Raising a rooster as a housepet, advice?

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Dod0o said:
For some backstory, I am raising two young chickens, a cockerel and a pullet. I hatched them myself from fertile eggs I retrieved from a local chicken farm and they are now currently 5 weeks old. I've always had the intention of keeping these chickens as indoor housepets. I never wanted to keep a guy however, and always had the plan of re-homing any cockerels that hatched. However, the young lad has just such a vibrant personality and I've completely fallen in love with him so I really, really do not want to give him away.

The problem with keeping a cockerel is that my municipality does not allow for roosters. I live in an area where it'd be very annoying for the neighbours to hear a rooster cock-a-doodling away every morning so it'd get reported immediately. Second, I have a young girl I'm keeping with him as well. I did some research and the main problem with caring for them together is that once puberty hits, I'm very concerned that she will become victim to my horny cockerel and be over-bred as the only relief for his sexual desires. I've heard of many cases where keeping too little hens with a rooster results in the hens becoming injured, and I don't want her to get hurt.

My first plan of action was to caponize the young boy as I heard it keeps them from growing into a full-fledge rooster and stops aggression and reduces their crowing, but a few dozen calls around to nearby clinics found that they don't know and have never neutered a chicken. The only place I found could attempt it, but they said it was a high-risk procedure and the cost for the procedure is way too high for me to afford either way. I've seen Youtube videos of farmers doing it themselves, but I don't think I could ever lay a hand on my chicken and I've never attempted surgery on an animal anyways. The chance of me killing him is too high.

My second plan was to keep him anyway and just have a chicken saddle for my hen on standby, as well as a no-crow collar. This is definitely the cheaper route, but I'm not sure how effective a saddle will be in keeping my rooster from mounting her and how safe the collar is. This will most likely be the plan I carry out, but I'm not too sure.

My final resort was to ultimately re-home my cockerel, but this is the last thing I want to do.

I need advice on what to do or if I'm missing anything major, perhaps if there's an item that will stop the rooster from mounting my hen entirely (diaper?)? Or if I can do anything to reduce these rooster behaviors without hurting him? I'm wondering if it's too dangerous just to keep one girl and one boy together as well. I'm a first-time chicken owner so I appreciate any and all words of wisdom. Thanks for reading :)

Here are pictures of him. Maybe I've interpreted his gender incorrectly and he's actually a hen and there's nothing to worry about?? My hen is to the right of the second picture for comparison purposes.
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Welcome to BYC! It looks like your chickens are bantams, which might make it easier to keep them indoors. And people DO keep chickens indoors, including roosters, don’t let everyone rain on your parade. Your idea might work out, tho you cannot stop any animal from becoming an adult. I think time will tell, and you will learn what you need to learn when each step arrives. Please keep us updated…..
 
RadEggs said:
As for all of you discouraging this person from keeping the rooster, and saying chickens aren't indoor pets, you are contributing to roosters being killed or dumped.
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It breaks my heart knowing how unfair life can be for roosters, and I can’t say it would not cross my mind to confine a rooster at least sometimes in my house had i become attached to one. But the fact of the matter is that sometimes even those attempts don’t work, particularly if you’re trying to provide him with outdoor time, (which I think is important). You could be forced to give him up due to laws and regulations despite your best intentions and efforts. I think no one is intentionally trying to promote the killing and dumping of roosters, certainly not me. I intend to one day have a safe place for unwanted roosters, in fact, as we are purchasing rural property within a year or so. But what I am getting at is that in this circumstance, it’s best to at least be prepared, and again as Mrs. K said, have a plan for separating him from his lady and a place to send him to if the current situation becomes unmanageable or he is forced to be removed.

Also @SueT is correct - where are all our manners? I apologize @Dod0o :welcome This site has so much useful information, you really will find chicken advice for about any conundrum, including this. Perhaps someone who has a house rooster can assist you better than we, who have no house roosters can. I think we all just get caught up in our emotions and emotional attachments to our birds, I know that’s the case with me. My motto is always, as long as the chickens are happy, healthy and cared for well, that’s all that matters.
 
alinas2010 said:
It breaks my heart knowing how unfair life can be for roosters, and I can’t say it would not cross my mind to confine a rooster at least sometimes in my house had i become attached to one. But the fact of the matter is that sometimes even those attempts don’t work, particularly if you’re trying to provide him with outdoor time, (which I think is important). You could be forced to give him up due to laws and regulations despite your best intentions and efforts. I think no one is intentionally trying to promote the killing and dumping of roosters, certainly not me. I intend to one day have a safe place for unwanted roosters, in fact, as we are purchasing rural property within a year or so. But what I am getting at is that in this circumstance, it’s best to at least be prepared, and again as Mrs. K said, have a plan for separating him from his lady and a place to send him to if the current situation becomes unmanageable or he is forced to be removed.

Also @SueT is correct - where are all our manners? I apologize @Dod0o :welcome This site has so much useful information, you really will find chicken advice for about any conundrum, including this. Perhaps someone who has a house rooster can assist you better than we, who have no house roosters can. I think we all just get caught up in our emotions and emotional attachments to our birds, I know that’s the case with me. My motto is always, as long as the chickens are happy, healthy and cared for well, that’s all that matters.
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Sorry for my agression there.
 

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