Maddcatter is practically living a parallel chicken life to mine
I've only had chickens since 2015, but always had other types of birds in my life, & had a parrot rescue for 20 yrs, so I sort of knew what I was getting into. Currently, I have 13 Roos, all enjoy me picking them up & fussing over them. They are used to my hugs & taking endless photos. The can be feisty with eachother in Spring but by June, I can let everyone out to free range at the same time.
The only 1 that ever went after me, Rocky, is a very sweet old Roo now, because I did the scoop him up & carry him method in his feisty youth. Thanks to him, I became extremely adept at 1 handed chores lol.
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I have a few hens that love being broody mamas, & they've each hatched & raised 10 various eggs at a time. I have 2 separate indoor areas set up for mamas & chicks.
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I have already set up groups with each Rooster so I know what chicks they'll produce. I know some friends that will set up a particular Rooster & hen in their own space, but they have a large flock with no separation, so a few Roos could potentially mate with the same hen. In their case, they have to isolate which pair they want offspring from. As I already have separate coop & pen space, I just collect the eggs & know who laid what, all fertilized by that 1 Roo.
My Roos have their own little harems & partitioned coop spaces & predator proof pens, but I can also let all groups out together most of the time (not early Spring). At 1st, I staggered who was out when, but now they can all be out at the same time...Always when I am outside doing work nearby, too, for predator watch, along with the Roos.
We currently have 3 resident foxes, with dens in the adjacent corn field & lot next to mine. They're great on rodent patrol, as well as 4 varieties of hawks doing daily flybys & roaming coyotes here, so my Roos & I are very alert during free range times. So far, no losses, & only 2 attempted attacks, a young teen male fox tried to grab my heaviest Brahma mama, but got more than he bargained for. He only managed to get some feathers stuck to his tongue, a near miss 5 gallon bucket to the head & several Roosters & me, screaming & chasing the shocked, wide-eyed youth. As he fled he looked back with a terrified expression lol, he had never been chased before...he gives me & the entire flock a wide berth now. After that incident, Mama fox actually grabbed him by the scruff, dragged him a bit then held him down growling & he sulked in a time-out in that sad, laying down position on the rocks by my firepit for 2 hours. If he so much as tried to sit up or raise his head to see what chore I was doing across the way, Mama was on him, making him lay down again...did he get yelled at for chasing the human's pet? I honestly don't know, but it sure looked like it
. Mama fox was 1 in a zillion. She loved my dad & would often sit by the fire with him. As I love sunsets here, I'd take photos. One day she walked up to me, tilted her head wondering what I was looking at. She looked at sunset then back at me, saw me take photos as I told her to watch the beautiful colors changing in the sky. I was truly shocked when she sat down like a dog next to me & gazed up at the sunset with me! She started that routine every time I walked to the back & took out my phone for photos. She also accompanied me on my walks to the mailbox, walks to collect berries & on my walk building to building at dusk to lock up. Mama fox did this routine before I even had chickens, no clue why, I talked to her, but never fed her. She died this past Sept, curled up by my wildflower garden & firepit. Her 1 kit, Little Girl, has taken over her role, she started shortly after Mama fox died.
When I got Guineas, the foxes all stood perfectly still staring at them, & when the Guineas started their noise making, the foxes looked terrified & ran away, looking back to make sure the loud birds weren't chasing after them. They give Guineas a wide berth, won't even go near their pen lol. Yes, my Guineas have their own coop & pen, too. Thank goodness they seem to love it & do not roam away far. The foxes may be cool in my presence, but they are wild after all. I still take precautions & do rely on predator proof pens.
A Cooper hawk grabbed at my Homing Pigeons zooming around, so I did stitch up a crop, he is fine & wears a purple hero leg band now. I've been truly blessed with the synergy going on here & I realize not every Rooster can be lumped into one category, nor can they be expected to always remain as sweet as they are, but so far so good, here.
Our foxes have been great since we moved here & I see them catching rodents often, but I realize they are wild after all, which is why free range time for the flock is always supervised. I raised my flock to know me as not only the feed lady & pooper scooper, but as the one who sits down & has chicken lap time for checking over for mites, bumblefoot & just giving affection & protection.
I have some mixed breeds but also some pure breeds, so the separate coop & pen spaces allow me to keep certain groups together. Once a group is a group, they mostly prefer to stick with heir own group. A few times as hens got older, they'd pick on one & I'd need to move her to a more mild mannered group, 1st by placing her in a cage in that section a few days, so they all get used to eachother. You can tell by witnessing pecking order if a bird will be accepted into a new group or not, a bit of squabble is normal but if you see blood drawn, that newly added hen must be moved.
The breeds here are Ameracauna, EE, Wyandotte, Copper Marans, Australorp, Buff Orpington, Barred Rock, Rhode Island Red, Brahma, Delaware, Comet, ISA Brown, 1 Polish named Phyllis Diller & a section of mixed with a few having poof top or Alfalfa head feathers (no clue what mixes they are, as they came from elsewhere, but they do lay green eggs).
I know that not everyone will be as fortunate as I've been with the friendliness factor of my Roos, but know that it is possible. I handled mine at least on a weekly basis, more often in their chick stage or when a new adult bird was bought in...1st quarantined of course, in a cage in a separate building. I quarantined new additions for health, as well as getting to know them & allowing them to know me in a calmer setting. Any bird that is on the mend or has been traumatized does better in their own cage for a bit...I rescued one hen from a farm, she had been plucked bald! Poor Pepper, she did grow in lovely black feathers in time & was introduced to the EEs.
Rocky, my 1st Roo, a Barred Rock, was very feisty in his youth. He hated the sight of feet and also hated shoes and different kinds of shoes would really get his attention, but despite him chasing my dad, me & a few actual mild spur incidents, I used the scoop him up & carry method, as I told him anyone else would have made chicken and dumplings out of him. I learned that my singing to him calmed him. I had patience with him & his ornery, testosterone Spring behavior for 3 years & then he just chilled out on his own & we even began playing a game. Even during his most feisty time though, once I'd scoop him up, I could sit him on my lap and fuss over him, & he would make purring sounds & close his eyes, so the little stinker did enjoy my affection. I guess he just had to show everybody, he was a big tough rooster. I still have him, he is very mellow in his old age. I do not have kids to worry about though...so he would've been rehomed if he had caused actual damage to my dad & if I had kids to think of.
Hope this helps. I know the separate coop space & pens made a huge difference here. You might consider that.
(Gotta work, will add more pics later)
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When she has learned to calm down and not appear to chase them, they may hang around long enough for her wish to be fulfilled.
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