Rooster showed up with wild turkey hen flock, now what do I do?

[MaGlockner]

That's exactly what I mean. Once someone else has him you cannot control if they keep him or eat him. That become their decision. You can try to put preconditions on it but that just makes it harder tp find him a home. Not all people are honest.

the folks at the feed store have regular customers that they trust. I've also contacted two sanctuaries

 

[MaGlockner]

Do you have what I call clutter in the run? A picture would really help us help you.

But many people have a wide open rectangle, whereas a every chicken can see every other chicken 100% of the time. If you add a lot of stuff, ladders, roosts, platforms where a bird can get on top or underneath. If you set up mini walls, where a bird can step behind. If you set up feed dishes in these corners, where a bird eating at one dish, cannot see a bird eating at another dish, it makes use of the third dimension of space, the vertical, it makes it much more interesting to your birds. And it helps birds get along.

What I would do, is re-arrange the clutter if you have it, or add quite a bit if you don't. Then I would let the girls out of the set up, and lock the rooster into the set up and feed along fence. Then, let the girls in, very close to dark, where the urge to roost is about as strong as the urge to fight. If you can set up a roost, away from where the girls roost in the coop, and lower that will be helpful, I have an old saw horse set up in mine.

This is my go to for integration, it lets the new bird get comfortable in the set up, without being chased and harassed. It seems to let the older birds see the new one in the set up and the sky does not fall.

What I think will happen, is he will roost lower for about 2 weeks, and then they will all fall in love with him.

Mrs K

oh, I missed the part where you want him to move on.

thank you for your thoughtful response. Of course my son and I have fallen in love with him, but we're not supposed to have roosters where I live
I love the idea of using the vertical space in a more interesting way for the flock.

 

[ColtHandorf]

i put the ladies in the coop a tad early, then i coaxed little man into the run. I then put the wire dog crate in the run with a tree branch strategically placed if he wants to roost during the day. He's now cuddled up in the NE corner of the run on the large tree branch... there is a wind break (clear heavy plastic shower curtains) so he's safe from the wind, but it's supposed to get down to 22 tonight. I thought about trying to figure out a way to let him into the coop and boarding off half of it, but I can't do that tonight and a crate is too big for my 6x4 coop.

If it gets that cold tonight, I'd tuck him on the roost with the girls after dark and then put him back in his look but no touch cage in the morning.

 

[MaGlockner]

He may still be a little immature but the hens should accept him once he has been around a while. I think GLW's mature a little slower than some other breeds.
You have some pretty rough winters in Massachusetts so he needs shelter if you plan to keep him until the hens accept him. He is a beauty and a GLW can be one of the best roosters you will ever have.

we love him already. i really would like to keep him, despite our rules to the contrary. just not sure I will be able to, even if he's integrated. good to know he's about 5 months old. that would account for his submissive behavior with the girls. he's very sweet.

 

[MaGlockner]

Odysseus

 

[sixlittlechickens]

We had the same issue with separating roosters - three roosters and one tiny but vicious silkie hen. The roos had a cozy crate in the garage for the night with food, water, roosting pole, and a quilt over the top for warmth. They hung outside the run during the day. We kept this up until we found homes for them - it also meant that if they crowed early, no one could hear them.

Good luck!

 

[ColtHandorf]

Odysseus

Awe, he's just a little man. Probably about 5-6 months old and unsure of himself.

 

[MaGlockner]

We had the same issue with separating roosters - three roosters and one tiny but vicious silkie hen. The roos had a cozy crate in the garage for the night with food, water, roosting pole, and a quilt over the top for warmth. They hung outside the run during the day. We kept this up until we found homes for them - it also meant that if they crowed early, no one could hear them.

Good luck!

thank you!

 

[MaGlockner]

Awe, he's just a little man. Probably about 5-6 months old and unsure of himself.

but smart enough to follow the wild turkeys to try to stay safe

 

[Brooks_]

I have no advise for the rooster or wild turkeys, but "Rooster showed up with wild turkey.." is what showed on the main page and that really got my attention.