Jake the Confused Rooster

[biigblueyes]

Guess who's coming to live on my farm. . . .Here's the classified ad for him.

I have a VERY handsome 8 month old rooster who was born a single hatch. A few days later, I had some ducks that were hatched, so I had the bright idea to put all of them together. Well they got along very well. My rooster, slept with the ducks, ate with the ducks and played with the ducks in the brooder. Once they got big enough to go outside in the chicken yard, I moved all of them out to their pen . There they all continued to get along so good. Instead of the rooster roosting on the roost, he chose to sleep on the ground with the ducks. They were one big happy family..............UNTIL, the rooster decided to start breeding with the ducks. This is where we have a problem and it's all my fault. The poor rooster wasn't raised with chickens, so he doesn't know he is suppose to run after the hens and breed with them. He chooses to run after the female ducks and tries to breed them. Some of the ducks he can catch and others will fly away and he has no idea why he can't fly and get them. Well, at first I thought this behavior would go away and that it was only childish games but it never stopped. So, now I am faced with getting rid of them. He is driving the female ducks crazy. He is a very nice rooster and is not aggressive at all. He just has a bit of identity crisis when it comes to what animal he is suppose to breed with.

As bad as I hate to part with him because he is a big healthy young rooster, I have no choice. Although I can't give him away for free because he was raised on excellent feed (22% protein), and very well taken care of, I am only asking for $10.00 for him. I am always open up to bartering or trading for whatever you may have that I may want.

If you are looking for a young and healthy rooster to put with your hens, he is your man. I'm sure that once he sees those beautiful hens, he will switch over to the right team (TEAM CHICKEN and NOT TEAM DUCK). You can see in one of the pics who he loves hanging out with. He is enjoying a beautiful day under the trees with his duck friend. He is on a double date with one of my muscovy drakes and 2 mucovy hens. He can't seem to tear himself away from the women ducks at the farm. :'*(

If you would be interested in "Jake", please let me know. I do not want to make him gumbo because I am attached to him, I am hoping that someone will want to give Jake a good home.

[EllenW]

blueyes I thought you no longer had chickens

[Arey]

But will he change his alternative lifestyle and become the cock of the walk, or will he pine away surrounded by what he thinks are the most unattractive ducks he's ever met, and weeping over memories of the duck he left behind.
To Tom, or Dick or Chuck
She's just another duck.
But she's my Muscovy, and I love her.

[biigblueyes]

Ellen - I got rid of them last year when things were going crazy at home, but Dad called and told me he had "too many" chickens and I needed to come over to get them. Jake will have 4 pretty hens to tempt him, and there are 3 younger, smaller birds that share the same yard.

Arey -
That's what we've been wondering. Not worded quite as eloquently, however. . .
As for the poem. . .

[EllenW]

Best wishes for Jake. Let us know how things go with him.

[dapjwy]

~smile~

Cute ad. Funny situation. I wish Jake (and you) the best of luck.

I opened this thinking he was confused about his orientation which I don't think can be changed...but he could switch from team duck to team chicken...that isn't the same as switching teams!

[biigblueyes]

We have a chicken tractor inside an enclosed yard. Jake was placed in the chicken yard, still inside his carrier. He was given feed, which attracted the other chickens, who stayed nearby. After a while, he was released into the yard, and they were all given feed. He and the hens visited a while. He was doing his best to court the ladies. He did some things that were probably part of a courting ritual -forceful scratching in the dirt, circling while dragging one wing. He did attempt to "date" one of them, but was not entirely successful.

There is a rooster-shaped weathervane on top of the chicken tractor. He hopped up there to check out the other rooster. he doesn't seem to know what to think about him.

I should mention that the ducks were also attracted to the feed and stayed right outside the yard. Not sure what will happen when they're on the same side of the fence. . . only time will tell.

[biigblueyes]

Originally Posted by dapjwy

I opened this thinking he was confused about his orientation which I don't think can be changed...but he could switch from team duck to team chicken...that isn't the same as switching teams!

To be honest, I'm not terribly concerned whether he thinks he's a duck or not. It bothered the prior owner a lot. But I have a large pond, and three types of ducks. The males are always chasing the girls around - all of them, not just their mate. When the girls get tired of it, they fly away. Jake isn't going to follow them when they fly into the pond.

Jake never roosted before, but he followed the hens into the coop as it got dark last night. He's been crowing a lot, claiming his spot as the man of the place.

[EllenW]

What a cute story. Thanks for sharing blueyes. Sounds like you have a really nice place.

[biigblueyes]

heeheehee - thanks! I think so!