My rooster is awesome! I hand raised him and he’s a sweetheart. He never attacks anyone, he’s a great protector. His mom was a Buff Orpington and his dad was a White Brahma. He knows his name and comes when he’s called. He’s so pretty when he’s standing guard ❤ I love watching the flock dynamics and listening to their language.
I got my nan the Toby dog book for Christmas. She doesn't know who you are and has never seen a video, but she loves it. She says reading it she feels like she's there on your farm.
I started with a variety of French Marans. My rooster Spade is 5 years old and I never lost a hen until this year with introducing a new bound Super Blue rooster who was a aggressive nasty rooster who spent every moment chasing Spade instead of protecting the hens. I culled him along with 4 young rooster chicks that's hatched from him. Spade is a Black and Copper French Marans and I love the dark brown eggs the hens lay. Spade has been a great rooster all our neighbors love to meet and see with his ladies!
My friend and I toured a farm on hill in rural NY, and their chicken flock was grazing in the open. "What about hawks and foxes?" I asked. Ther farmer pointed out a small red male. " See that rooster?" he said. "He's insane."
Mine also have fields, but even with a rooster, we leave a bush or a tree for them here and there. I live that guy's comment, though about the rooster 😂 everyone lives in different areas so he could have fewer hawks and eagles than us
I love your continued use of the instrumental that played at the end of the video. No matter where it plays it brings comfort and a reminder of past videos.
Raised chickens in 4-H. What you've said concerning Roosters and your observations are totally correct... Thanks for sharing this with normal folks. This information is usually not known. If people take your advice, they will know how to raise their own flocks.
Good information! When I had a flock, we handled all of our birds. They would get excited to see us when we came out to care for them and enjoyed being cuddled. Only had two mean roosters during the time we had our flock. One was a county fair prize winning Rhode Island Red that we were gifted along with a couple of his hens--he was ferocious towards us so we had to re-home him and the girls. The other was oddly a silky. Snowman would come out with the rest of the flock and then start chasing us. Sadly, we lost him to a predator--neighbor's dog. My best story of having a rooster came about in an odd way. We got some Bantam Partridge Cochins and one was a rooster. Very good with his girls and protective of them. He was injured doing so one time. My daughter and I were able to bring him in to our house treat his wounds and allow him to heal--yes, he had to wear a diaper which he did grudgingly at first. We would hold him in our laps and stroke his feathers to soothe him. Funny thing is he liked watching TV and cuddling up with whoever was available. Even after he was healed and back on the job until he died, he would come over to be held outside or come in the house and hop up on the couch and wait for the TV to be turned on and someone to sit with him. He was an awesome little man!
Just bought the Toby Dog book for my nephew he is 5 yrs.old and the cover is what caught his eye right away. I will let you know his honest review. Thanks once again Morgan
If they were bought to be part of the business it'd make no sense to keep them, sure. But he got them as pets, and so therefore they must be kept forever
I need to make a bumper sticker that says “Weird Chickens…I’m not good at foraging,not good at laying,not good at producing eggs but dam it Im cute” Also describes me to a T 😅❤
@@rosemarielee7775 That's a fact, they indeed make the best living incubators of any chicken breed I know! also sometimes they damn near starve themselves they go broody so fast after a batch that gets hatched (if farmed takes chicks to sell).
I've got 100+ hens (for the last 13 years) and tend to keep about 8-9 roosters in the group. My hens range all day on the acrerage and we've got a National Forest out the back gate, so tons of predators. That said, I've only lost about 3 hens to wild predators (and 5 to a local dog pack) in the 5 years I've been here. With every group of hens that leave the coop/run area to head out to the pastures, there's always at least 1-2 roosters with them. And the roosters are on predator watch- I've seen them alert, and chase every hen back into the barn. It's a cool thing to see. I keep the roosters in the flock until they pass. I've had 2 that have lived to 10 years. and, on both of them, I had to de-spur them around 5-6 years of age. Mostly because the spurs had gotten so long, it was hard for the bird to walk. It's pretty easy - just take a wrench or something, grab hold, and twist. Almost no blood whatsoever, and the spur will grow back. It's just like a fingernail. I've only had 2 aggressive ones. They went to freezer camp right away. We don't truck with aggressive roosters.
We had someone come in to our local library for a talk on urban chicken raising, and they told us some of the bylaws. One is that you can have hens in the city, but not roosters, because of the noise. Oh, and the one photo-bombing hen was particularly pretty, with the caramel-coloured head, and speckled body.
Yeah, most cities ban roosters. My city doesn't explicitly ban roosters, but there is a bit about the animals being kept "reasonably quiet" so I'd imagine a lot of it comes down to whether or not the neighbors complain.
One of the chicks sent by my local Farm & Fleet happened to be a Bantam Rooster. When my cousin lost all her birds to a mink, I offered the rooster with several hens. She accepted, he was only about 6 months old and I had to catch him to put him in a cat carrier to transport the birds. He was the second caught from behind on a perch, but when I tried to put the 3rd bird in, he escaped into the dark barnyard and I thought I'll never get him now. I didn't want to disappoint my cousin, so I searched for him and found him in a thicket next to the barn in the dark. I had a search light to locate him and I focused it on him as I approached. To my surprise, he flew into my light and my arms and went back into the carrier. Having been hunted and caught twice at a young age, I believe he will be less aggressive as he ages. He crows from time to time. Fertilized eggs are supposed to be more healthy for you to eat. My cousin was pleased with the new flock in her higher security enclosure.
@@catsj1767 Ah, from up nort! lol My partner's from Appleton, WI. I've picked up so much weird Wisconsin lingo from him. Although, we are definitely in agreement about FIBs. 😂
Been watching you for about a year and just realized that despite the thumbs up I usually give-I’ve never actually subscribed-and I’m SO sorry!!! Lol. Just subscribed with two YT accounts. Thank you so much for doing what you do, and thanks a million for making your videos. My boyfriend and I have looked to your videos for guidance as we think about getting different hens/roosters, because you’re very real about what you’re doing and how things are with your experiences. I hope your crops are plentiful this season, and I hope you, your wife, the two doggies, the kitties, and ALL your animals are doing well 🎉
@@WildwoodTV Absolutely need to post a request for silky hens at the post office and local eateries. Put the word out to any FFA and 4-H kids/teachers. And maybe put in an order next time he gets new chicks from his favorite hatcheries.
