ChickenMcNuggets
Hatching
- Sep 13, 2017
- 4
- 2
- 2
I am looking for a little advice on what to do with a rooster that has wondered into our yard from our neighbor's flock. The neighbors are very new to the scene and ended up with 3 roosters in their first flock (3 months old). They're still learning how to take care of their chickens, so 3 roosters may be a little extreme for them - but that is a conversation for another day. I am still fairly new to raising chickens myself. At any rate, one of the roosters has found his way to our coop and has hung out beside it for little over a week now. He's hopped on top of the coop and layed/roosted for the past few nights. We've notified the neighbors, but they do not seem too interested in anything other than hoping the rooster will get hit by a car 
. They told me they do not plan on keeping him and to do whatever we want with him.
After letting the hens free range late this evening, the rooster entered the coop and made himself at home on one of the perches in between two of our hens. We have 4 hens that are 3 years old. I am too much of an animal lover to 'get rid' of the rooster, so I am looking for advice on how to (possibly) keep him. I do not want him to injure or be too rough on the hens, as they've lived a fairly spoiled/quiet life thus far (and are much older than the rooster). They already seem to be a little scared of him at the moment, so I want to be sure introducing a rooster to them is a good idea. I have no current intentions of hatching eggs, so I am hoping to keep him primarily as a leader and protector. He's mounted a few times already, but the hens move along like nothing happened after.
What do you suggest I do at this point? I may leave him in the coop tomorrow to see how things go, but I am concerned about the well-being of the hens. He's been a free-ranger since he was a chick, so I am not sure how he will react to being in an enclosed coop all day.
Apologies for the long first post...
. They told me they do not plan on keeping him and to do whatever we want with him. After letting the hens free range late this evening, the rooster entered the coop and made himself at home on one of the perches in between two of our hens. We have 4 hens that are 3 years old. I am too much of an animal lover to 'get rid' of the rooster, so I am looking for advice on how to (possibly) keep him. I do not want him to injure or be too rough on the hens, as they've lived a fairly spoiled/quiet life thus far (and are much older than the rooster). They already seem to be a little scared of him at the moment, so I want to be sure introducing a rooster to them is a good idea. I have no current intentions of hatching eggs, so I am hoping to keep him primarily as a leader and protector. He's mounted a few times already, but the hens move along like nothing happened after.
What do you suggest I do at this point? I may leave him in the coop tomorrow to see how things go, but I am concerned about the well-being of the hens. He's been a free-ranger since he was a chick, so I am not sure how he will react to being in an enclosed coop all day.
Apologies for the long first post...
