Mean rooster...

[GarthRyan]

Garthryan. I think this has gotten a little out of control and maybe I am "reading" into this but what I took from your question is...... you plan to release him for permanent free range on your own property not "take him off and dump him". I grew up on a ranch and never remember so much as a coop, our chickens always free ranged as did the other birds. I think a chicken roaming in your own yard is hardly inhumane.

I'm glad you understand what I'm talking about. And yes, Alabama it would be!

 

[Triple Willow]

Check out the "deep litter method" for your coop and run. It will completely fix your mud problem and keep your birds healthier. For now you can just fill your run up with leaves to control the mud. That is what I have done in my rooster pen and it is so much better.

If you keep that rooster for a while he might turn out to be a good flock roo. They go through a "teenage" stage where they can be pretty vicious but they usually come out of it in a short time. I would take him if I lived close to you.

 

[chooks4life]

Quote: I don't think it got out of control, it did get a little confused though. I thought much the same as you but wasn't sure; after all when one lets a bird roam their own acreage 'releasing' is not generally the term used for that, lol! I don't think anyone said letting a chicken roam your own acreage is inhumane, just the concept of releasing a cage bird into the wild, which obviously is not the idea being discussed.

3KillerBs thought that 'releasing' in this case meant into the wild, which misunderstanding is obvious given the first post by Garthryan, and they condemned that idea, and people added their anti-dumping opinions after that. I thought Garthyran intended to let the chook roam the 15 acres, and now we know for sure, so that's all clear.

Obviously Triple Willow isn't a fan of free ranging (unless I've misunderstood their post) but I sure am. They will die sooner or later of one thing or another whether caged or free ranged and I'd prefer them to enjoy their lives somewhat and be as healthy as possible. In my experience free ranging is pretty vital to health, as it's very hard to attain the same standard of health in permanently restrained birds. The threat posed by predators is at least matched by the threat posed by disease and the aggression of overcrowded or bored birds, in my opinion.

@Garthryan: I noticed your post clarifying your meaning appeared above my first post in this thread despite being posted 5 minutes after it. This is the first time I've seen it. I initially guessed you actually meant to release him on your own land, but I wasn't sure so added my opinion regarding the results of dumping.

'Release' is a strange term to use to refer to letting your own animal go on your own land, which confused me. I didn't intend anything offensive when I said to chickengeorgeto that I think you meant that you intend to 'dump' him in your 15 acres. I run a free range operation where the birds have had, in the past, up to 60 acres to roam, so it's not like I think that's the same as actually dumping them, lol.
Quote: Personally there are very few circumstances where I would not look at a rooster askance for mating with a hen so young. 6 months and over, fine, or at least laying and acting like an adult, but if she's still quite obviously young and not interested then I too would condemn him and cull for that. Mating with a female that isn't ready for it is hardly representative of good reproductive instinct. Good on you for valuing your hens, too many people don't value them enough compared to a vicious rooster.

If her shoulders are bare either she has weak feathers or he's being cruel about it and I would agree with you regarding that too. Even if I disagree, it's your bird and if you are unhappy with him then by all means replace or deal with it as you will.

If you like him so much, you could try free ranging him, chances are that he will be just fine. Mine almost always were. I freeranged hundreds of chickens in a forested area filled with massive packs of perpetually reproducing feral dogs, goannas, pythons, venomous snakes, feral domestic pigs and razorbacks, hawks and eagles, you name it. I freeranged them unsupervised from their first week of age onwards (and even younger sometimes), and I lost a grand total of one hen in all that time, to a feral dog, and one cockerel to a hawk. I caught and removed hundreds of pythons from their cages and almost lost one cockerel to a python, but he recovered. Not a bad total after all those hundreds of birds over the years! Hardly a massacre.

You could make a small roosting coop for him and a hen or so, and keep him in there for a week to bond to it, so when you start allowing him to free range he puts himself back to bed there every night. Otherwise he will most likely take to living almost obsessively around the hen's cage. Or, worse, he may take off to your neighbor's, especially if they have any chickens. If you don't intend to release him with a hen he will most likely remain close by and be lonely.

Best wishes.

 

[GarthRyan]

Thanks for the idea, triple willow. And yeah i know they normally calm down but that could be months from now and by then he would've already killed this poor hen. She's still pretty weak but i think she'll pull through just fine.

 

[GarthRyan]

And to chooks4life, i understand how you got confused. My bad on that one. But you understand what i mean now and hopefully everyone else will too.
She hasn't layed yet but chickens from the same batch have. And he's just really "running her ragged."

I do value my hens. I value my roosters too, even the mean fella.

He was second in the pecking order too from what I've seen. My white leghorn roo could just walk towards him and put him in line but he never interfered with the mountings.

And i might build him a little house but i would prefer him to use natural instincts and get as high up in a tree as he sees fit. I think he'd be safer in a tree than on the ground.

To clarify, I'm considering letting said rooster free to have his choice of land in my yard. I think he'll stick around with the other chickens. And that'll be just fine. That's what i want him to do. But beating up a little brown leghorn hen when he's two or three times bigger than her isn't fair in my eyes. They're the same age and were raised together but he's much larger. Even larger than the WL rooster.

Anyways, i hope everyone knows what i mean now. I will take care of him.