I highly recommend heritage breeds like the Icelandic or Swedish ones . Perfect for the climate in your neck of the woods and I know you can get those breeds in the US
Hi Morgan, this is an excellent video with great information. Thanks for sharing all you have learrned about roosters. 🐓 The little boy receiving his Toby dog book is heartwarming. Toby is my favorite too. ♥️
Just rang my family. A little boy is ecstatic! Mr and Mrs Fitzel! And Lavender! Thanks Morgan. You are awesome. So now we need to look at getting his own Fritzels.
All of this information was great. I definitely don't have any roosters, it is awesome to learn about them. I wouldn't want an aggressive rooster, I'd be scared.
In my area we are allowed six chickens but no roosters. I'm still in the thinking stage on getting chickens but my catalog came the other day and the family was putting in their choices so maybe this spring we will get some.
Everything is worth explaining! And, you do a great job doing it! I am new to chicken keeping and have a tiny flock of three. I started with four, but one of my chicks didn't make it. Then one of the hens I ordred started crowing. But, I raised them like puppies and I was attached by that point. So many people discourage me and tell me he will turn mean. They are just now at laying age--he isn't mean at all. He tidbits, does the rooster dance, and watches out for the girls. He is interested in making babies, but the girls aren't letting him yet. He is very attached to me and comes to the back door or my bedroom window and crows until I come out for cuddles. He and the girls also like to come in for little visits and snacks. Not sure where we are headed--live in city limits and roosters aren't allowed. I have an acre, so I am not on top of my neighbors, but they aren't deaf! He is a crowing boy, so I figure someone will complain at some point. But, he isn't any louder than the dogs down the street that bark all the time.
Good video - I love roosters. I found that in a suburban area, a rooster who alerts to something will crow; then neighboring roosters will crow an "all clear here" in a round robin. All clear here, all clear here, all clear here and then they all settle down again.
I now keep my Roosters as breeders. Crossed exactly how I want to make my flock. These birds are hand raised, gentle and easy to handle later. Every year it is time to switch out because of bloodlines. So in short I have pure bred hens for my hatched rooster. I am designing my own breed of chicken by the way.
Well Morgan, sounds like you have learned a lot about your chickens, their personality traits and what's a good vs. not so good rooster, you should be proud. Happy to see less mudd, but be careful if it's icing over. As always thanks for taking us along, see you soon!🐓🐂🦆❤️
I live in a sort of rural area very close to an urban area. I was outside a few days ago, mid-day, and heard a rooster crowing! From inside my home, I couldn't hear it so didn't know it was there. Loved hearing it!
We had a flock of 20 silkies before. The friendliest and chill chickens we ever had. They would climb your arms and back and let you carry and pet. We also eat silkies. It's a delicacy and so tasty. Smaller birds but easy to keep as pets and urban birds. We're in tropical climate, so we don't have to worry about cold weather.
9:45 I am not sure if someone has already mentioned it, but the spurs take time to fully develop. It takes about a year or more to fully develop to about half an inch. Usually older roosters have longer spurs
I got a rooster with crazy spurs. He pokes holes in me like a knife through butter, but he is such a sweetheart. Now it's winter so i can't train him, but during the warmer months i can hand feed him and handle him with minimal problems. He loooooves hanging around humans, just watching and chilling. But you gotta respect them spurs, they are sharper than needles
Hey Morgan have you noticed a change with your tick population on the farm with your chickens.. I’ve heard from many farmers that chickens don’t do much except take on ticks themselves
Spur topic/question: No, his spurs are not dull because he is free ranging. They don't work like claws at all, even if they are basically made out of the same material. It's just his genetics mostly. Just because a rooster is free to roam around, he will not have dull spurs. Some misinformation in this video to correct though: You mentioned in many videos, that your main rooster is a black Australorp, but he is at best a mix of a Australorp. Things like yellow eyes instead of black eyes, light yellow legs instead of black or dark slate feet, the longer beak instead of medium length and most importantly the comb should be a medium size single comb. Your rooster has a rose comb with very few protrusions. All of this traits show he is clearly not a Australorp, maybe a mix. The Bresse chicken is not a meat chicken! They are known to be one of the best chickens when it comes to how fast they are ready to butcher and the meat qualities, but they are also one of the best dual purpose chicken breeds out there. In fact they are almost as good as the best egg layer breeds I saw you got in your flock, slightly less better than the barred rock or Bielefelders (only a difference about 20 to 30 eggs per year, if the chickens have the perfect conditions). The only breeds I saw you have and is considerably better are the red ones that are either industrial Rhode Island red or some of the many hybrid chickens "breeds" out there, but the hybrid breeds will always "outlay" the heritage breeds.
Dorian Gray is indeed a gorgeous bird. What a lucky gift he was :) Actually that's a very fun part of hatching season for me : to see genetics. I'd happily watch a video of you reviewing the genetics of each baby chick of the season, really XD So whenever new genetics are introduced to the flock like Dorian Gray's, it's a fun time that promises more fun times for later ! That's why I'm also looking forward to what new Weird Chickens™ you'll bring in when spring comes.
Yes, the Australopes I used to have turned green when they turned in the sunlight...sooo pretty! I named them with spice names since they looked sprinkled! (Rosemary, Sage, etc.)
hello mr farmer ~ when you were holding black francis he looked like a bagpipe ~ was hoping you d play a tune on that thing ~ also when you mentioned rooster economics i thot you said ' rooster beakinomics ~ was really nice to meet the roosters one by one as well as some of the others along with their storys ~ great info too ~ i am very curious about birds & that is how i found your channel a few years back because i typed in > how to tell male & female geese apart ~ i live near a 200 acre park which has resident geese ducks + peacocks + migrating herons that nest here every spring summer ~ get to see all the babys grow so cool as keen would say ~
And so goes the life of a rooster on Gold Shaw Farm! Such beautiful birds! You look to have a really great flock of chickens! Glad to hear you're trying to hatch as many as possible. Hopefully someone has a few weird hens to trade, sell, or give to you.
