The first crow....when should I rehome him?

[fasschicks]

I have 18 chicks right now and my first roo started to crow this morning. They are almost 8 weeks old and I want to know when the best time to rehome them? I haven't nailed down which one it is, but I believe it is my Favaucana roo. We have started to let all the chicks outside in the big girls fenced in roaming area for an hour at night when the big girls go to bed. He is already managing the flock (or at least that is what I think he is doing). He is the last one in to roost and before he goes in, he makes a trip around the fenced in area as well as calling any more chicks that might be out. As soon as all of them have gotten settled on the roost, he then goes up to join them. He is my first roo ever, so not sure if this is normal roo behavior.

We definitely cannot keep him, but would love to see if someone is willing to rehome him. That is my first preference, but I do understand that it could go another way. I plan to go to CL to post.

So, my first question is, when is the best time to rehome him? He is a decent-sized roo for 8 weeks old, but still smaller than my older laying hens. If he actually makes it to a place that plans to keep him, I want to be sure that he isn't too small for the flock he is entering.

I have always heard that when rehoming hens, it is best to get at least 2 to integrate into a new flock. Is that the same for roosters? Or can he go by himself? The reason I am asking is that I am assuming I will have several more roos out of this flock, but I want to rehome them as soon as I start hearing them crow. Right now, he has his beginner voice - more like a strangled crow. Once he gets better, I don't want to disrupt the neighbors closer to us. They are very nice about having chickens next door and don't want to disrupt them with crowing. They own a bar, so their schedule is weird and they go to bed around 5 a.m. when the rest of the world is just getting up.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

In a situation where you cannot keep a male the best time to begin the re-homing process is as soon as you become aware of it's gender - finding homes for unwanted cockerels is not always easy (especially if you want to try to be picky/dictate the intent of the new owner) so the more time you give yourself and the bird to find that new home, the better.

 

[fasschicks]

Thanks! That is what I was thinking, but wanted to make sure that there were no issues with sending a single 8-week-old rooster to another farm. I am realistic that I might not find a home and will need to go with "the alternative", but will post it out into the CL universe and see if I get any takers. Once the crowing gets to be a nuisance, it is "bye bye birdie"....so to speak. Thanks again.