Thinking about adding a cockerel

[Tonyroo]

I think your best option is to find a year old rooster, so your only dealing with one bird only.

When I started keeping chickens again I knew I had to have a rooster. So I can replenish my stock with new generations. And keep the eggs flowing throughout the seasons.

 

[Mrs. K]

You want a Bye Rooster, one that is a year old, and so darn nice, he has gotten a bye.

If the person you get them from does not do shows or auctions, and has healthy birds in a nice set up, I would not worry too much about quarantine, but some people really worry about it, and it is a risk. It is very difficult to do properly and if you don't properly, then you may as well not do it.

Inside the house does sound proper - but keeping an adult bird in for a month would be a huge mess.

I think you are pretty read up on roosters, but just saying, not all roosters work out, and a lot you really cannot keep. Could you cull one that is not working out?

Mrs K

 

[MysteryChicken]

The only 1 year old roosters I have right now are Malays, but those are my breeders. So, not for sale, or too give away.

But I will be hatching more Malays this year, & they learn manners pretty quickly at a younger age then most other breeds.

The only issue is probably distance between our states, with traveling.


@DonyaQuick, What particular breeds, or mixes are you interested in most?

 

[DonyaQuick]

I think your best option is to find a year old rooster, so your only dealing with one bird only.

This may be naive but it also seemed like the integration might be easier with one adult rooster into a flock of hens than if I try with several younger mixed male/female birds from a straight run batch.

If the person you get them from does not do shows or auctions, and has healthy birds in a nice set up, I would not worry too much about quarantine, but some people really worry about it, and it is a risk. It is very difficult to do properly and if you don't properly, then you may as well not do it.

Inside the house does sound proper - but keeping an adult bird in for a month would be a huge mess.

I think I could manage the mess, although now that you mention it, disposal of the waste for a proper quarantine might be an issue for me depending on the volume. I'm guessing I probably wouldn't do it all properly just out of inexperience if nothing else. Still, even if I couldn't do things the highest security way, I feel like I should at least keep a new bird separately for a little bit to ensure there are no easily preventable surprises. Maybe get a fecal float done before introducing.

ot all roosters work out, and a lot you really cannot keep. Could you cull one that is not working out?

It would definitely be one of the harder aspects of things for me but I know sometimes it's necessary. How hard would depend on if it was mean from the start or a huge personality change. Mean from the start I don't think would bother me a lot, but if I raised one from an egg that seemed like it was going to be a good boy and I got really attached and then it suddenly turned evil, just to save myself the dissonance I think I would still prefer to ask who in the area wants a free soup bird. A lot of people do that and they always seem to go fast.

The only 1 year old roosters I have right now are Malays, but those are my breeders. So, not for sale, or too give away.

One of the first things that got me interested in chickens a long time ago was descriptions from a family member whose job took him to somewhere that had a big field filled with either those or a similar breed (it somewhere in Guam maybe? I don't remember exactly). They are lovely birds!

What particular breeds, or mixes are you interested in most?

I was thinking something on the smaller side since one of my little Dimple girl being just under 3lbs. Beyond that though I've been really torn on what to look for breed-wise. The year-old ones I saw looked to be bantam brahmas or cochins. The feathered feet did worry me on those though since it can be so wet here. One thing I need to research more is what happens to sizes of the offspring and eggs if I cross a bantam with a standard; currently I don't know if that'd get me bantams or a mix, etc.

 

[MysteryChicken]

This may be naive but it also seemed like the integration might be easier with one adult rooster into a flock of hens than if I try with several younger mixed male/female birds from a straight run batch.


I think I could manage the mess, although now that you mention it, disposal of the waste for a proper quarantine might be an issue for me depending on the volume. I'm guessing I probably wouldn't do it all properly just out of inexperience if nothing else. Still, even if I couldn't do things the highest security way, I feel like I should at least keep a new bird separately for a little bit to ensure there are no easily preventable surprises. Maybe get a fecal float done before introducing.