American Bresse are so delicious. Every year that you select thru them for a bigger meatier carcass at a younger age, your flock will get better and better. We are up just over 6# pullets at butcher age which is about 4-5 months on our farm! Get the best rooster you can find!
The birds are pretty 😍 but francis definitely isn’t a australorp he most likely is a black Wyandotte since he has yellow legs as well as that rose comb
Many yrs ago, we had a mixed flock of 12 birds. "King" mated w/ a hen one day & split her sides wide open w/ his talons. She couldn't be saved so both of them went to freezer camp. Sometimes there's no other choice. We coulldn't allow him to do it again.
A good rooster to me is one who will protect the flock, take care of the other birds, and is friendly to my other animals kids and me. My dogs and cats are always with them. The cats get rid of the mice in their coop and fields. My dogs go out there to put them up, hang out, and go around the field, putting their scent all around it. Mine are so friendly you can pet them, but they still do a great job. About the talons, my rooster I have to clip his talons he grows 5 or 6 on each leg. He will let me clip them while he stands eating and gets pets after. They can be worn down protecting their flock and digging. Some are harder so they don't become as dull. I have to file some of my roosters and clip some of his talons don't remove because they bleed out. Also hens can also grow spurs to. My rooster is not the one in charge the hens are 😅 I also have one rooster who fakes having food. Mine crow all day and night 😅 they crow no matter what. It will be 3 in the morning and they are crowing. Health is also a huge thing for me along with breed. My rooster is almost 5 my other will be 3 and I have a new baby rooster from my 4 year old who is just like his dad.
I have backyard chickens in suburbia. I got six Buff Orpington chicks from Tractor Supply, one died another was a rooster. So far, my neighbors have either not complained or said they are entertained by his crowing ... which starts at 4:30 am. I'll keep him if the city doesn't make an issue of it, 'cuz I just like him. By the way, he's not top chick in the order of things. My biggest hen backs him down. LOL
From an experienced chicken keeper: Spur LENGTH is related to age. Barry White's spurs are the right length for a cockerel. Meanwhile I've so far detected no rhyme or reason to spur pointyness/dullness. I have gotten puncture wounds in the thigh from a rooster. The same rooster also lost 1 entire spur but regrew it. Trimming spurs is like trimming nails-there IS a quick that bleeds, so you're right to be concerned but you can totally hacksaw the tips off if you get a stab wound from a rooster you wanted to keep. And since I've heard you say this for many videos I need to say: BLACK FRANCIS IS NOT AN AUSTRALORP. Whoever told you he was, was wrong. He could def be half or part Australorp but proper Australorps have SINGLE combs like Barred Plymouth Rocks and RIRs and now that I see the red in his hackle he is not a pure Australorp. He's just beautiful and his comb is doing him and your future flock a favor by not being a single comb. Also... Dorian Grey is beautiful and I want to hug him but you've like, SEEN him mate with hens and do rooster stuff, right? I ID'd him as a hen before you introduced him to us. I love your videos and I am so glad I got to meet you and the barncats in October! Your channel is awesome!!
From About 8 to 18 I raised chickens at my parents home. I started out with 6 but by the time I was 16 I had 56 of them and 3 separate houses for them. I had Rhode Island Reds, White Rocks and Leghorns. The White Rocks and the Leghorns laid white eggs, the reds laid brown eggs. The Leghorns were machines and could lay an egg as quickly as once every 20 hours; and as a plus, you could trick them into laying eggs by putting on a timer in their hen house so it would go "on" and hour before dawn and stay lit until 9AM then re-light in the late afternoon and stay illuminated until an hour after dusk. I had 3 roosters and they pretty much respected each other. Each one seemed to have a favorite hen. I had an oddly laid out wire enclosed top, bottom & side pen in that it wasn't rectangled but hexagonal in shape with one chicken house in the flat end of 1/3 of the coop. I'd laid chicken wire on the ground of the coop and covered it up in dirt. I then built up the sides and wired together the sides and the edges of the ground wire. I built the sides up to 8 feet high and folded over the wire to cover the roof section of the open air yard. The size of the whole coop was 25 feet in diameter and because it was six sided, it looked larger. Imagine a Mercedes-Benz symbol and imagine one house in between any two points and that's what it looked like. This set up blocked racoons, hawks, Opossum and other predators from getting into the enclosed pen. Rats would occasionally squeeze in between the fencing but the roosters would start attacking and the noise alerted my dog who would start barking and cause my brother, parents or myself to come look. I had a CO2 pellet gun and that usually finished off the rats. The roosters were modestly calm except for the White Rock named "Fat fellow". He being the biggest of the 3 boys was a bully and had no problem chasing others around the coop when the mood struck him. I discovered that he wasn't a pure breed either but a mix with a white Jersey Giant and a white Rock which was why he was so large. I recognized that when he began feeling "Oat-see", the best thing to do was to do exactly what you're doing, in tucking him up under your arm like a bagpipe and to start stroking his neck, breast, comb or his wattles between my thumb and forefingers and talking to him soothingly. I would do the same thing with the other two also but less frequently because they weren't as "robust" as fat fellow. In the first year after having him, he actually attacked me as I was bending down near "his hen" to pour grain into a pan. I received a long scratch diagonally across my face that lasted for weeks from him. That's when I learned that to stop these attacks, I had to shove his face into the dirt and hold him down for several minutes and to do it several times in a week until he would learn to stay away when I bent down. After Fat Fellow was 6 years old, he was replaced and he became coq au vin ( my mother was French). The 3 roosters fathered all the other chicks and many I sold to my friends. They were of all sorts of mixtures which was kind of cool. I also sold and bartered the eggs to neighbors and classmates. When I left for college, I sold the whole deal lock, stock and barrel to another underclassman who had chickens. He even took the pen and the hen houses. It was a great experience and I learned a lot about behavior in people from these chickens believe it or not.
