Separating rooster from hens while vacationing

[Ashleigh578]

Hello! I have 13 hens and one rooster. My rooster can be a bit ornery with me, but for the most part he accepts me as leader of the flock and leaves me alone. When I go out of town and have a house sitter, it’s a different story. He makes people nervous because of his size and protective attitude. He’ll run up on you and do his little rooster dance. This can be a little scary for people who aren’t familiar with chickens. A solution I’ve thought of recently is to separate him and keep him in a smaller coop by himself when I go on vacation. Would having him separated from his girls caused him a lot of stress and anxiety? I can’t decide if the small coop should be placed right next to the main coop so he can still be near them, or at the other side of the yard so that he can’t see them. Would it be okay to put him in there with maybe two hens? I’m just trying to brainstorm before my next vacation later this year.

If anyone’s interested, I have attached a photo of the brat. He’s a lavender Orpington and is HUGE! Hence the fear he instills on others.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Why keep such an aggressive rooster. You are courting a law suit from someone who gets attacked.

Even separated, he will still be aggressive, and somebody has to check his food and water. You'd have to have that set up such that the person could do so without entering the run.

But again, why keep such a beast. You can incur substantial medical claims from someone spurred by a rooster.

If he were my rooster, he'd long been in freezer camp. I would not breed that temperament forward. I've got lovely sweet roosters who I'm happy to breed forward having culled their nasty siblings.

LofMc

 

[Ashleigh578]

Why keep such an aggressive rooster. You are courting a law suit from someone who gets attacked.

Even separated, he will still be aggressive, and somebody has to check his food and water. You'd have to have that set up such that the person could do so without entering the run.

But again, why keep such a beast. You can incur substantial medical claims from someone spurred by a rooster.

If he were my rooster, he'd long been in freezer camp. I would not breed that temperament forward. I've got lovely sweet roosters who I'm happy to breed forward having culled their nasty siblings.

LofMc

Well thank you for the unhelpful reply.

I have no plans of killing him, nor do I plan on breeding him. 99% of the time he is perfectly wonderful, and I like the protection he adds to my flock. Perhaps my initial wording was a bit dramatic (and I’ve since reworded), but he has never actually hurt a housesitter before. He just gets protective of his ladies, and I don’t find anything wrong with that.

Now if someone has any constructive advice, I would appreciate it! Back to the original question, would having him separate but right next to all his girls cause him stress?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I'm sorry I offended you. And I did give you some helpful advice.

Part 2 of my post was...If you wish to have him taken care of by your teenage sitter, then have him separated and the food/water dispensers placed so that the sitter can feed and water him without entering the run in the separate coop. Problem solved. Yes you can keep several hens with him to keep company. And as you first stated, he attacks strangers... you edited to say that he simply runs up on strangers (which is still aggression). You don't want someone entering his run if there is risk of attack, which running up with dominance is a first sign.

Again, sorry I offended you...but that's simple chicken truth. As a former paralegal, I would be remiss not to warn you of your possible legalities. A common scenario is for a sitter to get injured by an attacking rooster and for the chicken owner to get sued.

LofMc

 

[Lady of McCamley]

...and no he won't be overly stressed if he can see his original hens.

I've got 2 flocks separated by a netted fence where the roosters can see both sides. Hens have flown over and switched (hopefully fixed now), but as long as the roosters have a flock, they don't care.

LofMc

 

[RiverOtter]

He'll be fine separated, and you'll be less stressed if you don't have to worry about it.

 

[kaydeetee86]

What a GORGEOUS boy!

I used a separate coop when we went out of town, and it worked perfectly. (Edit to add: this is his bachelor pad.)

I would have the coops side by side, so he can still “protect” his ladies. My roo screams the egg song at the top of his lungs if he can’t see his girls.

I personally wouldn’t put any hens in with him. He’ll be okay for a few days. Just fill his food and water all the way up, and have your sitter check them after he’s gone to bed.

We have a large dog kennel inside of our run for anybody who needs to be separated for a while. Not sustainable for a whole vacation, but it’s helpful for overly amorous or overly protective roos. My little buddy has to hang out there any time somebody needs to come in. We thought he loved people… but recently discovered that he only loves me.

 

[Lenny loves chickens]

Hello! I have 13 hens and one rooster. My rooster can be a bit ornery with me, but for the most part he accepts me as leader of the flock and leaves me alone. When I go out of town and have a house sitter, it’s a different story. He makes people nervous because of his size and protective attitude. He’ll run up on you and do his little rooster dance. This can be a little scary for people who aren’t familiar with chickens. A solution I’ve thought of recently is to separate him and keep him in a smaller coop by himself when I go on vacation. Would having him separated from his girls caused him a lot of stress and anxiety? I can’t decide if the small coop should be placed right next to the main coop so he can still be near them, or at the other side of the yard so that he can’t see them. Would it be okay to put him in there with maybe two hens? I’m just trying to brainstorm before my next vacation later this year.

If anyone’s interested, I have attached a photo of the brat. He’s a lavender Orpington and is HUGE! Hence the fear he instills on others.

View attachment 3050218

Handsome boy I would separate with 3 or 4 hens next to original coop. How old?

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

Well thank you for the unhelpful reply.

I have no plans of killing him, nor do I plan on breeding him. 99% of the time he is perfectly wonderful, and I like the protection he adds to my flock. Perhaps my initial wording was a bit dramatic (and I’ve since reworded), but he has never actually hurt a housesitter before. He just gets protective of his ladies, and I don’t find anything wrong with that.

Now if someone has any constructive advice, I would appreciate it! Back to the original question, would having him separate but right next to all his girls cause him stress?

 

[aart]

When I chicken-sat years ago, this is what they did..put the cockbird in a separate coop.
Yeah, it was a bit scary tending to him, but much easier than trying to tend the flock with him around. He left me alone as long as I didn't try to engage.