New chicken

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joetta4ever

joetta4ever

Hatching
Jan 7, 2016
9
0
9
Indiana
A rooster wondered into our yard 2 weeks ago .....we live in the cold but he`ll come inside.. Docile with us and our cats....very tame...but he can't live inside.....most important .....can he be happy without a hen....I love him....he's cool as **** and want him to stay but don't want a bunch of chickens but might deal with free eggs if necessary....SUGGESTIONS...FYI I have the yard for more chickens
 
:welcome!

He'll be happiest with some hens - I'd recommend at least five, more if possible, since roosters are hard on hens if they don't have enough. As an alternative, you could get one more rooster. With no hens to fight over you'd be fine to keep just them and they should get along fairly peacefully. Then hens would make him happier, though.

You'll also need to build a coop to keep them all safe from predators and the elements, especially since it sounds like you have some cold weather.
 
I was thinking 1 chicken lol....not a good idea????....I have a decent yard but I'm not a farmer ......liking him as more of a pet .....thinking 6 chickens are too much maybe.....and do you think they wander more wander less in a group....FREDDY stays close to home generally???
 
joetta4ever said:
I was thinking 1 chicken lol....not a good idea????....I have a decent yard but I'm not a farmer ......liking him as more of a pet .....thinking 6 chickens are too much maybe.....and do you think they wander more wander less in a group....FREDDY stays close to home generally???
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One hen probably isn't a good idea. Honestly six chickens aren't that much more work than two. You're already going to have to build a coop, so you'd just have to build it a little bigger. Otherwise most chores will be the same. You'll have to clean the coop, give them feed, and give them water either way.

As for the wandering, once you have them coop trained they'll come home every night to the coop. Mine don't go far as long as they're well fed. If they run out of feed they'll go a little farther in search of things to eat, but as long as you keep their feeder full they probably won't go too far. And if you build them a run, you can keep them in when you won't be around to watch them, which is always a good idea anyway so that you don't lose them to predators.
 

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