New chicken owner with a rooster

[Mrs. K]

A lot does depend on the age of your daughter, roosters can be very dangerous around small children, and often seem to the unexperienced to go from the darling to the nightmare in a moment. If you daughter is less than 4, I would strongly recommend rehoming or culling the rooster.

As for pulling him out now, does not mean that you have to pull him out forever. Winter time tends to cool the ardor, all though not so much with very young roosters. Pulling him for a couple of months can make a big difference. It will allow your pullets to grow up, and get a little interest too. At 5 months, the pullets are probably not quite ready for loving, where as the rooster has been ready for a bit, which can lead to some aggression on his part. Letting the girls catch up, will really help with the whole flock. You can let him in next spring, and see if things are better.

Another question, is what does your run look like? Is there some hideouts, some multiple levels, where birds can get away and take a break from each other? A pallet leaned up against a wall, another set up on saw horses, allows birds to get on top or underneath may make the run look more crowded, but actually increases space. It allows lower birds to get out of sight of more dominant birds. Too many runs are just an open space.

Mrs K

 

[Isaac 0]

I would re home the rooster as killing at the age of 4 months would be cruel and a short life for him with that space you have they will always be by him and wont be-able to get away from him my hens have enough space to dodge run away from my rooster i think re homing would be the best solution

 

[Kdunn222]

Roosters are a mess but protect the flock..it's a hormonal teenager. If over a little time it gets worse than I would rehome. But if your daughter can handle him that's good.

 

[PingoBags]

4 by 4 ft for 1 hen is the rule even though i think that is still small

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think its 4 square feet, not 4 foot square.
4 by 4 ft is 16 square feet.
His coop is 8x8 so 64 square feet.
Not counting his roo, his hens have just under 4 square feet per bird.

 

[chickens really]

Hello,
To answer your original post....Yes, if you want to keep your Rooster in his own pen beside the hens, he will be fine...
You wont get chicks if you collect the eggs daily, if you choose to keep him with the hens?
He wont be lonely, but will pace the fence to get back with the hens...
Totally your call...Only you can decide what will work in your certain situation....

Good luck

 

[melehe24]

A lot does depend on the age of your daughter, roosters can be very dangerous around small children, and often seem to the unexperienced to go from the darling to the nightmare in a moment. If you daughter is less than 4, I would strongly recommend rehoming or culling the rooster.

As for pulling him out now, does not mean that you have to pull him out forever. Winter time tends to cool the ardor, all though not so much with very young roosters. Pulling him for a couple of months can make a big difference. It will allow your pullets to grow up, and get a little interest too. At 5 months, the pullets are probably not quite ready for loving, where as the rooster has been ready for a bit, which can lead to some aggression on his part. Letting the girls catch up, will really help with the whole flock. You can let him in next spring, and see if things are better.

Another question, is what does your run look like? Is there some hideouts, some multiple levels, where birds can get away and take a break from each other? A pallet leaned up against a wall, another set up on saw horses, allows birds to get on top or underneath may make the run look more crowded, but actually increases space. It allows lower birds to get out of sight of more dominant birds. Too many runs are just an open space.

Mrs K

My daughter is 12; she would be upset if we have to rehome, but luckily she is also mature enough to understand that whatever route we take it will be in the best interest of the rooster. I like the idea of pulling him for a few months and seeing how he does once returning to the flock.

Our current setup for the run does allow for a few hideouts; there is one in particular that they love...we have a walkway for them that leads into the coop and they love getting under this. There is also a little tunnel from the run to the coop and I've seen them go in there for a bit. I like the pallet idea and adding another level. Luckily, my husband is very handy and could make this happen.

Thank you for your insight

 

[melehe24]

I would re home the rooster as killing at the age of 4 months would be cruel and a short life for him with that space you have they will always be by him and wont be-able to get away from him my hens have enough space to dodge run away from my rooster i think re homing would be the best solution

I will definitely not have him killed. We have had him since he was two days old and couldn't bear to think of him being killed.

 

[Isaac 0]

Your right my bad but personally i think that space still isn't enough

 

[10AcreChick]

My two cents:

If you are separating him during the winter time, he's going to be a little colder than the girls, as he does not have other chickens to roost with. Just something to think about.

As far as loneliness and them being social animals. I separated my RIR rooster from his ladies when the number of hens had decreased and he was running them ragged...missing feathers...less laying. This rooster had been living with bumblefoot for about a year (I know, my bad, but this was before I was comfortable doing surgery on a chicken and I didn't know enough to deal with it). He was not struggling with the disease, as he seemed very happy and not stressed, and he was a good rooster, to hens and humans. About two weeks after I pulled him to another coop/run, he dropped dead. There was NO way a predator got in. He was just dead on the ground. I wondered...did he die from loneliness? Maybe having the hens was the only thing that kept the bumblefoot from really getting aggressive? And once he lost his hens...who knows. Something else to think about.

 

[melehe24]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think its 4 square feet, not 4 foot square.
4 by 4 ft is 16 square feet.
His coop is 8x8 so 64 square feet.
Not counting his roo, his hens have just under 4 square feet per bird.

That is what I was trying to figure out also. I thought we had our square footage pretty close, but we did take in 3 chickens recently that needed a home immediately, so we will proabably be expanding.