Accidentally got a small cockerel yesterday thinking it was the same size as our hens. Need advice

[ChickenMama1992]

I went to tractor supply for chicken food yesterday and they had an animal swap going on. I took my toddler to go look at the animals. There was a small Easter egger for $10. It was a small cage and I thought it was a hen, I also thought it was the same size as our Easter egger at home (5 months old).

I brought it home and realized it’s way smaller than the hens (maybe 10-12 weeks old) and also has saddle feathers. The hens were bullying it really badly so I isolated him into a small coop within our large run. The hens all sleep in the larger coop. Today I picked up a small coop from a friend and put it outside the run and set it up for him.

He’s very friendly and seems really comfortable with me already. My questions are 1- will being in a separate coop for a couple months until he’s bigger be too lonely for him? 2- would he be happier if I just gave him to a local farm?

 

[gimmie birdies]

I would keep him where they can see him not touch him. in a couple weeks put him with the hens. It is good for a little roo to be put in his place by older hens. They are better roosters that way then if they grew up with the hens.

 

[BDutch]

Today I picked up a small coop from a friend and put it outside the run and set it up for him.

Outside where they see each other is good.

He’s very friendly and seems really comfortable with me already. My questions are 1- will being in a separate coop for a couple months until he’s bigger be too lonely for him?

If you keep him company too and he can see other chickens, he’s not very lonely. And as gimmy birdies says, it’s only for a few weeks.

2- would he be happier if I just gave him to a local farm?

Think ahead. If you give him to a local farm he might get culled. If you are happy with a rooster, he is going to have his own ladies in a couple of months and probably will be a happy guy.
I advise you to read more about roosters snd rooster behaviour. I understand you keep your chickens locked up in a coop/run? Do you intend to let them free range too?

@Shadrach or @Perris can you give advice for a good article?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Why do you want a male? What are your goals toward a rooster? The only reason you need a rooster is if you want fertile eggs. Anything else is a personal preference. Nothing wrong with personal preferences, I have some of those myself. But that is a want, not a need.

My general suggestion is to keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. That is not because you are guaranteed problems with more males but that every one you keep increases your odds of having issues. Many of us keep boys and are very happy that we do. Many people do not keep any boys and are happy they do not.

One potential problem with a male is that they will mate your girls. Some people really get upset with that. What can really be upsetting is that the girls don't always want to be mated but he forces them, sometimes violently. When the boys and girls mature all this usually sorts itself out and their mating becomes very peaceful as both do their part. But during puberty before they all mature this can get really wild and upsetting to watch. You can find a lot of posts and threads on this forum where them going through puberty is really upsetting to some people. Some of us accept this as part of them becoming chickens and are OK with this as long as no one gets hurt.

Another possible issue is that a male can become human aggressive. In my experience most do not. But some do. They can attack you with their claws or beak. Spurs too when they grow spurs. Not only does it take a lot of fun out of chickens to always have to be on guard when feeding and watering them or gathering eggs, they can be a real danger to injure people, especially kids. I'll repeat myself, in my experience most do not become human aggressive but some do.

These are the main reasons I suggest you keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. It's not that these always happen, many times they do not. But if they do it is not pleasant.

It is purely your decision, my preferences do not count for you. For my goals I need a rooster. But since he was an accident I'd think the perfect number of roosters for you could easily be zero.

 

[ChickenMama1992]

Outside where they see each other is good.

If you keep him company too and he can see other chickens, he’s not very lonely. And as gimmy birdies says, it’s only for a few weeks.

Think ahead. If you give him to a local farm he might get culled. If you are happy with a rooster, he is going to have his own ladies in a couple of months and probably will be a happy guy.
I advise you to read more about roosters snd rooster behaviour. I understand you keep your chickens locked up in a coop/run? Do you intend to let them free range too?

@Shadrach or @Perris can you give advice for a good article?

Thank you for your response. We do allow our chickens to free range when we’re outside with them. We have lost a couple to hawks when they were left out unattended and we don’t want to lose any more. The coop and run are very large and they have adequate space when they’re in there.

My husband and I have read a lot about roosters as we had one a few months ago but rehomed him since he was not friendly towards us (even though we raised him as a chick) and we were worried he’d hurt our toddler.

We would like to have a friendly rooster, in hopes to allow them to free range and the rooster will warn them of hawks.

We live in the middle of woods so unfortunately there’s no escaping the hawks long term.

 

[ChickenMama1992]

I would keep him where they can see him not touch him. in a couple weeks put him with the hens. It is good for a little roo to be put in his place by older hens. They are better roosters that way then if they grew up with

Why do you want a male? What are your goals toward a rooster? The only reason you need a rooster is if you want fertile eggs. Anything else is a personal preference. Nothing wrong with personal preferences, I have some of those myself. But that is a want, not a need.

My general suggestion is to keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. That is not because you are guaranteed problems with more males but that every one you keep increases your odds of having issues. Many of us keep boys and are very happy that we do. Many people do not keep any boys and are happy they do not.

One potential problem with a male is that they will mate your girls. Some people really get upset with that. What can really be upsetting is that the girls don't always want to be mated but he forces them, sometimes violently. When the boys and girls mature all this usually sorts itself out and their mating becomes very peaceful as both do their part. But during puberty before they all mature this can get really wild and upsetting to watch. You can find a lot of posts and threads on this forum where them going through puberty is really upsetting to some people. Some of us accept this as part of them becoming chickens and are OK with this as long as no one gets hurt.

Another possible issue is that a male can become human aggressive. In my experience most do not. But some do. They can attack you with their claws or beak. Spurs too when they grow spurs. Not only does it take a lot of fun out of chickens to always have to be on guard when feeding and watering them or gathering eggs, they can be a real danger to injure people, especially kids. I'll repeat myself, in my experience most do not become human aggressive but some do.

These are the main reasons I suggest you keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. It's not that these always happen, many times they do not. But if they do it is not pleasant.

It is purely your decision, my preferences do not count for you. For my goals I need a rooster. But since he was an accident I'd think the perfect number of roosters for you could easily be zero.

Thank you for your response. Our main reason for wanting a rooster is to protect our 10 hens and warn them of hawks. We have 10 acres but only about 1 is cleared for our house/yard.

We are hoping a rooster will be able to crow and warn them so they can take cover under the trees/ shrubs.

We had an unfriendly rooster a few months ago, but rehomed him because we were afraid he’d hurt our toddler who loves the hens.

 

[ChickenMama1992]

I would keep him where they can see him not touch him. in a couple weeks put him with the hens. It is good for a little roo to be put in his place by older hens. They are better roosters that way then if they grew up with the hens.

Thank you!

 

[FrostRanger]

I'd be very leery about keeping him since you have a toddler. If a cockerel turns human aggressive, they'll usually go after kids first and since they're so small, they can do serious damage to them. If you do keep him, keep him away from your kid until he's fully mature and has shown he has a stable temperment (I'd go for about a year and a half to 2 years) and your child is older

 

[Mrs. K]

I'd be very leery about keeping him since you have a toddler. If a cockerel turns human aggressive, they'll usually go after kids first and since they're so small, they can do serious damage to them. I

x's 2. If you have a toddler, I would let him go.

 

[McChooky]

Dogs can be trained to protect people and livestock provided you have the patience to train one. (I trained both of mine after I got chickens)I also keep a baby monitor on so I can hear any unusual sounds coming from my flock day or night.I kept my chickens contained until my dogs were trained and free range them daily now