Rooster Rescue & Rehoming Nth Qld

20/07/2024

Remember Hei Hei? Little street chicken we took in just over a week ago? Well, his temporary carer has fallen in love, so it looks like this little man has found his new permanent home and family.

He's just waiting on a new full size pen to be built and some girlfriends of his own. He is already doing a bit of wooing though....Gaby likes hanging out near him at snack time and Hei Hei is practicing his dance moves on her. Reckon he's looking pretty smooth!

13/07/2024

A bittersweet rescue yesterday evening, as we caught the last of the 8 boys that we've been trying to get to safety over the past couple of weeks. You might remember we caught 4 (1 had already died) and there were 3 left. We heard word during the week that there was only 1 left, one had been killed probably by a hawk, and another was missing.

This is the moment that this lucky boy stepped into safety. He was so ready! We hadn't even set up the crate properly and we saw him running towards our little hen Pip. He sheltered in the cane until we finished setting up and then we just had to wait for him to get brave. It was such a peaceful catch, he only took about 10 minutes to work out what we needed him to do, and once he stepped into the crate we gently closed the door. He was really calm both in the crate and once we brought him out for a snuggle.

He's a beautiful boy with the most amazing colours and the beginnings of a very distinguished beard. He'll be reunited with his brothers today, and will be able to relax for the first time in a very long time.

Five of these boys were lucky. Three were not. This is the reality of abandoning roosters, thinking that 'they'll be right'. They are very simply prey for other animals, and it's only a matter of time before they will die. It was heartbreaking to see the piles of feathers from the two other boys along the road. Even this little guy looks like he's had a run in with something. He has quite a few back & tail feathers missing. Hunger or predators will always get them if left to fend for themselves.

12/07/2024

This little man needs to find a home urgently much to the devastation of his 2 human sisters. If u can help by offering him a home please reach out to us

11/07/2024

This is Hei Hei and his wonderful protector Felicity. You might remember our post last Saturday about a tiny rooster in suburbia. No one really knows how he came to be living on the streets in Mundingburra, but he charmed quite a few people during his stay. Although Felicity's family really wanted to continue to care for him, his 4am public service announcements were not being welcomed by all in the neighbourhood. He was being very obliging and roosting relatively low so we were able to climb in through the bushes to bring him into care.

Felicity was able to give him a cuddle before we left and he was feeling very safe in her arms and fell asleep ❤️ Despite the unusual way he came to become part of their family, he was very loved.

Hei Hei is a very cute little man (with the biggest earlobes and a sweet squeaky crow) and very adoptable. If you have some small girls, we would love him to have his own little flock to take care of. Please reach out if you can give this wee guy a safe home (on acreage of course). Until then, he always has a safe place with us ❤🐓

05/07/2024

UPDATE: He is being cared for by a homeowner in the street and they want to continue to be his people. They have our contact if they need assistance down the track.

This little guy was spotted in Mundingburra yesterday. We're not sure whether he has a home and he's simply wandered too far, or if he's lost and alone. Waiting to find out a bit more info today before we go in feet first.

Keep your eyes peeled people - lost boys can be anywhere!

05/07/2024

I am trying to put up some more pens today and it seems I have alot of “helpers”…..😬😬😬😂😂

30/06/2024

It's been quite the time over the past 24 hours, trying to convince these boys that they should join our merry crew. They were happily all sleeping in the same tree on Saturday night and we thought that a good feed would surely get them on side, but we were late for breakfast and they left without us! Rude! They absolutely rejected our first overtures of friendship. The promise of the lovely Snow White hen didn't even raise an eyebrow (or a tailfeather). They then led us on a bit of a wild goose chase, as they kept us on our toes for the rest of the day trying to catch sight of them in the cane fields.

We were mightily disheartened, then all of a sudden this afternoon they popped out for a spot of sunbathing. We managed to follow them for a while, pleading for their attention, but to no avail. Before even considering our deal, they decided that they wanted to recreate the Abbey Road Album cover, striding across that road in single file - they were not bothered in the least that there were 7 of them and only 4 Beatles, and were a quite put out when we pointed that out to them, disappearing into the cane again. We decided to give them a little more time to think, and left them to discuss their situation.

As the sun went down, they made themselves comfortable in the tree again, definitely playing hard to get. Tonight we were a little more prepared though, and with a little help and smooching from our Kissing Chickens friends, managed to coax four of them down out of the tree. Unfortunately three lads remain 'in the wind', deciding that tonight was not the night for them. We will not quit on them though, and have started to make plans to bring them all on board.

