Help us name our rooster!

Last night we acquired our very own rooster! 

We got it from Sam's friend who lives a couple miles away. The rooster would constantly peck at his kids' feet and since the kids are the ones who take care of the chickens, they decided to get rid of it. 

We have been talking for a while now about how we want a rooster so we were excited to pick this guy up!

Here is the deal with roosters (in case you don't already know) - they can be a bit aggressive. And loud (which doesn't bother us). But we were always hesitant to get one because we heard they can be really mean to people. Some people who have them have told me that they have to distract their rooster while they go out to collect the eggs because otherwise the rooster will become aggressive trying to protect the eggs. The stories go on and on. But then again people told us how mean turkeys can be and so far we haven't had any problems with them trying to peck us! Not one! So who knows...

The COOL thing about roosters, though, is their protective instincts. Roosters are actually good to have around because they protect their "girls" from any predators that might come their way. And they make it so we can hatch our own chicks!

I think the level of aggression depends on the breed and just the individual rooster. Last night when we brought this guy home we let him out in the run to see what would happen between the rooster and the hens and turkeys. The hens seemed a little curious but most didn't seem to care much. BUT THE TURKEYS! Holy smokes, they were not having it. Those turkeys of ours can be bullies. They started puffing out their feathers (a post on this to come because it is quite hilarious and also seriously cool) and going after the rooster like it was their job! They wouldn't leave the poor guy alone. We were chasing the rooster around trying to protect it/catch it. Let me tell you, this rooster is definitely stronger than our hens. He is not an easy catch, my friends. We were also a little nervous he might peck at our hands during the process (hence the gloves in the picture below) but he didn't go for them once. (He did go for Sam's feet a couple times when we went to pick him up). Once he was caught I took him for a nice tour of the yard and held him a lot so he would get used to me. He hardly even tried to shake free from me! Very surprising considering when we pick up most hens they are uncomfortable and try to get away pretty much the entire time.

The rooster is currently separated from the rest of the flock and is being held in our brooder in the barn. The rooster can be seen by the rest of the flock while in the brooder but is protected from them completely. Introducing a new member of the flock takes time and the flock will not accept it right away (which was quite clear with the turkeys last night). We are going to keep him in the brooder for at least a few days so everyone can see each other and get used to one another. Then, from what we have read, we are going to let him out at night once all the other animals are settled in their spots and cannot really see the rooster. People say having the chickens wake up and having the rooster already there helps with acceptance. So we are going to try it!

Also, this is all an experiment to us but we are going to see if we can get the rooster to stop pecking at peoples' feet. With roosters (and hens) you always have to make sure that they know YOU are the boss, not them. So if they try to peck at you, you give them a little (not painful or mean) kick or swat to let them know that is not ok and that you are the boss here.

We are going to try all this and see what happens! Hopefully it all works out! We will keep you posted!

OH AND PLEASE HELP US NAME THIS GUY! Survey found below :)