Hallelujah to that!
Thank you for sharing your positive rooster story.
Your new rooster is wonderful, share a photo of your roo and his ladies?
Having a rooster in the flock is wonderful to watch how the flock interact, the rooster is the leader caring and protecting his flock.
Keep in mind that he will get protective of his flock and if he thinks that his flock is in danger from human/animals alike he will charge out to protect his flock. It is natural so be mindful of that. I guess you know about this already.
I once had a rooster, and now without a rooster my flock is a mess. Still trying to workout some peace.
My rooster was sweet, cared for his ladies. He talked to us a lots, a real sweeties to us, but once in a while he attacked us, it rares but it did happen. We raised him from a chick & I often carried him about in the garden, he sat on my laps.
I miss my rooster every day.
All the best with your rooster leader of the flock!
Well a lot has happened since I posted about this! Nothing has changed with my roo Roger, except that I was shmoozed into taking in another roo who he does not like. He only tolerates him most of the time.
Since my original post, I took in a silkie/olive egger mixed roo named Boots. I also got him some more ladies so I'm up to 21 hens now. Overall, Boots and Roger have gotten along okay. I did a slow introduction but it still led to a fight. Thankfully, Boots took the loss and didn't get hurt much. Flash forward a few months, and Boots is starting to challenge Roger for mating rights. Boots is about 5-6 months younger than Roger, but he will be a year old in February/March so I'm reallllly hoping he settles down by then.
The ladies have clearly chosen which boy they want, and I have two coops now for both boys to stay separately with their flocks. I also added a partial fence (as in, no gate so there's always a gap) down the run so Roger doesn't always have the ability to knock Boots of his girls when he's mating. But it hasn't solved the problem... Boots has gotten more bold and now quickly sneak attacks Roger's girls to mate when he thinks Roger isn't looking.
So far neither of my boys appear threatened by human presence. My kids and I are out there pretty regularly, and I still encourage visits from family members who are interested. I have been able to handle my roos at night when I had to treat them for tapeworm, but otherwise I am continuing to leave them be during the day and it's working well.
My only conundrum now is to figure out if the mating games are stressing out my girls. Everyone has stopped laying except two. Molting and daylight has contributed, no doubt, but I'm a little worried that since Boost has gotten more bold, it might be causing undue stress.
I have also been told that if I add a gate and separate them entirely, the roos might never integrate peacefully again.
So far, nobody is being injured.
Anyone have any advice on how to move forward? Should I just keep an eye on my girls and give it time?
I have been present twice where I needed to step in front of Boots and Roger when they were frantically chasing a hen, and they accept it. But I can't always be out there to do that.
**pics included. Funnily enough, Roger is the bigger roo and picks on Boots, but when two coyotes showed up one morning, Boots was the one facing them down through the fence and squawking up a storm! He's a good boy. No chickens were lost that day, I ran out there and chased the coyotes off.
