Wandering rooster

[Chickygirl]

I have a lovely rooster, who is young, non-aggressive, and friendly. The problem is, he does not hang out with his hens! If I had to hazard a guess, I would say he stays with them less than a third of the time. They all sleep in the coop together and they are able to free range throughout the day. We have 9 acres and this rooster has exhausted all of them and more. I've caught him walking up the road and he has been to the neighbors as well. I worry that he's going to get into the neighbors garden and ruin it as he has done mine or worse wander off and get eaten by a wild animal or dog etc. because we are surrounded by woods. The hens, on the other hand, stay at the edge of the woods pecking and enjoying themselves all day long.
Another strange thing he does is he often sits outside looking in the window as if he is waiting for us to come outside. When we are out he follows us wherever we go in the yard. That might be a whole separate issue...
How do I get him to stay with his hens? He does occasionally call them for food, but tends to eat it himself most times.
Sorry for the long story! Thank you for reading and I appreciate any help you can give.

 

[Tuhmu]

I don't have an answer for you, its a very odd situation. How old is he? Was he raised with these hens? Is he tame as in viewing you as his flock instead of the hens?

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Have you tried caging him in the coop for a few days? He might need a refresher course to learn where he's supposed to be...

 

[Chickygirl]

Thanks LeviS and howfunky for the response! He is about 23 weeks old. I do not think he knew the hens before coming to live with me. He was a free range rooster and they were kept separate from him. It is possible that he views me as his flock. Just yesterday I thought he clucked as if to show me some food he had found, which I dismissed as my imagination, but now I'm thinking differently. If this is the case what shall I do?
Initially, we kept them all in their coop for a week before letting them free range. I can try the refresher course idea, but not while it is so hot out because they don't have a proper run built up yet and their coop gets mighty hot.