Okay all...here's an embarrassing question...
I have a VERY small backyard flock of 3...two Buff Orp hens, and one BR roo...who was supposed to be a hen. (Insert bad word here!) I purchased them together, brooded them in their little box together and they are definitely one happy little chicken threesome.
Since I am not supposed to have chickens (AT ALL!) and they are all about 10-12 weeks now, my roo is a crowin' away. I've been searching for a place to send him (the feed and tack store where I originally purchased my darling chicks will "buy" him back for $15.00...I'd pay ten times that if I thought they'd find him a good home where he could flourish). Unfortunately, in my neck o' the woods, there are more tract homes than acreage. The other bad part is, if I sent him to the feed store, my roo would have to live in a dog cage in the back of the store until they found someone to take him.
Although my little flock is in their coop and run part of the day, they do get to travel all over the yard freely whenever I am home. The rooster actually now believes himself to be a dog (I have four medium size adopted mutts). He hangs with the dogs, plays fetch with the dogs, expects dog treats (and he gets them with a very nasty peck on the nose!), and when the dogs are rough-housing, he's right there telling them how to do it! Buuuut...he is also fiercely protective of his "harem" and they do whatever he tells them to with absolute submission. The girls are completely inseparable (they TOTALLY freak out if they can't see each other at all times...sometimes one of the girls goes behind a bush, and the other nearly has a heart attack trying to find her!), and they aren't very happy when their fearless leader isn't within ear-shot either.
A friend found a strawberry farmer today in central California who will take my rooster (the farmer's are friends of friends, who already have a small flock, do not use their chickens for "meat" and are happy to have my boy for breeding purposes). I know if I asked, they'd probably take my girls too...to keep the sweet little threesome together.
My question....is THAT just being ridiculous? Does a chicken remember tomorrow who he used to hang out with yesterday? Will my little roo find new girlfriends immediately and totally forget his "ex's"? Will my girls pine for their boy bird, or be incredibly happy to be free of a domineering drill sargeant?
Thoughts please from those who have observed chickens for longer than 10-12 weeks, like me.....
(to be VERY honest, if my boy is going to forget about his girls immediately and not find himself traumatized and heart sick, I really don't want to give away my girls too....)
I have a VERY small backyard flock of 3...two Buff Orp hens, and one BR roo...who was supposed to be a hen. (Insert bad word here!) I purchased them together, brooded them in their little box together and they are definitely one happy little chicken threesome.
Since I am not supposed to have chickens (AT ALL!) and they are all about 10-12 weeks now, my roo is a crowin' away. I've been searching for a place to send him (the feed and tack store where I originally purchased my darling chicks will "buy" him back for $15.00...I'd pay ten times that if I thought they'd find him a good home where he could flourish). Unfortunately, in my neck o' the woods, there are more tract homes than acreage. The other bad part is, if I sent him to the feed store, my roo would have to live in a dog cage in the back of the store until they found someone to take him.
Although my little flock is in their coop and run part of the day, they do get to travel all over the yard freely whenever I am home. The rooster actually now believes himself to be a dog (I have four medium size adopted mutts). He hangs with the dogs, plays fetch with the dogs, expects dog treats (and he gets them with a very nasty peck on the nose!), and when the dogs are rough-housing, he's right there telling them how to do it! Buuuut...he is also fiercely protective of his "harem" and they do whatever he tells them to with absolute submission. The girls are completely inseparable (they TOTALLY freak out if they can't see each other at all times...sometimes one of the girls goes behind a bush, and the other nearly has a heart attack trying to find her!), and they aren't very happy when their fearless leader isn't within ear-shot either.
A friend found a strawberry farmer today in central California who will take my rooster (the farmer's are friends of friends, who already have a small flock, do not use their chickens for "meat" and are happy to have my boy for breeding purposes). I know if I asked, they'd probably take my girls too...to keep the sweet little threesome together.
My question....is THAT just being ridiculous? Does a chicken remember tomorrow who he used to hang out with yesterday? Will my little roo find new girlfriends immediately and totally forget his "ex's"? Will my girls pine for their boy bird, or be incredibly happy to be free of a domineering drill sargeant?
Thoughts please from those who have observed chickens for longer than 10-12 weeks, like me.....
(to be VERY honest, if my boy is going to forget about his girls immediately and not find himself traumatized and heart sick, I really don't want to give away my girls too....)
