Stray rooster is integrating into my flock

[theuglychick]

Yes! Pictures!

Thanks for your help..I like the idea of keeping him , I just don't know where we would put him . And keep him awY from our flock . He is pretty I'll try to find out how to send a picture .

 

[cirrie]

If he's integrating he'll be easier to catch!

If he's a good boy with your girls and people someone may want him for their own flock.

For me, good roosters are hard to come by so I hoard and keep all the ones I run across. But I understand that's not an option for everyone.

And he could also be the devil in feathers which is why someone may have dropped him off.

If he is a good boy, I bet if you post something online (Facebook, Craigslist) that's funny and charming about him you can find him a good home pretty quick.

If he's integrating he'll be easier to catch!

If he's a good boy with your girls and people someone may want him for their own flock.

For me, good roosters are hard to come by so I hoard and keep all the ones I run across. But I understand that's not an option for everyone.

And he could also be the devil in feathers which is why someone may have dropped him off.

If he is a good boy, I bet if you post something online (Facebook, Craigslist) that's funny and charming about him you can find him a good home pretty quick.

 

[cirrie]

I'm with you on good Roosters are hard to find .. we have , had three and the one we have now is the only nice one so far and I'm still keeping an eye on him hoping he stays nice. So far the stray has stayed away and runs from us .. but I guess that's because we kept trying to make him leave .

 

[apryl29]

If he is a good boy, I bet if you post something online (Facebook, Craigslist) that's funny and charming about him you can find him a good home pretty quick.

I was able to rehome an extra cockerel by placing an ad in the local news paper. The guy was looking for a couple boys for breeding & was very happy to get him.

 

[theuglychick]

My criteria for a rooster to stay is very simple... don't mess with me or my daughter be good with the hens. That's it. Two rules.

Our good to bad rooster ratio is 1:6 so far, so you're doing better than we are!

I hatch a lot of birds so I'm constantly finding homes for cockerels and roosters that I don't keep. They're all layers so not much by way of eating.

I make sure that they go to a home that actually wants a rooster in their flock or will eat them, because the only other option (sadly a popular option for bad roosters) is cock fighting bait.

I'm with you on good Roosters are hard to find .. we have , had three and the one we have now is the only nice one so far and I'm still keeping an eye on him hoping he stays nice. So far the stray has stayed away and runs from us .. but I guess that's because we kept trying to make him leave .

 

[theuglychick]

I write my ads like singles ads and people get a chuckle out of it. It helps to make the Roos seem more endearing.

I was able to rehome an extra cockerel by placing an ad in the local news paper. The guy was looking for a couple boys for breeding & was very happy to get him.

 

[apryl29]

I had an older gentleman who wanted my slightly aggressive leghorn who was also in the ad. He said he wanted to wake up to the sound of a rooster. No coop or anything for him, was just going to let him roam the property. Said he previously had ducks & other birds that 'something killed'. I considered it.. and he gets points for being honest, being that the bird was aggressive I really felt that he *might* have been ok out there, maybe.. but I was worried that the rooster might go after his wife. I kept him instead, though I did consider having him processed too. He's in his own space and seems to be doing ok.

 

[cirrie]

Well if you like your rooster catch up the stray and either eat him,give him away,or pen him separately so you've got a spare. Any idea at all where he came from?

No we do not know where he came from he showed up one day just outside of our yard and slowly Day by day got closer and closer , he had two hens with him the first time we saw him but they have disappeared .

 

[chickengeorgeto]

You can catch a roosting chicken by nailing a 8 inch cross piece to one end of a pole. When the chickens are all asleep put the cross piece just in front of his legs and gently push up. The rooster will respond by moving his feet from his roosting perch and stepping up on the cross piece. Then gently lower him hand over hand without any a-do to where you can take ahold of him. A flashlight is useful but too much light may encourage the rooster to bailout on you.

 

[theuglychick]

@cirrie this little guy was living in the woods behind my house with another hen (yet to be captured), he did the same thing... slowly started integrating himself with my chickens. He was kind of like, "If I just start scratching and pecking closer to those birds no one will even notice I'm new."

Fortunately he was roosting low right on the edge of the wood line and I was able to just grab him like a little low-hanging fruit off the branch.

Now he's back acclimated to domestic life with his new little flock. He's always the first one on the roost in his run.

I haven't seen the hen since his capture, Im hoping she's sitting on eggs somewhere safe. I've got a sting set up where I last saw here with traps, cams, food, etc.

He is behaving well with my other bantam Roos and pullets and with us so he gets to stay.

We named him Mr. Squatch.