A new rooster.

Well.. if you read my thread in the OT Cafe, you'll understand why we have a rooster now. :) here's a pic. I am researching and giving myself a crash course in keeping them.. poor little guy.. cockfighting is wrong.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s...s/rooster1.jpg

Awwww... bless his little feathers! :oops: I'm sure he'll be fine with some Gin TLC!!! :D

It might be a hen...the comb is awfully small for a rooster. Whatever it is, the poor little thing looks scared out of its wits. Good luck taming it down...the game types are much smarter and wilder than their fat domesticated cousins.

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Originally Posted by slartibartfast

It might be a hen...the comb is awfully small for a rooster. Whatever it is, the poor little thing looks scared out of its wits. Good luck taming it down...the game types are much smarter and wilder than their fat domesticated cousins.

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On the other forum that she had made she said they used the roosters to do c0ck fights... When you use roosters for c0ck fights you cut the comb. It's a myth that it will make the rooster a better fighter... And they also shorten up the feathers so they won't fly... I used to go to c0ck fights in my country...

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Originally Posted by KYSHA

I used to go to c0ck fights in my country...

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uh.. why?

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Originally Posted by joyful girl

uh.. why?

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It's a tradition in my country... Plus I used to go when I used to stay a my grandpa's house.... He used to train roosters to c0ck fight...

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Originally Posted by KYSHA

On the other forum that she had made she said they used the roosters to do c0ck fights... When you use roosters for c0ck fights you cut the comb. It's a myth that it will make the rooster a better fighter... And they also shorten up the feathers so they won't fly... I used to go to c0ck fights in my country...

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You don't cut the comb to make them fight better...you cut it because it is a big flap of open skin, and vulnerable to damage. Removing it preemptively saves having it get torn up later. It's called "dubbing" and a lot of commercial breeders do it too. Same reason dog-fighters crop the ears on pitbulls.

If you want to get into all the details...
The wattling on the face is too fine, the remaining fragments of comb are too small, the bone structure of the head is too delicate, and the legs are too lightly boned as well. Looks like a hen to me. The feathers are pretty mature, and if it were a rooster with that stage of feather growth, I'd expect to see a lot more of the secondary sex characteristics.

Now, where do baby roosters come from?

Nice rooster. I heard rumors of people putting razorblades on thier claw's when they fight, so they can fight till the death quicker :eek:

Well it could be a hen; I actually think that it is. I put some feed and corn out for her and am about to put out a shallow water dish. She spent the whole night up in the rafters above the light like in the picture, and Mark gently brought her down using a rake; she stepped onto it when he put it in front of her. Now she is resting in Emma's stall (horses are out.) I was concerned about dehydration because she was in the bathroom with the others so long with No feed or water.. but she seems pretty active and healthy now.
My friend has a bunch of them, and they will often nest in the corner of the horse's stalls.. none of hers are really tame, but she always has eggs.. I would be happy if she started producing some eggs. At any rate, it's a better life than running the streets of Buffalo; there was no way Mark and his friend could grab all 40 chickens running all around. They had opened all of the windows and doors to air the house out (seeing as someone was trying to set it up to burn it down..) and it was just chicken anarchy! I guess that one of the neighbors grabbed a bunch to slaughter/eat.. again, even that seems like a better life than where they were. I can't believe some lowlife wanted to burn the house down with them in it; probably destroying evidence.
I actually want to get a few more.. actually knowing what sexes they are beforehand.
I am concerned about her being alone, though; then again if she Is a he, and we got another male.. we could inadvertantly have cockfighting going on in our backyard. I plan on researching a little more, making sure this one is healthy with the vet, and getting a few more from my friend; she is always begging people to take some when they leave her house, lol. Though they Are poop machines..

I am having trouble IDing her breed. She can't be brahma; no white head. Any ideas? I don't see the secondary male characteristics on her.