Every time I watch you talk about the ice from your watering stations I think that you should build a catchment of some type: grate, pebble/rock, etc next to the fence edge that has a deep drain (maybe a gravil pit) that can catch all the splash, discard or overflow and bury it to eventually run off . Rather that then turning into sloppy mud.
Given the spurs aren't in contact with the ground, I doubt they get worn down at all. They might get caught on something and break off. If they need to be removed you can grab them with pliers and twist off the outer sheath, the living tissue "core" is a lot smaller than the length of the spur when they get long. The sheath will grow back but start at the size of the core. However, given your roosters are only around for a couple of years I doubt their spurs will get long enough to be a problem.
We down here in the South we know about Chicken stuff or at least i do cause i am in my 80's.....But thanks Morgan for tell about Chicken and Rooster economics to the people who don't know about this stuff 👍 Old Shoe🇺🇸
I let my chickens run . This year a fisher cat attacked my hens and my rooster mr peck fought it off. Sometimes he's a pain in the but. But overall he's great to have around. .
We do rooster relocation, have a flock of roosters all summer for bug control, and stock the freezer when fall hits hard. Clearly, we live where the noise is not an issue.
I saw that ‘short’ … I wondered if you would ever get to see it! Must have been heartwarming to watch! Your side comments are hilarious, not to mention entertaining. Also, rule #8 isn’t so weird … I mean considering, you were a manager! 😂
Great video, Morgan!! I've had two Ameraucana roosters: Both were too aggressive for my liking! One even pinned a 4-year old little girl along a fence. Yikes!! My Rhode Island roosters, though I've been TOLD they are aggressive, have been great roosters around me and the hens. I've had bantam roosters, and they're usually strutting their stuff, but when they flog you, it's like being hit by a fly. I just chuckle at them:) In my flock of regular sized chickens, I have two roosters and 40-something hens. Perfect for my liking! And the roosters are not aggressive toward each other since Apollo hatched out here and grew up in Pauley's presence. Pauley's the top roo. (Can you detect the "Rocky" theme!? I had a previous RI rooster whose name was Rocky. He lived a long, good life.) I keep an eye on the roosters' spurs; they can grow quite long and hurt the hens. They can be safely removed, but watch a couple vids on removing them before trying it yourself.
Me and my partner only have ducks, but we get free roosters off craigslist, and we have honestly had a handful we feel bad sending to freezer camp because they are so docile of a rooster they would make a great addition to a flock, however were we usually are getting these birds there is a no male chicken rule (hence why we went with ducks and not chickens)
Belive me Morgan, my mom’s uncle has about 300 hounded chickens! And he has the problem with rooster’s but what he does he keeps them separated or he « eat « them should I say it depends he sell them too! But the hood thing is when he hatch’s chickens there’s some Roosters with the greatest breed I ever seen, he got like big not feathery rooster with feathery hair tho, and I am impressed of them! They have those tons of colors and impressed me so much!
I'd say you should put the old roosters up for sale rather than "call" them after 2 years. Normally this would be pointless, but in your particular case there may be an interest from your subscribers to acquire them live. In my area it's relatively common practice to switch/exchange mature roosters between neighbors every 2-3 years as a way to prevent inbreeding while preserving the best breeders, healthy roosters can perform well for up to 7 years (sometimes even more) and you don't get really good ones in every new generation of chicks.
My rooster is awesome! I hand raised him and he’s a sweetheart. He never attacks anyone, he’s a great protector. His mom was a Buff Orpington and his dad was a White Brahma. He knows his name and comes when he’s called. He’s so pretty when he’s standing guard ❤
I love watching the flock dynamics and listening to their language.
I got my nan the Toby dog book for Christmas. She doesn't know who you are and has never seen a video, but she loves it. She says reading it she feels like she's there on your farm.
I started with a variety of French Marans. My rooster Spade is 5 years old and I never lost a hen until this year with introducing a new bound Super Blue rooster who was a aggressive nasty rooster who spent every moment chasing Spade instead of protecting the hens. I culled him along with 4 young rooster chicks that's hatched from him.
Spade is a Black and Copper French Marans and I love the dark brown eggs the hens lay. Spade has been a great rooster all our neighbors love to meet and see with his ladies!
My friend and I toured a farm on hill in rural NY, and their chicken flock was grazing in the open. "What about hawks and foxes?" I asked. Ther farmer pointed out a small red male.
" See that rooster?" he said. "He's insane."
Hahahaha I got a good chuckle
Mine also have fields, but even with a rooster, we leave a bush or a tree for them here and there. I live that guy's comment, though about the rooster 😂 everyone lives in different areas so he could have fewer hawks and eagles than us
Hahahaha I can only imagine what's going to happen to the foxes and hawks...
Lol! That's great!
😅😅😅😅
❤ The little boy's reaction is absolutely priceless. Thanx, Morgan, stay warm. ❤
Loved the Rooster 🐓 video. I'm so happy to see the weird chickens enjoying their safe space❤
I love your continued use of the instrumental that played at the end of the video. No matter where it plays it brings comfort and a reminder of past videos.
I love it so catchy
Raised chickens in 4-H. What you've said concerning Roosters and your observations are totally correct... Thanks for sharing this with normal folks. This information is usually not known. If people take your advice, they will know how to raise their own flocks.
Good information! When I had a flock, we handled all of our birds. They would get excited to see us when we came out to care for them and enjoyed being cuddled. Only had two mean roosters during the time we had our flock. One was a county fair prize winning Rhode Island Red that we were gifted along with a couple of his hens--he was ferocious towards us so we had to re-home him and the girls. The other was oddly a silky. Snowman would come out with the rest of the flock and then start chasing us. Sadly, we lost him to a predator--neighbor's dog. My best story of having a rooster came about in an odd way. We got some Bantam Partridge Cochins and one was a rooster. Very good with his girls and protective of them. He was injured doing so one time. My daughter and I were able to bring him in to our house treat his wounds and allow him to heal--yes, he had to wear a diaper which he did grudgingly at first. We would hold him in our laps and stroke his feathers to soothe him. Funny thing is he liked watching TV and cuddling up with whoever was available. Even after he was healed and back on the job until he died, he would come over to be held outside or come in the house and hop up on the couch and wait for the TV to be turned on and someone to sit with him. He was an awesome little man!
