Rooster Chat

[azygous]

So...as a first time rooster owner (4 month old Cream Legbar) I have been watching his behavior--he has been fine so far...

He mounted two of my free ranging hens right in front of me. Is that something I should let go? Ignore? Stop? I'm hands off with the beautiful little guy...the hens don't seem to mind him and he keeps watch over them while free ranging.

I really want to keep him and want to do the right things that remind him I'm the one in charge if needed...

So far he keeps out of my way in the pen, but seems more reluctant do do so, moves more slowly than he used to.

I often take my laptop out to the yard while they are out, getting some work done while watching them. Lots of predators here. I do notice that when Henry is out with the girls, they stay closer. Once in a while he loses them and I call them in closer. I prefer to have them in sight.

If it's not broke, don't fix it! The hands off/ignore approach is one I recommend. I have a Cream Legbar roo and he behaved much as yours from the time he started coming into his hormones. He would mate a hen right next to me and it would be over without my hardly being aware anything took place, he was that smooth. Ignoring him has permitted him to ease into his role as flock protector without any conflicts. He has always deftly removed himself from my path and has never tried to challenge me. Early on, I knew he was a keeper.

Keep on doing what you have been doing. I believe it will assure you have a gentleman roo.

 

[Birdydeb]

Question: My RIR rooster is a gorgeous big boy and has not given me any trouble. He is around 5 months old. He did react one time last week when I went to pet one of the hens, he ran up to see what I was doing but didn't in any way get physical....just ran up very quickly. I shoved him away and he walked off. However last week he did fly at my hubby while hubby was trying to refill waters. Hubby fended him off. I personally watched him launch himself at the fence where my grown daughter was standing...if not for the fence she would have been scratched. It was his first time seeing her. No problems after that. Now he has never attacked me but knowing he has the potential has made me nervous. He is a big boy! I carry a broom into the run with me these days and he keeps his distance. I did not handle him except when he was a chick, once he got outside I was hands off. At the age of 3 months or so he was rounding up the chickens to go roost at night and would patrol until everyone was in. He does try to mount pulleys but won't fight with them. I was giving him dandelion leaves through the fence yesterday and he took them ever so gently. I have really wanted to keep this boy.

Sorry this is long....but here is the thing. I have two more roosters. The New Hampshire I posted about earlier in this thread(I think) had a huge attitude adjustment from being a total *** after being locked in the hen house for a day. No problems with him since but I have given him away already and just waiting for my neighbor to get him. The other rooster is a BR, he has never been any problem at all...to me or the pullets. I think he is a bit rough a lot of the time when he tries to mount them but I think that is because he knows Big Red will come running to see what is going on. Part of my brain says he is probably the rooster to keep....just wondering if he will step up with the other two gone. I have 9 pullets, 11 when the 2 rescues get integrated. The BR sleeps beside Big Red, they have been together since I brought them home. He always submits to Big Red....he started that while they were still in the brooder.

So the question is: does anyone think my RIR will turn out to be mean? Or was he just looking out for his girls? My head tells me to tell my neighbor to come get the New Hampshire...soon, as in yesterday....and to let the RIR go too. And to just keep my trouble free BR....will he step up to the plate? He is getting rather handsome too but my heart has always been with my Big Red. Ugh!

 

[Amelia Egghart]

Birdydeb,

I'm wondering if you get rid of Big Red if the BR will have a personality shift. Since he'll be in charge all of a sudden, you might see that *** behavior emerge again. I'm not terribly experienced though, but that did happen to me.

To the more experienced roo owners, would this be a concern? And if so, could it be stimulated by removing Big Red temporarily to see how the BR handles it?

 

[Birdydeb]

The neighbor intends to eat the New Hampshire and I don't care. I do know of someone looking for a RIR to be her flock rooster because hers just simply keeled over and died the other week. Heart attack or heat I guess. I had thought about contacting her and seeing if she still wanted a RIR. But I have wondered if Speck, the BR would have a personality change if he was suddenly the only rooster. I need another pen! Dang it! Can't get them built fast enough! Because I had considered if I removed Big Red I might be able to see what Speck will do. Hmmm....

