Rouge rooster

[traberlee]

We have a rooster that just sort of showed up around our coop. No one has claimed him and technically we are not supposed to have a rooster where we are. A raccoon family attacked our little flock last week. They got 3 of them. We are a little worried about Rocco - he’s been sort of guarding our remaining hens but he doesn’t always go in the run or the coop. We want to provide him somewhere to sleep. So far we just know he’s not around at night. He may be sleeping in the bamboo next to our coop but we haven’t been able to confirm. Just curious if anyone has suggestions on how to care for him at night or if we should just let him alone.

 

[Red Mangrove]

Welcome. I would just leave him alone and let him sleep outside. My chickens all sleep in trees and the once a month or so when they're attacked they just fly away to another tree. Outside sleeping should be completely fine except in particularly cold climates

I would still recommend dealing with the racoons though. A family of them can easily infiltrate a coop and kill everything. Chickens can't escape when inside of a coop

 

[traberlee]

Welcome. I would just leave him alone and let him sleep outside. My chickens all sleep in trees and the once a month or so when they're attacked they just fly away to another tree. Outside sleeping should be completely fine except in particularly cold climates

I would still recommend dealing with the racoons though. A family of them can easily infiltrate a coop and kill everything. Chickens can't escape when inside of a coop

Thanks! My husband is so concerned about him! I have no idea where he came from but now he’s loved. We are trying to find someone to trap the raccoons locally and release them. But we may just handle it ourselves. They are ruthless.

 

[aart]

We are trying to find someone to trap the raccoons locally and release them.

If you're going to trap them they should be buried 3' under, not released.

 

[CoopBoots]

Thanks! My husband is so concerned about him! I have no idea where he came from but now he’s loved. We are trying to find someone to trap the raccoons locally and release them. But we may just handle it ourselves. They are ruthless.

Always worth considering that catch and relocating can just mean someone else loses their chickens and STILL has to end the animal after much further bloodshed. It is sometimes illegal as well, probably for this same reason.

Best of luck dealing with this, it's not a fun position to be in. If your coop can be proofed against the raccoons, I'd probably take the rooster in after a quarantine period to ensure he isn't carrying anything that needs healthcare first. Easier to treat him first than to treat the entire flock later on.

 

[traberlee]

Always worth considering that catch and relocating can just mean someone else loses their chickens and STILL has to end the animal after much further bloodshed. It is sometimes illegal as well, probably for this same reason.

Best of luck dealing with this, it's not a fun position to be in. If your coop can be proofed against the raccoons, I'd probably take the rooster in after a quarantine period to ensure he isn't carrying anything that needs healthcare first. Easier to treat him first than to treat the entire flock later on.

Thanks! Our coop can be proofed. They got them outside the coop. It was our fault.

I honestly don’t know what the best thing to do with the raccoons. I wanted to be humane. You are right though about them becoming someone else’s problem - which is not what I want to happen either. I’ve been told that they don’t actually release them anyway. My husband has a plan to take care of them ourselves.

 

[McChooky]

The #1 way to protect your flock is a secure coop and covered run at night. Attaching a fenced yard with a couple strands of electric fence and adding a dog or two and a rooster (for alerts) will deter most predators during the day (even coons)I've never lost any chickens and never had to kill any predators.They hate electric fences and dogs.(I'm retired and home all day so this helps a lot)