That little kid's reaction was the best ❤
Just bought the Toby Dog book for my nephew he is 5 yrs.old and the cover is what caught his eye right away. I will let you know his honest review. Thanks once again Morgan
#2 - Never get rid of the silky chickens please.😂❤
If they were bought to be part of the business it'd make no sense to keep them, sure. But he got them as pets, and so therefore they must be kept forever
@@PredictableEnigma I support this theory.
Morgan sells them time to time. People fancy fancy chickens.
Another great video to watch on this Monday morning after a major snowstorm of 17 inches.
Jealous 😂❤My part of Canada has had NO snow or below 0 yet 😢
@@MamaStyles Come to Québec City on wednesday, they announnce 60 cm (yes, 24 inches) of snow starting tuesday night... Happy New Year, I guess...!
I need to make a bumper sticker that says “Weird Chickens…I’m not good at foraging,not good at laying,not good at producing eggs but dam it Im cute” Also describes me to a T 😅❤
Lol 😂
Or a t-shirt!!! XL for me, please.
Silkies are usually kept to be chick brooders as they are better mothers than most.
@@rosemarielee7775 That's a fact, they indeed make the best living incubators of any chicken breed I know! also sometimes they damn near starve themselves they go broody so fast after a batch that gets hatched (if farmed takes chicks to sell).
That video of that little boy was priceless. Loved his wording.
Good day Gold Shaw ❤️🤍💙
The barn is looking amazing! How picturesque.
I've got 100+ hens (for the last 13 years) and tend to keep about 8-9 roosters in the group. My hens range all day on the acrerage and we've got a National Forest out the back gate, so tons of predators. That said, I've only lost about 3 hens to wild predators (and 5 to a local dog pack) in the 5 years I've been here. With every group of hens that leave the coop/run area to head out to the pastures, there's always at least 1-2 roosters with them. And the roosters are on predator watch- I've seen them alert, and chase every hen back into the barn. It's a cool thing to see.
I keep the roosters in the flock until they pass. I've had 2 that have lived to 10 years. and, on both of them, I had to de-spur them around 5-6 years of age. Mostly because the spurs had gotten so long, it was hard for the bird to walk. It's pretty easy - just take a wrench or something, grab hold, and twist. Almost no blood whatsoever, and the spur will grow back. It's just like a fingernail.
I've only had 2 aggressive ones. They went to freezer camp right away. We don't truck with aggressive roosters.
We had someone come in to our local library for a talk on urban chicken raising, and they told us some of the bylaws. One is that you can have hens in the city, but not roosters, because of the noise. Oh, and the one photo-bombing hen was particularly pretty, with the caramel-coloured head, and speckled body.
Yeah, most cities ban roosters. My city doesn't explicitly ban roosters, but there is a bit about the animals being kept "reasonably quiet" so I'd imagine a lot of it comes down to whether or not the neighbors complain.
Awww, how cute, your young fan getting his copy of the book.
Enjoyed the in depth discussion of your roosters and their characteristic’s….well done Morgan🎅
One of the chicks sent by my local Farm & Fleet happened to be a Bantam Rooster. When my cousin lost all her birds to a mink, I offered the rooster with several hens. She accepted, he was only about 6 months old and I had to catch him to put him in a cat carrier to transport the birds. He was the second caught from behind on a perch, but when I tried to put the 3rd bird in, he escaped into the dark barnyard and I thought I'll never get him now. I didn't want to disappoint my cousin, so I searched for him and found him in a thicket next to the barn in the dark. I had a search light to locate him and I focused it on him as I approached. To my surprise, he flew into my light and my arms and went back into the carrier. Having been hunted and caught twice at a young age, I believe he will be less aggressive as he ages. He crows from time to time. Fertilized eggs are supposed to be more healthy for you to eat. My cousin was pleased with the new flock in her higher security enclosure.
You must be from norther wisconsin.. southern wisconsin has Fleet Farms. Learned that from Charlie Berhans
@@catsj1767 Ah, from up nort! lol
My partner's from Appleton, WI. I've picked up so much weird Wisconsin lingo from him. Although, we are definitely in agreement about FIBs. 😂
You’re a good storyteller 😊 I also didn’t know fertilized eggs are better. 🙂
Been watching you for about a year and just realized that despite the thumbs up I usually give-I’ve never actually subscribed-and I’m SO sorry!!! Lol. Just subscribed with two YT accounts. Thank you so much for doing what you do, and thanks a million for making your videos. My boyfriend and I have looked to your videos for guidance as we think about getting different hens/roosters, because you’re very real about what you’re doing and how things are with your experiences.
I hope your crops are plentiful this season, and I hope you, your wife, the two doggies, the kitties, and ALL your animals are doing well 🎉
Oh man, it's so sad there's only 3 weird chickens left 🥺
RIP Rosie and Rosette
Oh no! I didn’t realize there were deaths!! I guess I’ve missed episodes!
more weird chickens needed 👍
@@WildwoodTV Absolutely need to post a request for silky hens at the post office and local eateries. Put the word out to any FFA and 4-H kids/teachers. And maybe put in an order next time he gets new chicks from his favorite hatcheries.
They are great brooders.
theres a whole lot more in the hoop coop ~ did you see ?
i think mr farmer just pulled bette out with a couple of companions ~
I highly recommend heritage breeds like the Icelandic or Swedish ones . Perfect for the climate in your neck of the woods and I know you can get those breeds in the US
or the chantecler bred for the canadian climate.
