Recently (today) I recieved a roo...not thinking about the trip home I was concerned about his "mental status" and when I got home I turned him loost. Immeadiately he bolted for the woods. I followed to see if I could redirect his attention way from the woods and back towards the coop and my girls. NO SUCH LUCK. The question is... Is he smart enough to hear the "girls" and come "home" PS: He is close I can hear him crow..
Chickens are flock animals. If he can hear your girls he's liable to show up when he gets lonely enough. When he does I'd lock him up for at least a week. Good luck to you!
That's a tough one. Since your girls aren't really his girls yet, he might not come back to them. Can you borrow a hen or two from the place you got the rooster? He's probably crowing to see if one of them calls back so he knows where to go. Maybe if he hears a familiar voice you would have a better chance. Good luck!
That`s not his home or his girls, in his mind. If a predator doesn`t get him, or he`s not out of hearing, he may get lonesome and come back. Chances are he will keep going. They need to spend a couple nights at your place before you turn them loose.
As noted above, they need to be confined for some days until they imprint on and trust their new home. Whether a dog, cat, chicken or whatever, can't just turn them loose in a strange place - they will leave to try to find something familiar, usually in a panic. This is a long shot but you might play some sounds of hens and even roos - in the hopes that he gravitates back. You can get cell phones to make these sounds but unfortunately it probably won't be loud enough. JJ
Crossing fingers he comes back if you have the only chickens in the vicinity maybe he will... I put my new birds on a tether for the first week. Good luck Also a simple trap for a chicken is to dig a deep hole just big enough for his body to fit. He won't be able to open his wings or get any leverage to jump. cover hole with flimsy straw and set a bowl of cooked oatmeal beside the hole. You can can also line the hole with a pillow case so removing him will be easy.
We have bird trap we used to catch many chickens for nuisance jobs over the years. Ill call my old man in the am. ( hes at my house in FL vacationing right now) Basically its a square framed hinged in the middle so it folds in half with a pad for a catch and a spot tp also hook a lead to pull if need be. on this frame is very soft neutral colored netting. Its REALLY SOFT stuff. Anyway we had a job and caught 1/2 a dozen birds by hand but the crazy rooster went postal and we couldnt get him he was a beautiful bird I forget the name some south american sounding name with metallic copper , gold green and black on him.... so anyway we waited 24 hrs and came back with the bird trap and some yummy treats in a white paper bowl on the catch. we set the trap and covered it with leaves he watched us and with in 10 min made a beeline to the bowl 1 peck and he was caught. Its kind of like the 24x24 at the bottom of this places page http://www.critterridders.com/pigeon_trap.htm