 

[koakai22]

Chooks4life, thanks for clarifying! Sounds like you and I agree on both free ranging and aggressive roosters.
I think he's doing the right thing by giving the roo a chance but not at the expense of the hen.... at my house the other option is inviting him to dinner! But that is just my opinion.

 

[GarthRyan]

I don't have the heart to invite him to the table plus it's supposed to be a pretty dirty and nasty job I've heard and it's not worth the mess to me.

Thanks everyone for the help clarifying.

 

[shelbydog]

I don't have the heart to invite him to the table plus it's supposed to be a pretty dirty and nasty job I've heard and it's not worth the mess to me.

Thanks everyone for the help clarifying.

Actually processing a chicken isn't that nasty. I recently learned how to do it and I wasn't grossed out at all like I thought I would be.

Let him free range or make a bachelor pen for him if you want to keep him to give him time to mature. There are lots of handsome roosters out there that may have better manners then yours so don't let his pretty looks fool you. There certainly isn't any shortage of roosters out there.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I see there has been a lot of posting while I was typing. I'll post anyway.

Will the cold be a problem? That depends on a couple of things. Have you been heating the coop at night or have you allowed him to acclimate? If he has acclimated, you are a long way toward being OK.

Can (or will) he find shelter out of the wind and the worst of the weather? I’ve seen chickens sleep outside in trees in in below zero Fahrenheit weather but those trees were in a sheltered location where they could get out of a direct wind. If he finds a protected place like that he should be fine, but he’s used to sleeping in the coop. There is a pretty strong chance he will try to sleep as close to the coop as he can get instead of trying to find proper shelter. In that case he may run into cold related problems.

Can he survive out there or will he be eaten? Who knows? I assure you that you have many more potential predators than a tied up dog and an occasional hawk. I grew up on a farm in the ridges of East Tennessee. Our chickens free ranged but did have a hen house they could sleep in at night. Most did but some slept in trees or a hay barn. We had about every predator you can imagine but we’d go years between predator attacks. But eventually a fox or dog would show up and have to be dealt with. That rooster might survive for years or he may be taken the first night you let him out. There is no way to be sure.

Chickens are flock animals. The way I understand it, you keep yours locked in a coop and run. When you let him out that rooster will probably stay right around the coop and run, wanting the company of the rest of the flock. He’ll get some comfort across the fence, but he will be lonely. Chickens are not really made for the solitary life.

Chickens can learn to forage for themselves. We never fed out chickens during the better months, just some in the winter. Chickens will take a free hand-out but if they have to they will feed themselves if the forage is good. From what you describe, your forage should be pretty good. They won’t be as big and fat as the ones that don’t have to work for their food, but I think they are more likely to be healthier. He will need water. I don’t know if he can find that or if you have to supply that. Providing him food is a good thing to do, but it can teach raccoons, possums, skunks, and possibly foxes that the area around your chicken coop is a good place to look for a meal. It will attract vermin which can attract snakes in warmer weather. Will this guarantee a predator will find its way into your coop or run? Of course not, but it does increase the risk somewhat. But they are probably there at night already.

The bigger a run is the harder it is to keep it dry in wet weather. A consistently wet run is an unhealthy run, but one that occasionally gets muddy is not a big deal. It takes a while for the bad microbes to build up in number. Chickens like mud. They will walk in it and eat it. If they find a clean mud puddle to drink out of, they’ll scratch in it to muddy it up first. In your warm climate the danger is higher than someone from a cooler climate and your area is more likely to be wet too. If reasonable you should try to help your run dry out. In a smaller run that’s not always really hard. Try to keep water from getting in by roofing it, sloping roofs or using gutters to get water away from the area, or using berms or swales to divert water on the ground. If water gets in, try to get it out. Water needs a place to drain to so maybe build it up if it is small enough, especially with sand. Sand drains great. Or maybe use a French drain to help get water out. You probably have a clay soil instead of sand. Clay does not drain well at all. Your chickens will probably dig holes dust bathing that will become mud puddles when it rains. If your run is of any size you probably can’t keep it dry, just do the best you reasonably can.

I sincerely doubt that hen needed a bath. If the hen was uncomfortable when the mud dried she’d just shake to get rid of the excess. The rest would make her feel like she had a good dust bath.

I don’t know how old your chickens are. If they are adolescents, the rooster can be high on hormones and the young pullets may not know what is going on so they don’t do their part. It takes a bit of maturity for the males and females to get their technique down right and get the hormones under control. It’s possible that male is a brute and needs to go, but I really don’t know your experience with chickens and if you truly understand what the mating ritual entails. What some people think is “That rooster is raping my hens!” is really just normal flock behavior. I sure can’t tell what is going on from here.

The only reason you need a rooster is for fertile eggs. Anything else if just personal preference. Obviously you are not comfortable with him in with your hens. You can do as you wish. You can keep him locked up in his own cage and admire his beauty. You can let him roam outside and see if he makes it. He might or he might not. If he were mine I’d eat him myself if I didn’t want to keep him but I raise them for meat to start with. We all have different goals. Or you can give him away or try to sell him, but then his fate is out of your hands.

No one can make the decision for you. Hopefully this will help you make a decision that is right for you.

 

[Didymus]

I wonder what will keep him from coming back? Chickens are sociable creatures and don't really like to live alone. Me, I'm a softie and would always wonder where he is, and if he is alive (presuming that you don't see him). I think I would prefer to adopt him out. I feel sorry for the little weak chicken he so unmercifully attacks at any time. Just my opinion.