*Although there were 8 lads about a week ago, we discovered today that one of these boys did not make it, being hit by a car at some time since they were first reported. Between snakes, crocodiles, cars, and a cane season that's about to start, these boys are all sorts of vulnerable, and we will be trying hard to make sure the rest make it to safety.

Kissing Chickens Deodorant

28/06/2024

Aaaaand we're on! This weekend's job is to try to calmly explain to this charming group of 8 roosters that if they'd kindly like to hop into the comfortable crates we have ready for them, we'd be ever so grateful. Further, that their lives will be so much more relaxed and happy once they are tucked up in their own space, being waited on with guaranteed food every day, safe from the scaly critters that endanger their lives at the moment.

How do you reckon we're going to go?

23/06/2024

Remember yesterday we said to watch this space? We didn't expect to have to report back quite so quickly!

Meet Martin Scorsese (Marty for short).... He has these insane eyebrows!

We caught sight of a post yesterday afternoon of a rooster wandering the street in one of our outer suburbs. No one came forward to claim him during the day, so at 8.30 last night guess who was going out to collect a rooster. The people who had posted about him were so kind and had let him into their yard where he found a tree to roost in.

He's very scared this morning, but has found the food and has a warm place to rest. He's a very big boy, but still a baby we think - just nubs for spurs.

If anyone could find a place in their flock for a big boy, we would love to hear from you.

22/06/2024

We've been thinking it's been fairly quiet lately........stay tuned 🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓

21/06/2024

A funny little story.

Just before I went away for 8 days I had been talking to Helen about a rooster at a feed store that had such long nails they were wrapped around the perch. I had said I think I need to bust him out of the feed store. Helen (my voice of reason) said well u are going away in a few days so u won’t be able to due to limited time you have.

Well the afternoon before I went away I was driving home end just before I went past the feed store I quickly made a swing left and went in and asked if I could take him…. The owner said yes. I bought him home and quickly constructed a pen for him.

I forgot to tell Helen 😬😬

The second last day before I was due back to Townsville I was talking to Helen on the phone and I remembered to tell her I had decided to grab the rooster from the store.

Helen laughed and said that she had been to the store the day before and had seen he had gone and didn’t have the heart to tell me yet….😂😂😂😂

I laughed and said…. Oops… I forgot to tell you…. I ended up getting him before I left

Poor Helen has a big job managing me and animals
She is one in a million ❤️❤️❤️

13/06/2024

Something a little different this week. These 5 gorgeous boys, through no fault of their own other than being born male are facing euthanasia. We are desperately seeking homes for them. If u or anyone you know are in a position to take some of these boys please pm us

09/06/2024

Sunday Snacks for the boys today included corn, cabbage and watermelon. Like us, they were all out enjoying the beautiful North Queensland winter sun. Such handsome lads....lookin' good boys! ❤🐓
Wyld Hearts Sanctuary
Cohen Legal

06/06/2024

Waldorf (at the front) and Statler are our most senior boys. They are off to the vets this morning as they have a few health concerns including arthritis in their legs. Such good big boys ❤️❤️

31/05/2024

A few weeks ago, one of our team had the privilege of visiting one of Australia's most well known and respected farm animal sanctuaries Edgar's Mission. This is a magical place, a place of safety for animals that are all too often abused, eaten, written off or neglected.

We met animals of all shapes, sizes, abilities and species... goats in wheelchairs, blind sheep, lambs in coats, goats with surprise babies, cows that love Weetbix, pigs that hide their apples, and of course roosters that have nowhere else to go.

We met some of the silkie roosters that were rescued from an abandoned 'meat' farm (you might remember posts from back in January 2023 - 600 roosters!), and met some chicken characters that have been around for a very long time. Also had the chance to grab a quick pic with the founder of Edgar's Mission, Pam Ahern, while proudly wearing our RRRNQ shirt (flying the flag for our little northern rescue).

A chance encounter with Tamara from another animal rescue down that way, Lefty's Place Farm Sanctuary was an extra added bonus. Lefty's 'specialty' is chickens, and if you don't follow them already, be sure to check them out. It's a special place ❤️

Anyway, enjoy some pics of Edgar's Mission ❤️🐓

31/05/2024

1 2 3 4 5…….lovely boys needing a new home! Gorgeous temperament and so very handsome. A follower of ours had an ‘oopsie’ with a hen sneaking a hatch and has ended up with some boys she can’t keep.

Can u adopt one of these beautiful boys???