Looks like a possible Bard-rock (sp?) mix to me... They are great in barns at keeping flies etc.. down! Best of luck! Remember, if you get a male, you'll then be getting fertile eggs. You haft to get to them pretty fast if you plan to eat them... maybe you should look for a big fat hen that's accustom to being a barn chicken as a friend for her!?!?! I love the Araucanas the best... they lay the blue and greenish eggs! really neat!

I wold love to get a peahen from my friend, but she only has 1.1; the peacock is awesome though! It is great to go down to her farm and see this huge peacock strutting around. :)
I looked up the barred rocks; they seem to have more black in them. I am worried because the site I looked at, said that the smaller bantams are more ornamental and less resistant to cold weather and predators, so when I actually get some more, I definately want them to be standard sized. This one seems to be more of the bantam variety.

You'll not find your girl among the meat and egg producers. Look up "game fowl". They are lean, wild, hardy, and intelligent. Given a draft-free shed that she can winter in, she'll do fine. Foxes and opossums are the bigger threat.

If she was part of a CHICKEN-fighting breeding thing, then you're not likely to find her listed. CHICKEN-fighting isn't going to use the typical purebred chickens. They are almost their own breed in distinctivness.
If it's a hen, you could get more than one, and getting a nice fat calm domestic hen might encourage her to calm down more. The calm hen will come eat, which will make the wilder one greedy for food too. Etc etc.
Roosters should not be kept. Sorry. They are agressive, bred and trained to be. If you got ONE and you kept him contained mostly, you might be okay, but they can be severely aggressive to other birds(even hens at times).
Yes they do strap "spurs" onto the rooster, and they are in essance blades, makes the fighting go faster and more exciting to the crowd. They cut wattles and combs like mentioned, so they can't get injured and bloody(esp the combs where blood flows into the eyes and blinds the bird).
Secondary sex charateristics should be pointed hackle and saddle feathers, which seem to be missing. Hens can have combs and spurs(not as long) so the feathering is a better bet. If you can take a shot of the neck feathers and the saddle hackles(in front of the tail) then we could probaly say male or female more easily.
CHICKEN-fighting is barbaric. Just like dog-fighting, just like betta fighting, bear-baiting, and hog-dog trials. Making animals fight to severe injury and death for your pleasure is sick.
Good for you to help the poor chicken. They can be real entertaining pets, and useful when they start laying. Don't expect many eggs though, most breeds don't lay well. The specific breeds for egg-laying do great, but the others... ehh not so well. BUt any egg is better than NO egg, especially when they can roam and eat grass and fun stuff. You'll be surprised at how much better free roaming chicken eggs taste.
I wish I could have chickens again...
Sigh.
edited*forgot that the alternative to rooster won't pass the filter! Sorry!

Cool, I'm building a coop now, getting a few hens soon. :)

Thanks :) I am just glad that this one is in a better place to live now. Mark had reported the house to the police (since it was in essence an crime scene; somenoe had set it up for arson.) So today he went back, and the SPCA had been around and rounded up all of the remaining poultry. It is sad; I wish that we could have taken some more in.. I wonder if they are destroyed like fighting dogs usually are?
All of the ones that this one was with, were still young. I am not familiar with the "training" done with them, but from the phone-cam pics Mark was able to get, none of them were injured nor were they fighting in the bathroom where they were.. maybe they were all the same age?
It is completely disgusting and baffling to me that "humans" will fight animals for entertainment like this. I want to vomit thinking about it. I researched a bit on Google, and the pics I saw were heart wrenching. . sickos; I don' care if people say it is a tradition.. yuck.
It made me smile, seeing our new additing in the barn eating corn. He is able to fly though, so we shut the barn up for safety; have the horses in for the night also.

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Originally Posted by Sausage

Cool, I'm building a coop now, getting a few hens soon. :)

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I hope that you post pics! This whole thing has really gotten me interested in keeping poultry; I know that I can get some more from my friend.