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If you are afraid of a rooster they will know it by your body language and are more likely to try stuff. He does sound like he has potential, but may not be the best choice for you.

I will often remove and rotate roosters before deciding who is best, not getting rid of anyone until I can make my final decisions.

Does your friend feed their birds layer? I have found that roosters often die by age 4 when fed layer.

 

[Birdydeb]

If you are afraid of a rooster they will know it by your body language and are more likely to try stuff. He does sound like he has potential, but may not be the best choice for you.

I will often remove and rotate roosters before deciding who is best, not getting rid of anyone until I can make my final decisions.

Does your friend feed their birds layer? I have found that roosters often die by age 4 when fed layer.

That occurred to me too....that no matter how hard I tried he could pick up on my nervousness. I am not sure what my friend who lost her roo feeds, but yeah I have a feeling she feeds layer. The roo was only a little over a year old, was fine leading up to that day and fine that morning. She said he was walking across the yard and just keeled over. When they got to him he was dead.

Sometimes just writing the problem down can clear the cobwebs. I am working on a way to separate Big Red and see how Speck does by himself. I know I can throw up a temporary run inside the pen....it is trying to figure out how to make a temporary coop. I do have a 4 ft. dog crate that already has some wire on the sides because I used it for my ducks for awhile. I guess I could take that and make it secure for night time. I like the idea of being able to rotate the two for a bit. And I can work on my nervousness around Big Red.

 

[Birdydeb]

This is a temporary pen loaned to me by another friend for me to use for my ducks during the day. I had intended to take it down and take it back to her this weekend but I am sure she would be willing to let me keep it awhile longer. It is only covered with chicken wire. I have two places I could set it up...inside the lot with the main chicken coop or inside the lot with the duck house. If I can rig something secure with the dog crate I mentioned....should the rooster be separated away from the chickens or close to them?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

welded wire with 2x4 spacing and a few fence posts can make a cheap temporary pen, cover with bird netting or chicken wire. It's not predator proof but can work for an outside pen in an area considered mostly safe.

I find like half my birds just die one day. I believe heart attacks happen fairly regularly in chickens, and are probably the cause of at least half the deaths.

 

[Birdydeb]

Mostly safe would be my backyard during the day. It is chain link fencing and my dogs roam all day and they don't bother chickens or ducks. Not so safe is at night because the dogs are in. My chicken house and duck house are Fort Knox. My neighbors call them fortresses. LOL So if I can figure out a predator proof temporary coop...I can separate them. I think that big dog crate is my best bet. I guess I could wrap it in smaller wire...I have some left over HC, and then I could wrap some tarp on one half. It is 4 ft.long and I even still have the roost that was in it when I used it for my pullets during their brief stay in my garage. LOL So I guess I do have a starting point to getting these roosters separated.

 

[cabinchicky]

Mostly safe would be my backyard during the day. It is chain link fencing and my dogs roam all day and they don't bother chickens or ducks. Not so safe is at night because the dogs are in. My chicken house and duck house are Fort Knox. My neighbors call them fortresses. LOL So if I can figure out a predator proof temporary coop...I can separate them. I think that big dog crate is my best bet. I guess I could wrap it in smaller wire...I have some left over HC, and then I could wrap some tarp on one half. It is 4 ft.long and I even still have the roost that was in it when I used it for my pullets during their brief stay in my garage. LOL So I guess I do have a starting point to getting these roosters separated.

Good luck separating them. I will be trying to add a new male to my flock to replace Stumpy for my LF Cochin breeding. Stumpy can not breed and he is starting to put on his body mass. His dislocated knee is causing him more mobility issues and I hate to think of putting him down, but his gait is causing him more pain and it hurts me to see him live this way. Going to hard for me to do but I feel it's the best considering how he is doing. He still walks but he doesn't go far, leans to the side and sits most of the time. He is a good rooster and that is what really upsets me the most.