Hi Morgan, this is an excellent video with great information. Thanks for sharing all you have learrned about roosters. 🐓 The little boy receiving his Toby dog book is heartwarming. Toby is my favorite too. ♥️
Beautiful silkies they make wonderful pets Morgan
I just realized you should sell Toby dog stuffed animals. Not too big. Perfect for little hands. Love watching your videos!💕
he has / or did ~ i have one that i got exactly a year ago this month ~
Just rang my family. A little boy is ecstatic! Mr and Mrs Fitzel! And Lavender! Thanks Morgan. You are awesome. So now we need to look at getting his own Fritzels.
Black Francis is my Fave Rooster, he's one black handsome fella!
the little boy was completely priceless.🥲
Your sub numbers are about to hit a million✨can’t wait for that for you👍🏼
All of this information was great. I definitely don't have any roosters, it is awesome to learn about them. I wouldn't want an aggressive rooster, I'd be scared.
In my area we are allowed six chickens but no roosters. I'm still in the thinking stage on getting chickens but my catalog came the other day and the family was putting in their choices so maybe this spring we will get some.
Everything is worth explaining! And, you do a great job doing it! I am new to chicken keeping and have a tiny flock of three. I started with four, but one of my chicks didn't make it. Then one of the hens I ordred started crowing. But, I raised them like puppies and I was attached by that point. So many people discourage me and tell me he will turn mean. They are just now at laying age--he isn't mean at all. He tidbits, does the rooster dance, and watches out for the girls. He is interested in making babies, but the girls aren't letting him yet. He is very attached to me and comes to the back door or my bedroom window and crows until I come out for cuddles. He and the girls also like to come in for little visits and snacks. Not sure where we are headed--live in city limits and roosters aren't allowed. I have an acre, so I am not on top of my neighbors, but they aren't deaf! He is a crowing boy, so I figure someone will complain at some point. But, he isn't any louder than the dogs down the street that bark all the time.
I think you are doing such a great job. You always just make my day a happier one. 🙂
Thanks, Judy!
Good video - I love roosters. I found that in a suburban area, a rooster who alerts to something will crow; then neighboring roosters will crow an "all clear here" in a round robin. All clear here, all clear here, all clear here and then they all settle down again.
Happy New Year Morgan to you and Allison! Blessings 🙏💞
I now keep my Roosters as breeders. Crossed exactly how I want to make my flock. These birds are hand raised, gentle and easy to handle later. Every year it is time to switch out because of bloodlines. So in short I have pure bred hens for my hatched rooster. I am designing my own breed of chicken by the way.
I’d love to develop my own chicken breed lol. Maybe someday..
That's very cool.
Well Morgan, sounds like you have learned a lot about your chickens, their personality traits and what's a good vs. not so good rooster, you should be proud. Happy to see less mudd, but be careful if it's icing over. As always thanks for taking us along, see you soon!🐓🐂🦆❤️
Need more weird chickens!! Love, love them!!!!❤
At 5:07 the🐔chicken on the left looking into the camera gave me a good chuckle😂
The weird chickens are so cute when they drink water - I expect them to start singing afterwards.
I live in a sort of rural area very close to an urban area. I was outside a few days ago, mid-day, and heard a rooster crowing! From inside my home, I couldn't hear it so didn't know it was there. Loved hearing it!
Can I just say that you have a beautiful barn!
We had a flock of 20 silkies before. The friendliest and chill chickens we ever had. They would climb your arms and back and let you carry and pet.
We also eat silkies. It's a delicacy and so tasty. Smaller birds but easy to keep as pets and urban birds. We're in tropical climate, so we don't have to worry about cold weather.
We love to hear the roosters in the morning. We live outside city limits on acreage. Nice video.
"It's getting colder, some of this mud is finally firming up."
*Laughs in consecutive winter storm moving into the area.*
Love your chicken videos. Keep them coming! ❤
9:45 I am not sure if someone has already mentioned it, but the spurs take time to fully develop. It takes about a year or more to fully develop to about half an inch. Usually older roosters have longer spurs
I got a rooster with crazy spurs. He pokes holes in me like a knife through butter, but he is such a sweetheart. Now it's winter so i can't train him, but during the warmer months i can hand feed him and handle him with minimal problems. He loooooves hanging around humans, just watching and chilling. But you gotta respect them spurs, they are sharper than needles
I just love the sound of contented chickens...😊
17:14 HAHA I love how he made a noise when he suddenly felt happy
Hey Morgan have you noticed a change with your tick population on the farm with your chickens.. I’ve heard from many farmers that chickens don’t do much except take on ticks themselves
I love Mr Frizzle. ❤❤❤
Keep watch on the spikes of the crampons, cuz they can go quite dull and useless in ice. Mine sure got quite dull and I can feel how they struggle.
age plays a part in spur length. you can also trim/file the spurs as needed.
It's just mesmerizing to see you talk and move while the bird head and eye just stay stationary " in the same spot " :D
Spur topic/question: No, his spurs are not dull because he is free ranging. They don't work like claws at all, even if they are basically made out of the same material. It's just his genetics mostly. Just because a rooster is free to roam around, he will not have dull spurs.
Some misinformation in this video to correct though:
You mentioned in many videos, that your main rooster is a black Australorp, but he is at best a mix of a Australorp. Things like yellow eyes instead of black eyes, light yellow legs instead of black or dark slate feet, the longer beak instead of medium length and most importantly the comb should be a medium size single comb. Your rooster has a rose comb with very few protrusions. All of this traits show he is clearly not a Australorp, maybe a mix.
The Bresse chicken is not a meat chicken! They are known to be one of the best chickens when it comes to how fast they are ready to butcher and the meat qualities, but they are also one of the best dual purpose chicken breeds out there. In fact they are almost as good as the best egg layer breeds I saw you got in your flock, slightly less better than the barred rock or Bielefelders (only a difference about 20 to 30 eggs per year, if the chickens have the perfect conditions). The only breeds I saw you have and is considerably better are the red ones that are either industrial Rhode Island red or some of the many hybrid chickens "breeds" out there, but the hybrid breeds will always "outlay" the heritage breeds.