25/05/2024

Such good advice in this post by Rooster Haus Rescue. Roosters are so often labelled as proactively mean or aggressive, when their behaviour is actually reactive, responding to situations where they are uncomfortable or fearful. We need to become people they trust, and part of that is changing our understanding of their behaviour and using language that shares a different perspective.

Good morning! A friendly reminder from sweet Wayne that curbing our language is the easiest and most beneficial way to .

We can all do this by speaking kindly about roosters. Harsh words like "aggressive", "attack" and "mean" are often used when speaking about a rooster's reactivity to situations they are uncomfortable in.  When we use these harsh words, it shows we are misunderstanding rooster behavior, which does them an incredible disservice and perpetuates negative stigmas towards roosters.

Try replacing words like "aggressive", "attack" and "mean" with kinder and more intentional words like "reactive", "defensive" "protective" and "fearful".  These words better describe the reality of their situation and show that you have a better understanding of rooster behavior.  Changing our language will naturally educate others and ultimately benefit roosters by helping to End Rooster Stigma  🙌 🐓 ❤️

We encourage everyone to get to know roosters. If you can't adopt or foster roosters, get to know them at your local animal sanctuary. When we better understand a rooster's point of view, i.e., family/hierarchy dynamics and prey animal behavior, their reactions to certain situations will make far more sense to us.  Roosters are truly amazing, and they deserve to be spoken kindly of and to be better understood.  ❤️🐓❤️

02/05/2024

Welcome to Friday!!! This morning we have these 3 lovely boys in need of a home. They belong to some of our followers and cannot stay in suburbia.

If you could provide a home for any of these boys let us know ❤️❤️❤️🐔🐔🐔

19/04/2024

This tiny cranky chicken is itchin' to sit on some eggs. But she ain't gonna! She just needs to cool off a bit and rethink her options.

'Does anyone have any fertile eggs that I can pop under my broody hen?' This is a question we see A LOT around the place. The reasons:
1) She's broody...
2) She's been broody for weeks, we can't break her out of it...
3) We want her to have the chance to be a mother...
4) We just want our kids to see the miracle of life...

Our answers, in order:
1) So what? Just because she's broody doesn't mean she has to sit on or hatch a clutch of eggs. There are things you can do to help her snap out of it...google it!
2) Her body needs to cool down, particularly her underside. There are multiple ways to help her cool down off the nest. Chickens can brood for up to three weeks, which takes a big toll on their bodies. If they can't snap out of it, you need to make sure they are getting adequate food and water. Still doesn't mean that she has to sit on an egg!
3) That's you projecting your own human values onto her. Laying eggs and getting broody is a biological imperative for hens. She doesn't NEED to be a mother. Doesn't mean she wouldn't care for her chicks and be a great mum, but she doesn't NEED it.
4) In this day and age, there are so many ways to see the miracle of life without physically hatching a clutch of eggs. Get real, it's the fluffy chicks at the end that you really want. But wait....have you thought about the roosters that will inevitably hatch? Are you ready for them? What's your plan?

When those questions pop up our hearts sink, because there's always someone happy to give/sell some fertilised eggs. And we all know by now that potentially at least half of those eggs will be boy chicks. Then what?! Another unwanted and at risk rooster or 3, or 5 in the world.

When you see those kind of comments, we'd love you to feel confident to challenge them (gently). Ask a question - Have you have thought about what you'll do when you hatch a rooster? Did you know that approx 50% of chicks hatched will be roosters? Do you have a plan for taking responsibility for the roosters that will hatch? We need people to realise that roosters are a very real possibility, to think and plan ahead, and to not get caught up in the fluff.

13/04/2024

Just wanted to share one episode of a podcast put together by some fabulous humans, Sara & Jacob, who are on a mission to show the world how amazing roosters are. Their FB page is Roovolution- For The Love Of Chickens and have a FB group called Rooster Allies. They produce some great resources and provide wonderful advice about how to live with roosters, redefining how we are taught to think about rooster behaviour. Check them out. You can subscribe to their Youtube channel as well

What does 'respect' really mean to you, and what does it look like for a rooster? By re-examining the meaning of respect, and adjusting our expectations for ...

11/04/2024

Can u believe that Waldorf hasn’t got a sponsor yet? He is a beautiful old boy that currently has a few health problems that come with age. He has a big hearty crow that echos through my yard, it’s a one of a kind crow.