It would definitely be one of the harder aspects of things for me but I know sometimes it's necessary. How hard would depend on if it was mean from the start or a huge personality change. Mean from the start I don't think would bother me a lot, but if I raised one from an egg that seemed like it was going to be a good boy and I got really attached and then it suddenly turned evil, just to save myself the dissonance I think I would still prefer to ask who in the area wants a free soup bird. A lot of people do that and they always seem to go fast.



One of the first things that got me interested in chickens a long time ago was descriptions from a family member whose job took him to somewhere that had a big field filled with either those or a similar breed (it somewhere in Guam maybe? I don't remember exactly). They are lovely birds!



I was thinking something on the smaller side since one of my little Dimple girl being just under 3lbs. Beyond that though I've been really torn on what to look for breed-wise. The year-old ones I saw looked to be bantam brahmas or cochins. The feathered feet did worry me on those though since it can be so wet here. One thing I need to research more is what happens to sizes of the offspring and eggs if I cross a bantam with a standard; currently I don't know if that'd get me bantams or a mix, etc.

I can fill you in on the genetics of Bantam X Largefowl, but it's off topic for the thread.

How about Easter Egger Bantams, they may work for you?

 

[DonyaQuick]

How about Easter Egger Bantams, they may work for you?

That is a great idea! They have small combs too, so that would be even less frostbite risk - another perk. After a quick search I'm seeing EE roos as weighing less on average than I expected too, so maybe I wouldn't even need an actual bantam size one to avoid squashing little Dimple. I feel like Dimple would probably be alright with a roo that is just a bit bigger than her so maybe that's doable. The farm I got my LGD puppy from a county over might also breed EEs if I remember right.

 

[MysteryChicken]

That is a great idea! They have small combs too, so that would be even less frostbite risk - another perk. After a quick search I'm seeing EE roos as weighing less on average than I expected too, so maybe I wouldn't even need an actual bantam size one to avoid squashing little Dimple. I feel like Dimple would probably be alright with a roo that is just a bit bigger than her so maybe that's doable. The farm I got my LGD puppy from a county over might also breed EEs if I remember right.

Glad you like the idea.

 

[DonyaQuick]

My plan at the moment before contacting any local breeders is to build a modest chicken tractor sort of thing that I can either set up on a tarp in the house for a while or move outside later for helping with integration.

I had been feeling pretty committed to looking for adult roosters, but my husband is still mentioning chicks in suspicious ways, so I finally asked what was up. He is worried about the level of certainty of the behavior on an adult roo that I don't know terribly well prior to pickup, given that many people try to rehome badly behaved ones rather than being upfront that it's a bird destined for stew. Obviously chicks come with their own unknowns, but I guess you do get to see the personality evolve over time and have an opportunity start training certain things when they're tiny rather than taking someone's word for it with a bird that already has spurs to kick you with if it turns out its terrified of having a face too close to it or something. I've definitely seen the occasional post on a local group that seems suspicious as far as rooster behavior goes, I'm just not sure now how obvious that would be at pickup time vs. somehow accidentally taking in a gremlin that seemed nice at the time.

Anyway, it will take time yet for me to build the little tractor thing I want to have on hand in preparation for doing the roo thing one way or another.

 

[DonyaQuick]

So I realized there are actually more like three categories of adult rooster I needed to watch for rather than just good or mean. There are mean ones, good boys to hens that aren't pets, and roos that are gentle enough with everyone to be a pet. I really need that special 3rd category to really fit in with my setup and how I interact with my hens. When occasional roos like that have shown up nearby with no complicating factors, they get claimed really fast and are almost always silkies or other feather-footed breeds. But...I think I found a match. Ended up not being any the breeds I was looking at originally but given how different my hens are from one to another within their breed I decided personality was most important. I will be getting my skates on today to finish up that mini tractor and then will be picking him up later this week. Fingers crossed it goes well and that good things are to come!

 

[DonyaQuick]

Oh, and although it's a little sooner than I thought it would be, the timing is probably about right too for another funny reason: a couple of my hens are starting to get reaaaally interested in the crowing from my neighbor's rooster across the road.