what to do about a roo...

[Jkioneil]

i can not have a roo here in my area. i want my girls to have fert eggs to hatch at somepoint next spring maybe... i do not want to buy more chicks i wat them from my girls. Can i rent a roo? borrow one for a week how does that work? Anyone ever done something like that? let me know if i am nuts

 

[megcpat]

Totally NOT nuts. I know lots of poultry people who borrow roos.

 

[Jkioneil]

oh good to hear do i just craigslist it or something? anyone else?

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Buying fertile eggs of the breed of your choice would be a much safer route than a loaner roo.


What if that roo is sick and gets your girls sick (a bird can be a carrier of illness and show no outward signs)?

 

[gritsar]

Finding a home for an unwanted roo shouldn't be too hard if you advertise like crazy, tell anyone and every one that you have one to give away. I would suggest give, not sell because you'll stand a better chance.
I don't think borrowing a roo is a good idea for bio-security reasons. A roo may look fine and healthy, but could be harboring something that he'd pass on to your hens and that would be heartbreaking for you. Better to buy fertile eggs if you get a broody, IMO.

ETA: Sorry horsefeathers, we must have been typing at the same time

 

[chickensgalore]

how many fertile eggs would she have if she was in with a rooster for a week.just 7? how does that work

 

[Jkioneil]

if i did borrow a roo how long would i borrow it for? who the heck loans out roos i really want eggs from my hens how can i make sure to get a healthy roo?

 

[Jkioneil]

so i buy fert eggs and give it to a broody hen and let her hatch em?

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Yes, if you have a hen that ends up going broody, buying her fertile eggs is alot safer than borrowing a roo.

 

[megcpat]

Quote:
OK, here's how I've done it. A friend of mine had a roo that I really wanted to try out over my girls, so, I put the roo in my confinement pen for three weeks (before I ever brought him home, I flipped him over and checked his behind for foul mites - he was clean). After three weeks with no cough, or odd poop, etc, I let him out with my girls and watched to see if he mounted. I've read from many sources that the next egg to be laid after a successful mating is fertile, but I felt better about waiting a day and taking the second eggs and then the next ones after that for a few days. I left him with the girls for two weeks, so I didn't have to worry so much about weather they had enough time with him or not. I had him in with eight hens, which is a few more girls than is ideal - it's better to have four or five hens at the most, but it worked out fine for us with this ratio. I THINK that one mating is supposed to be good for something like three fertile eggs out of that hen.?? But roosters tend to re-mount plenty in a small amount of time....
There are illnesses that can be brought to your property by bringing a roo home, even if he never shows signs of illness, even after confinement, so you have to weigh the risks and the benefits. There is a whole lot of reading that can be done on bio-security and protecting your birds. Breeders who show their birds have to deal with this often.
I would guess that you could find someone on craigslist who might let you borrow a roo, but then they would have to do the confinement thing on their end when they got the rooster back, so, I'm not sure what would be in it for them. It just worked out for my friend and I and because we are friends and we're willing to go to some trouble for one another.......
Anyhow, good luck!