THE all purpose chicken

[olderoo]

Thanks.  Nope no roo yet, but considering it and some sort of free range set up.  Would a fixed roo (capon) defend the hens like a regular roo?  I thought he might be less noisy and aggressive to humans and not wear out the hens. lol  

Capon? No he won't behave as expected. A capon is a castrated male chicken - a eunuch, in other words. He is the Rue Paul of the chicken world.

However, creating a capon from a cockerel requires a surgical procedure on a live bird without benefit of anesthesia. The procedure demands special equipment and knowledge, too, if you hope to stand a chance of success. It's not for the squeamish, certainly.

On the surface, the whole thing seems simple enough, I'll admit that. But in the end, capons offer almost nothing in the way of benefit that cannot be obtained by raising a dedicated meat bird. That is why the practice has died out.

So unless you have someone available NOW who knows how to do it properly, capons are best left to the world of academic understanding - and left OUT of your plans. Someday you might wish to experiment with them. For now, allow me to give you some advice:

Stick to the basics.

 

[Bob G]

This is just a suggestion from a newegg who lives in a mild winter climate, so I've never heard of this before - but - could a person make use of an aquarium heater to keep ice from freezing in the water bottles?

 

[Davaroo]

This is just a suggestion from a newegg who lives in a mild winter climate, so I've never heard of this before - but - could a person make use of an aquarium heater to keep ice from freezing in the water bottles?

Yes, you could.
The solid strip heaters would be best, the glass tube type less preferred. If it had some kind of thermal protection, that would be nice.
Chickens are notorious for upsetting things like feeders and waterers, so if yours isn't "chicken proof" solid state heaters protected from overheating is good insurance.
Another idea is the coffee cup heater. Place the waterer on it, secure it and it will keep the water from freezing. They are also very low wattage, impervious to damage and cheap.
Every thrift store has one or two, and they can be had for a pittance.