Sponsorship is $10/month and it goes towards feed, treats, bedding and vet bills. Waldorf isn’t the only boy that would love a sponsor. Message us and we can send you some pictures of our available boys ❤️❤️❤️

04/04/2024

How has your week been? This is an overview of mine…throw in the fact that’s it’s school holidays … some aviary repairs…lawn to mow, lots of roosters to smooch and Shazam…… u have the perfect week 😂😂😂😂

14/03/2024

Look at these old boys…..I couldn’t help but think of the muppets character’s Waldorf and Statler when I picked them up 😂😂😂. They are huge bits with big throaty low and loud crows.

These guys were dropped at the vets to be euthanised but the vet saw how loving they were and contacted our rescue to see if they could save them. The vets contacted the owner to make sure that was ok and the owner was overjoyed that they could come to us. They do have a few medical issues but we will get them on the road to feeling better soon ❤️❤️❤️❤️

10/03/2024

Roosters checks done this morning out at With all the rain and a few other issues we've been a bit delayed in doing our regular health check. But apart from a couple with some health issues, the boys were in pretty good health.

Two of our members and biggest supporters came out for their first health check morning and jumped right in. Ulla and Rob are pictured with our newest recruit Bronson. He's a beautiful boy, a gentle giant who was left at a regional pound. He would make a wonderful addition to anyone's flock if you're looking for a sweet boy to protect your girls.

We had an extra visitor in the pen this morning. We think he just came for the snacks 💙

Thanks to .legal for sponsoring Snacks on Sunday. They were all keen for their watermelon, blueberries, grapes, cabbage and mealworms this morning.

07/03/2024

This gorgeous man is Humphrey Crowgart. He has been with me for about a month now. He was born with his toes like this and they could have been corrected when he was a chick but his owners didn’t persist with trying to fix them. He is a huge big boy who is a big softy. He gets around really well but I fear in his golden years he may end up with arthritis 😢😢😢

29/02/2024

Curly, Larry and Moe. Our beautiful speckled Sussex boys. These boys are just adorable and they are available for adoption…

They are big boys but they are also gentle boys.

Anyone need a speckled Sussex in their life?

Message us 🐔🐔🐔

28/02/2024

If any of our supporters are in the Gladstone area, know someone who could pick up this pup tomorrow, or help with transport from Gladstone to Townsville please message Wyld Hearts Sanctuary . Very time sensitive.

23/02/2024

Well we are officially in crisis. We have currently 7 boys who urgently need to come into care but we don’t have the room 😢. Can you or anyone you know help us out? The 2 boys in the picture are in the Ayr pound…poor boys stuck on a concrete floor…. Look at their little faces….

Please please please spread the word…. We need homes urgently

13/02/2024

It’s Valentine’s Day! ❤️❤️❤️. Who would like to smooch one of our gorgeous boys? I made this cute little kissing booth over the weekend with aspirations of getting photos of some of our lovely boys who are up for adoption and sponsorship….unfortunately the best laid plans can fail… no one was very responsive to standing on this booth for 10 seconds while I took their photo 🤦🏼‍♀️. Kevin stood for about 2.5 seconds whilst I snapped this shot.

Anyway… if you would like to make a one off $10 kiss donation for our boys please message us.

You can also sponsor a rooster for $10/ mth.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

22/01/2024

The third in our series about building a rooster flock. Lots to think but but so worth it. We'll do some posts diving into some of these points over the next few weeks.

RECAP: 1) Start small 2) Give them space 3) Give them variety in their space 4) Boys only 5) Monitor their interactions 6) A strong (but fair) rooster in the flock

7) AGE - Have a variety of ages represented in the flock. Having older roosters in a flock will temper the youngsters’ hormones, as well as providing an example for the younger generation to model their behavior on. This can be difficult when starting out since most roosters in need of rescue are young, but it’s important to keep in mind and is another good reason to go slow.
8) ENRICHMENT - Rooster flocks benefit from LOTS of enrichment.
9) BE PREDICTABLE - Establish and stick to a routine when it comes to daily activities like opening them up in the morning and putting them to bed, and offering their daily food as well as treats. Predictability can help put everyone at ease.
10) SUPERVISION - It’s a good idea to provide as much supervision as possible, especially if new members join the group.
11) HAVE A BACKUP PLAN - Be prepared to make changes if needed. If someone just isn’t fitting in or is getting a little too much attention, be ready to move them into a different living situation either temporarily or permanently.

Hope this helps a bit. Check out https://opensanctuary.org/rooster-flock/ - there are links to other resources that are really interesting...not just about roosters but other animals too.