POOR BEAN she sounded so shocked/annoyed lol
Dorian Gray is indeed a gorgeous bird. What a lucky gift he was :)
Actually that's a very fun part of hatching season for me : to see genetics. I'd happily watch a video of you reviewing the genetics of each baby chick of the season, really XD So whenever new genetics are introduced to the flock like Dorian Gray's, it's a fun time that promises more fun times for later !
That's why I'm also looking forward to what new Weird Chickens™ you'll bring in when spring comes.
Among the hens, the barred one is my fave, together with the iridescent black ones (same species as Black Francis I guess)
Yes, the Australopes I used to have turned green when they turned in the sunlight...sooo pretty! I named them with spice names since they looked sprinkled! (Rosemary, Sage, etc.)
Time to extend the weird chicken flock! New colors and feather patterns, yeah? Yeah!!! 🐣🐥🐤🐔
hello mr farmer ~ when you were holding black francis he looked like a bagpipe ~ was hoping you d play a tune on that thing ~
also when you mentioned rooster economics i thot you said ' rooster beakinomics ~
was really nice to meet the roosters one by one as well as some of the others along with their storys ~ great info too ~
i am very curious about birds & that is how i found your channel a few years back because i typed in > how to tell male & female geese apart ~
i live near a 200 acre park which has resident geese ducks + peacocks + migrating herons that nest here every spring summer ~ get to see all the babys grow so cool as keen would say ~
And so goes the life of a rooster on Gold Shaw Farm! Such beautiful birds! You look to have a really great flock of chickens! Glad to hear you're trying to hatch as many as possible. Hopefully someone has a few weird hens to trade, sell, or give to you.
Thanks for sharing Morgan.
Dorian Grey matches your jacket and hat 😄🐓
Dorian Grey is a beautiful bird!
Black chickens scare off hawks, who think they may be mean crows! Hawks are scared silly of crows. 😂😂😂
American Bresse are so delicious. Every year that you select thru them for a bigger meatier carcass at a younger age, your flock will get better and better. We are up just over 6# pullets at butcher age which is about 4-5 months on our farm!
Get the best rooster you can find!
Have had many breeds. The best is the giant cochin! Very mild yet protective of his womans.
The birds are pretty 😍 but francis definitely isn’t a australorp he most likely is a black Wyandotte since he has yellow legs as well as that rose comb
Uncle Virginia, my frizzle roo, used to crow when I came home from tattoo appointments at 3 am. Hahahahaha, that little cutie always told on me.
That was fun. Thanks for the intro to Dorian Gray. He is gorgeous; really just a picture of a rooster :)
Many yrs ago, we had a mixed flock of 12 birds. "King" mated w/ a hen one day & split her sides wide open w/ his talons. She couldn't be saved so both of them went to freezer camp. Sometimes there's no other choice. We coulldn't allow him to do it again.
A good rooster to me is one who will protect the flock, take care of the other birds, and is friendly to my other animals kids and me. My dogs and cats are always with them. The cats get rid of the mice in their coop and fields. My dogs go out there to put them up, hang out, and go around the field, putting their scent all around it. Mine are so friendly you can pet them, but they still do a great job. About the talons, my rooster I have to clip his talons he grows 5 or 6 on each leg. He will let me clip them while he stands eating and gets pets after. They can be worn down protecting their flock and digging. Some are harder so they don't become as dull. I have to file some of my roosters and clip some of his talons don't remove because they bleed out. Also hens can also grow spurs to. My rooster is not the one in charge the hens are 😅 I also have one rooster who fakes having food. Mine crow all day and night 😅 they crow no matter what. It will be 3 in the morning and they are crowing. Health is also a huge thing for me along with breed. My rooster is almost 5 my other will be 3 and I have a new baby rooster from my 4 year old who is just like his dad.
I have backyard chickens in suburbia. I got six Buff Orpington chicks from Tractor Supply, one died another was a rooster. So far, my neighbors have either not complained or said they are entertained by his crowing ... which starts at 4:30 am. I'll keep him if the city doesn't make an issue of it, 'cuz I just like him. By the way, he's not top chick in the order of things. My biggest hen backs him down. LOL
From an experienced chicken keeper:
Spur LENGTH is related to age. Barry White's spurs are the right length for a cockerel. Meanwhile I've so far detected no rhyme or reason to spur pointyness/dullness. I have gotten puncture wounds in the thigh from a rooster. The same rooster also lost 1 entire spur but regrew it. Trimming spurs is like trimming nails-there IS a quick that bleeds, so you're right to be concerned but you can totally hacksaw the tips off if you get a stab wound from a rooster you wanted to keep.
And since I've heard you say this for many videos I need to say: BLACK FRANCIS IS NOT AN AUSTRALORP. Whoever told you he was, was wrong. He could def be half or part Australorp but proper Australorps have SINGLE combs like Barred Plymouth Rocks and RIRs and now that I see the red in his hackle he is not a pure Australorp. He's just beautiful and his comb is doing him and your future flock a favor by not being a single comb.
Also... Dorian Grey is beautiful and I want to hug him but you've like, SEEN him mate with hens and do rooster stuff, right? I ID'd him as a hen before you introduced him to us.
I love your videos and I am so glad I got to meet you and the barncats in October! Your channel is awesome!!
From About 8 to 18 I raised chickens at my parents home. I started out with 6 but by the time I was 16 I had 56 of them and 3 separate houses for them.
I had Rhode Island Reds, White Rocks and Leghorns. The White Rocks and the Leghorns laid white eggs, the reds laid brown eggs. The Leghorns were machines and could lay an egg as quickly as once every 20 hours; and as a plus, you could trick them into laying eggs by putting on a timer in their hen house so it would go "on" and hour before dawn and stay lit until 9AM then re-light in the late afternoon and stay illuminated until an hour after dusk.
I had 3 roosters and they pretty much respected each other. Each one seemed to have a favorite hen. I had an oddly laid out wire enclosed top, bottom & side pen in that it wasn't rectangled but hexagonal in shape with one chicken house in the flat end of 1/3 of the coop.
