Why have a rooster? new Pg 10 video pg 13

[Cetawin]

RaeRae, from experience .... the coyotes will not move on, they most likely are a pair with a den nearby. If you are not willing to shoot them, be willing to lose your little horsey. They strike in broad daylight also. Good luck to you.

 

[RaeRae2]

Well, a couple of issues here.

1. We have a local group that is running coyotes with dogs. They have been pushing them hard the last month or so, and have killed at least a dozen within a mile of our house. I talked to one of the hunters, and he said they den up at the strawberry farm, which is quite a ways from us. They have been driven from the strawberry farm to the woods around my farm.

2. The hunters know they are hanging out in the woods directly behind me, and they have been hunting them there very heavily. It will be just a matter of time before they are all killed by the hunters. Since I don't own the woods, I have no control of them shooting the coyotes there.

3. As I said, Dad has been staying at the farm and has been out around the barns almost all day, every day. He's been working on burning up a massive pile of brush. So in broad daylight, the Mini is watched by Dad. At night she is locked inside the barn, which is completely closed up. They would have to tear down a concrete wall to get to her. Dad is retired and he likes staying at the farm and doing barn work. I pay him for it, and he is happy to do it

4. If I continue to see them, or see signs of them, I will buy the Wolf urine from the DNR to mark the edge of my property. They say it is extremely effective in deterring coyotes and foxes. They will not continue to live in the territory of a wolf pack. I have read that they will move their den - tiny pups and all - miles away if they detect wolf urine.

So I feel that at this time I am doing what I can do to protect the horse.

RaeRae, from experience .... the coyotes will not move on, they most likely are a pair with a den nearby. If you are not willing to shoot them, be willing to lose your little horsey. They strike in broad daylight also. Good luck to you.

 

[Cetawin]

Thank goodness your dad is around all the time, a pack is a problem but a pair with young is even more dangerous to livestock. With ours, my neighbor killed the male which was killing her cats and then I killed the female. She only got one bird, a beautiful buff cochin named Hera, but I knew she would be back and I found her den but could not get inside it to kill her and the pups so I had to wait. But, had I not killed her, she would continue to coming back until she wiped out my flock or I killed her. They are persistent.

Wolf urine will deter them but just keep a good stock in it because as its scent fades, the coyotes realize it is not recent and they will ignore the scent so you must keep re-marking the perimeter. Good luck getting them, they need to go because cats, dogs, horse, chickens...all are not safe with those two close by.

 

[kest3hens]

He is beautiful! What kind is he? I am looking to get a rooster for my 16 girls and he looks marvelous!

 

[Panth]

Love this story and thread. I lost my precious rooster, Mango, last year to a coyote...but not a single hen was wounded. When I found him, I cried all day. But I was extremely lucky, I had a broody hen with eggs from him, only two of them hatched, but I prayed that one would be a rooster and it WAS! So now I have MiniMango, who is not so mini any more, but still very spoiled, very tame, and very affectionate. BTW, they are Partridge Rocks.

 

[Cetawin]

MiniMango is a gorgeous boy. I am sorry for your loss....it is horrible I know. I lost my Thor almost two years ago to the heat (Heart attack or heat stroke) and I still miss him.

Lancelot is doing great and is such a sweet boy. He is a Blue Orpington. He now has a young rooster he is training up as a flock leader and teammate. Hector is 1/2 Blue Orpington, 1/4 Buff Orpington and 1/4 RIR and just a love of a boy. He and Lancelot get along really well and Hector is learning a lot from Lancelot.

Here are both the boys with some of the girls (Lancelot will be 2 in July and Hector is just 8 months old)



Young Hector (Son of Suede and Meg)



My big blue love, Lancelot

 

[xC0000005]

I love this story. I wrote a book for my daughter about chickens, and when it came time to describe the roosters, they weren't "King" - it was "King-In-Between", because they would be between their hens and danger. So I can't tell you how much I like this. The rooster did what roosters are born to do.

 

[yorklady]

Wow! Just read this and I love Lancelot's bravery. Our White Leghorn roo is very aggressive at times but I love how when I go to the pen to give them treats he makes sure the hens get the treats! We will probably have to dispatch him but not before we have another roo to take his place!

 

[yorklady]

What a handsome boy!

 

[wullus]

My rooster is scared as all hell, mind you he was scarred as a chick. We ordered six day-old chicks from the local farmer's store, and our friend who breeds chicks gave us two for free, which both turned out to be roosters eventually. After a few months, they matured and of course, one was extremely agressive to the other rooster, fighting all the time and being rough on the hens. It also crowed at ungodly hours of the morning. Eventually my dad went and donged it on the head.

Afterwards, the flock is much more peaceful. However, the rooster is scared as all hell. He will sound the alarm if something goes near him and his hens, and will be alert and attentive, and will mate with the hens and find food for them, if something is bounding towards them he will sound the alarm and run like a girl.

He's good at fertilizing the eggs, but not at protecting his flock. It sure as hell beats having an aggressive rooster though, I'll tell you that