For people who keep a bachelor pen, can you ad new roosters?

[jenniferlamar70]

Age very much makes a difference, hence the reason the term "rooster" is not all that helpful. Even cock and cockerel to vague. I would break it down into juvenile, cockerel coming into adult feathering (stag), and cockerel in adult feathering (bullstag) and cock (greater than 18 months and in at least the second adult feather set). The older the birds are the more difficult the initial introductions and greater the capacity to cause damage. Although the same older birds more apt to settle into a stable social grouping while younger birds have changes that change motivations with respect to social status.


I do not usually consider size as my brids vary little in that regard.


Younger birds can be easier to add if their voices have not changed to adult tone. I can add juvenile cockerels to game cock breeding pen without trouble so long as the younger bird does not get sassy even for a moment.


It easiest to start with all juveniles but reality does not often allow. To stabilize for younger males, I place on full adult in with them where he disrupts all full on fights between younger birds sometimes by display only. That is an approach that hold only until younger birds 7 to 9 months old.

I have full grown roosters but they are in the run with the hens. The young ones I have in the bachelor pen are only 7 weeks old. The others I want to add are 4 weeks old and just now started sleeping in the coup with the bigger chicks/hens. At this age will there still be fighting? The ones in their now spar a little bit but not bad. More just a quick challenge and then they move on..