I am really ticked off :( Somehow she got out and is sitting up in the tree by the barn, making female-chicken sounds. I really wanted to keep her contained in the barn.. but apparently she squeezed out by a gap in the floor/wall area (polebarn with corrugated metal sides.) I did not think she could fit, but apparently so. I wanted to at least give her a few days to settle in and get her orientation about her, with the barn as a home base..
Mark is bringing a few more of them home in a cage; they are definately hens. I figure it is better than leaving them to die.. there is a neighbor that wanted them to EAT! Not that it grosses me out, but they can't be that tasty compared to what you can buy at the store on sale.. The SPCA was over yesterday and took many of them, but Mark says that a few are still there and he is going to try to grab them. And I would not trust that neighbor with a dead rat.. he could be in on the cawkfighting as well. Low-lives..
If anything, I really hope that they catch the DEADBEAT that was going to burn the house down. Do you know.. it is a multi-unit. There are people with KIDS living in the other apartment.. and this guy set it up so that eventually it would explode (left the gas on with the flames burnt out and a candle burning..) The y have an APB out for "it" (I am not even saying "him" now.
Reminds me of why I seclude myself in a rural area.

Whoa.. yet another development in this roller-coaster ride of a situation! Mark found out from one of the friendly neighbors, that he did manage to grab the three hens that Mark meant to take home. They are in a nice big cage at this guy's house and the SPCA did not take them. Mark can come and get them tomorrow; he could not make it over tonight, but he will get over there and the birds are being fed and watered. :)
I am glad that we can save them. I know that the SPCA will most likely euthanize the ones that they took in as "feral" "fighting animals." When all they are at this point, are innocent hens.
EDIT: Woah! The pic he sent me, shows that one of them is a rooster; the others are hens. They all look to be intact with no visible injuries.. I guess they are just sitting around in the cage and not fighting at all. We'll see how this goes.

The roosters fight with other roosters, not hens. They can actually be a lot of fun to have around...they watch over their harems, and when they find an especially tasty bug or bit of weed will do a neat scratching dance and call the girls over to share it! However...even a very tame rooster can get horribly territorial towards people, and the fighting ones are much worse. I hate to say it, but the males are probably better off euthanized humanely. A bad rooster will fly up in your face and try to slash you with his spurs...which are always filthy and covered in who knows what bacteria.

If you can get the other hens home and secured, odds are the escapee will stick around and you may be able to trap her using the others as bait. They are very social and hate to be alone.

Oh, and on eating...the commercial chicken they sell in the stores is a pale flabby thing in comparison to the flavour of a mature animal raised on a varied diet. You can't beat an older farm-raised chicken for soups or stews.

all right some gallinas!!

my grandmother in mexico raises chickens and she has a rooster of her own.they are always running around and rooster watches over all of them and if someone threatens the chickens, he goes over and fights off the person.

lol as a kid when i visited her i used to love chasing the chickens around whenever i had nothing to do.

Well, I built a pen for them out of chicken wire and 2 x 4s. I am proud; I did it all by myself in less than an hour using just scissors and wire. I salvaged the wood from the old barn, and went on my lunch hour to drive over and get the wire, and some chicken feed. The wood was already in frames (not sure what it was used for; almost like homemade wood pallets.)
We might just be getting the hens; that is fine with me. The neighbor (not the same guy who planned on eating the other ones) says that the rooster "likes him" and he wants to keep it for a pet. This is just as well I guess.. the hens probably will be more docile.
Can they chew/peck through 1-inch-thick wood?

Nope, you'll be fine with wood. The big thing is making sure it's secure against predators...racoons and opossums can be especially pesky...they can get in remarkably small openings. Chickens are pretty stupid....if it looks like it's solid, they generally don't try it, unless panicked in which case they'll try anything.

I LOVE the scratchy "look at the tidbit I found for you" dance! It never failed to crack me up.
I want pics too!
Yeah those chickens would be tasty. Just because they are cute, doesn't mean they aren't still chicken.
I'm glad to hear you got more of them, and they'll eat ticks and bad bugs for you, and will be hours of entertainment too.
Good luck with them.

Grr.. I have to wait until Monday to get them. Mark didn't get over there yesterday, and today/tomorrow he is tattooing.. but at least the neighbor guy there, has them secured in a cage and fed/watered.