/Ameraucana cross. Not all Marans have leg feathers either.
Mine are both friendly and mellow, very cautious around me, but I think you can get a jerk with any breed, and most roosters will fight each other for dominance.

I have a coop with a wall dividing the two flocks. Their outside runs border each other, and before we got better fencing, the roosters would occasionally escape and fight. At the time, I had a lavender Ameraucana and a Basque, and the Basque always lost the fight (not life-threatening injuries, but found hiding and wounded). I replaced the Basque with the golden cuckoo, and when the roosters got out one day, the golden cuckoo kicked butt. I found the Ameraucana hiding with a broken beak. So I know he can fight, even though he doesn't normally show aggression.

If he checks out after his quarantine, I would keep him! It would be fun to cross him and see what you get.

 

[islandgirl82]

Your new rooster is pretty islandgirl!
It does not look like a true golden cuckoo, but maybe it is some kind of Marans mix. I have another large rooster that is a Marans/Ameraucana cross. Not all Marans have leg feathers either.
Mine are both friendly and mellow, very cautious around me, but I think you can get a jerk with any breed, and most roosters will fight each other for dominance.

I have a coop with a wall dividing the two flocks. Their outside runs border each other, and before we got better fencing, the roosters would occasionally escape and fight. At the time, I had a lavender Ameraucana and a Basque, and the Basque always lost the fight (not life-threatening injuries, but found hiding and wounded). I replaced the Basque with the golden cuckoo, and when the roosters got out one day, the golden cuckoo kicked butt. I found the Ameraucana hiding with a broken beak. So I know he can fight, even though he doesn't normally show aggression.

If he checks out after his quarantine, I would keep him! It would be fun to cross him and see what you get.

I was looking through photos of Marans roosters last night and some of the Golden Cuckoos looked a lot like him as did the Birchens. I also read that the Marans with French lines have feathered legs whereas the English lines have clean legs. Who knows...he may not have any Marans in him at all but he is handsome. So far, I like his personality. Quiet, good with people and he was good to the girls he met after he was dumped. My friend said he just hid in the shrubs calling until they went to him. She has 4 hens and 6 pullets who haven't quite started laying yet and it was the pullets that went to him. She said he didn't try mating, he just wanted their company which is also appealing to me because my girls have been much more peaceful without a rooster around and my Hamburg is SO small, he'd hurt her if he tried. She also said when she would walk near him, he would step aside, not run away or at her. These are all appealing qualities to me.

I did notice when I checked on him last night that he was laying in the bedding instead of on his roost. I'm concerned that maybe his feet are too sore for him to want to be on the roost. I didn't get to look him over as well as I'd have liked with all the rain last night so I will tonight. Any suggestions on what to put on his legs/feet if they do have sores? And what might have caused it?

 

[islandgirl82]

Here are a couple more photos. I haven't been able to get decent shots of his feet but from what I can see, it doesn't look like bumble foot. His feet and legs look burned, maybe from walking around in poor conditions/droppings? He's also terrified of my cat who keeps a very healthy distance from my flock (a couple of the girls like to chase her). He went into the coop to hide when he saw her and kept poking his head out to see if she was gone. Sad, really. He had the same reaction to my dog (newfoundland) who is excellent with my flock and very protective of them so he's clearly not used to being around much of anything other than chickens. At least not anything friendly. He's cautious of me but doesn't hide and so far, he crows only when he can't see me.

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