I'd laid chicken wire on the ground of the coop and covered it up in dirt. I then built up the sides and wired together the sides and the edges of the ground wire. I built the sides up to 8 feet high and folded over the wire to cover the roof section of the open air yard. The size of the whole coop was 25 feet in diameter and because it was six sided, it looked larger. Imagine a Mercedes-Benz symbol and imagine one house in between any two points and that's what it looked like. This set up blocked racoons, hawks, Opossum and other predators from getting into the enclosed pen. Rats would occasionally squeeze in between the fencing but the roosters would start attacking and the noise alerted my dog who would start barking and cause my brother, parents or myself to come look. I had a CO2 pellet gun and that usually finished off the rats.
The roosters were modestly calm except for the White Rock named "Fat fellow". He being the biggest of the 3 boys was a bully and had no problem chasing others around the coop when the mood struck him.
I discovered that he wasn't a pure breed either but a mix with a white Jersey Giant and a white Rock which was why he was so large. I recognized that when he began feeling "Oat-see", the best thing to do was to do exactly what you're doing, in tucking him up under your arm like a bagpipe and to start stroking his neck, breast, comb or his wattles between my thumb and forefingers and talking to him soothingly. I would do the same thing with the other two also but less frequently because they weren't as "robust" as fat fellow. In the first year after having him, he actually attacked me as I was bending down near "his hen" to pour grain into a pan.
I received a long scratch diagonally across my face that lasted for weeks from him. That's when I learned that to stop these attacks, I had to shove his face into the dirt and hold him down for several minutes and to do it several times in a week until he would learn to stay away when I bent down. After Fat Fellow was 6 years old, he was replaced and he became coq au vin ( my mother was French).
The 3 roosters fathered all the other chicks and many I sold to my friends. They were of all sorts of mixtures which was kind of cool. I also sold and bartered the eggs to neighbors and classmates. When I left for college, I sold the whole deal lock, stock and barrel to another underclassman who had chickens. He even took the pen and the hen houses. It was a great experience and I learned a lot about behavior in people from these chickens believe it or not.
I love silky chickens they are so pretty.
Every time I watch you talk about the ice from your watering stations I think that you should build a catchment of some type: grate, pebble/rock, etc next to the fence edge that has a deep drain (maybe a gravil pit) that can catch all the splash, discard or overflow and bury it to eventually run off . Rather that then turning into sloppy mud.
Given the spurs aren't in contact with the ground, I doubt they get worn down at all. They might get caught on something and break off. If they need to be removed you can grab them with pliers and twist off the outer sheath, the living tissue "core" is a lot smaller than the length of the spur when they get long. The sheath will grow back but start at the size of the core. However, given your roosters are only around for a couple of years I doubt their spurs will get long enough to be a problem.
We down here in the South we know about Chicken stuff or at least i do cause i am in my 80's.....But thanks Morgan for tell about Chicken and Rooster economics to the people who don't know about this stuff 👍
Old Shoe🇺🇸
Great video
8:00 you can clip the spurs off too
I let my chickens run . This year a fisher cat attacked my hens and my rooster mr peck fought it off. Sometimes he's a pain in the but. But overall he's great to have around.
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We do rooster relocation, have a flock of roosters all summer for bug control, and stock the freezer when fall hits hard. Clearly, we live where the noise is not an issue.
If interested in egg shell color. Generally, White “ear patches” lay white egg shell. Non white “ear patches” lay other colored egg shells.
I saw that ‘short’ … I wondered if you would ever get to see it! Must have been heartwarming to watch!
Your side comments are hilarious, not to mention entertaining. Also, rule #8 isn’t so weird … I mean considering, you were a manager! 😂
Thanks for this video very informative 😊
Great video, Morgan!! I've had two Ameraucana roosters: Both were too aggressive for my liking! One even pinned a 4-year old little girl along a fence. Yikes!! My Rhode Island roosters, though I've been TOLD they are aggressive, have been great roosters around me and the hens. I've had bantam roosters, and they're usually strutting their stuff, but when they flog you, it's like being hit by a fly. I just chuckle at them:) In my flock of regular sized chickens, I have two roosters and 40-something hens. Perfect for my liking! And the roosters are not aggressive toward each other since Apollo hatched out here and grew up in Pauley's presence. Pauley's the top roo. (Can you detect the "Rocky" theme!? I had a previous RI rooster whose name was Rocky. He lived a long, good life.) I keep an eye on the roosters' spurs; they can grow quite long and hurt the hens. They can be safely removed, but watch a couple vids on removing them before trying it yourself.
Mr. Frizzle is my favorite!
Silky hens also get broody & can hatch eggs.
Love watching you 💕
How are you and your wife?
Fine day today right 👍
Me and my partner only have ducks, but we get free roosters off craigslist, and we have honestly had a handful we feel bad sending to freezer camp because they are so docile of a rooster they would make a great addition to a flock, however were we usually are getting these birds there is a no male chicken rule (hence why we went with ducks and not chickens)
This was absolutely great information
Belive me Morgan, my mom’s uncle has about 300 hounded chickens! And he has the problem with rooster’s but what he does he keeps them separated or he « eat « them should I say it depends he sell them too! But the hood thing is when he hatch’s chickens there’s some Roosters with the greatest breed I ever seen, he got like big not feathery rooster with feathery hair tho, and I am impressed of them! They have those tons of colors and impressed me so much!
That American Bresse chicken is soo good.
Toby is a beautiful dog
Always enjoy your content, thank you
I'd say you should put the old roosters up for sale rather than "call" them after 2 years. Normally this would be pointless, but in your particular case there may be an interest from your subscribers to acquire them live.
In my area it's relatively common practice to switch/exchange mature roosters between neighbors every 2-3 years as a way to prevent inbreeding while preserving the best breeders, healthy roosters can perform well for up to 7 years (sometimes even more) and you don't get really good ones in every new generation of chicks.
I wish they exchanged roos round here (UK) I have some lovely Silkie boys
Cull.
It probably depends on how good of a rooster they are. Bad roosters go in the pot.