How can I introduce a new rooster to my existing flock?

[quackers and me]

My existing old girl flock had a rooster until 2 days ago. He just didn't show up for lock down at night. I looked everywhere for him but to no avail. They are now used to having a protector with them daily as they free range. I have another 7 month old rooster that is a promising candidate. I have a completely divided coop with the old girls on one side and a young group on the other with cages of baby chicks and moms and 5 month old hens and roosters. I also have another chicken and duck pen that has 3 hens and 5 roosters (7 months old) and 14 ducks. It also is completely separate from the first 2 coops. This is where the chosen rooster(Snowbitrd) resides at present. Both the 5 month olds and the old girls free range everyday but they roost separately and the younger (2) roosters do not interact properly with the old girls. I need a rooster with the old girls to protect them from the (2) young roosters and from predators. My question is how do I introduce Snowbird (7 month old rooster) to my old girls and get him accepted?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Sounds to me like you have bigger problems than that. At NO TIME EVER should boys out number hens! It creates competitive mating from already hormone enraged boy. It's a bad situation for ANY young pullet.

I suggest a duck pen, a stag pen, and a hen pen. My ducks bully my chickens big time.

Sorry I know I didn't answer your question... Teach your young girls to go roost with the older ones and add your chosen boy in if you like. They are creatures of habit and will do what they are used to until taught other wise. It usually doesn't take long for them to get the point of the new routine. I would start by moving them to the new coop after dark so they all wake up together. And locking them out of the old so they can't access it. Then at lock up herding them to the new coop. They WILL be perfectly happy without him. It's a personal choice to keep a cockerel (not rooster until after 1 year old) with ladies. To me they are NO protection against things that matters like coyote, fox, raccoon, dog. They are used for breeding. So I keep my boys all together and let them mingle on my terms. But they do also have pasture access just not as much. I might provide for alternating free range time if needed. And we eat our extra boys once they reach size/age and are known not to be breeding candidates for whatever reason. Over crowding is a breeding ground for disease, infection, behavioral issues. (Just a statement not saying you are, I don't know your set up and husbandry habits). For your boy, start with a look but don't touch pen in where the ladies are for a few days and then proceed as suggested for moving the younger girls to the coop. There will be some disorder as they will have to accept him as a new head. So he will have to challenge them for that place and they will have to submit. It might take a little while and be some drama but as long as it isn't relentless bullying I would just give it a chance to settle down... and get a plan for culling extra males. Culling can mean killing (even having it done) or rehoming. It's a general term for no longer including them in your flock. But I'm guessing you might have some more coming in the ones that are being raised right now and there's only room for so many. I seem to excel at hatching boys!

If your duck gender ratio is off in the same manner, I hope you will work to get it corrected before the females are mated to DEATH. Please know I mean no judgement. I'm guilty of chicken math myself!

Hope my suggestions are helpful and that you get even more, better answers!

 

[quackers and me]

Thank you for your help I already know it is a problem but I cannot kill the extra roosters. I am trying to arrange to have a separate housing area for them. Also since I can't kill the roosters I also can't kill the drakes. I know that is the common way to do things but I just don't have the heart for it so separation will have to be the solution for me. I don't have any trouble integrating the new hens with the old hens but I thought there might be a different way of introducing a rooster or cockerel to the hens.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

It's OK to be tender!

Doesn't matter what is common, doesn't mean you have to follow suit. You should do what YOU are comfortable with. Otherwise, how could you live with yourself?

That being said, you might consider not hatching any more or there will come a point when flock dynamics and nature will take over and start killing birds off for you. And that will be an ugly situation. Trust me any of those girls would rather die quickly than be brutalized to death slowly by flock mates.

Do your best with what you have but try very hard not to add any more to your plate. I know the excitement about animals is hard to contain! I too was caught without enough pens and shelters to separate all the animals I needed to. It was a very frustrating situation especially when I saw a bunch of young cockerels hold down and takes turns mating my most docile pullet.

So with what you have, if you can tell genders in your ducks.. I would go with a drake/rooster pen, a duck pen, and a hen/pullet pen with 1 boy if you choose. I think anyways that's what I have from your description. And all of my hens/chicks would be (are) in with my standard hen pen.

Are you able to consider letting the extra boys feed someone else's family who would do it humane? Or is that out of the question as well? We are not ugly, disrespectful, or brutal when we dispatch ours and we KNOW very vividly where our food comes from. It isn't fun and we don't enjoy it all. But IF I WANTED TO HATCH it was a decision that had to be made.

In my stag pen, most the boys get along. (Those who don't are culled first). I don't have too much problems. And they are a lot of fun to have around. My head rooster is a really good guy. Calls the other boys or chicks to treats and lets the hens clean his comb and such through the fence. I am not anti rooster at all, so please don't think that. I'm just pro happy healthy hen/flock.

Truly wish you and ALL your birds the best!

 

[quackers and me]

It's OK to be tender!

Doesn't matter what is common, doesn't mean you have to follow suit. You should do what YOU are comfortable with. Otherwise, how could you live with yourself?

That being said, you might consider not hatching any more or there will come a point when flock dynamics and nature will take over and start killing birds off for you. And that will be an ugly situation. Trust me any of those girls would rather die quickly than be brutalized to death slowly by flock mates.

Do your best with what you have but try very hard not to add any more to your plate. I know the excitement about animals is hard to contain! I too was caught without enough pens and shelters to separate all the animals I needed to. It was a very frustrating situation especially when I saw a bunch of young cockerels hold down and takes turns mating my most docile pullet.

So with what you have, if you can tell genders in your ducks.. I would go with a drake/rooster pen, a duck pen, and a hen/pullet pen with 1 boy if you choose. I think anyways that's what I have from your description. And all of my hens/chicks would be (are) in with my standard hen pen.

Are you able to consider letting the extra boys feed someone else's family who would do it humane? Or is that out of the question as well? We are not ugly, disrespectful, or brutal when we dispatch ours and we KNOW very vividly where our food comes from. It isn't fun and we don't enjoy it all. But IF I WANTED TO HATCH it was a decision that had to be made.

In my stag pen, most the boys get along. (Those who don't are culled first). I don't have too much problems. And they are a lot of fun to have around. My head rooster is a really good guy. Calls the other boys or chicks to treats and lets the hens clean his comb and such through the fence. I am not anti rooster at all, so please don't think that. I'm just pro happy healthy hen/flock.

Truly wish you and ALL your birds the best!

It's OK to be tender!

Doesn't matter what is common, doesn't mean you have to follow suit. You should do what YOU are comfortable with. Otherwise, how could you live with yourself?

That being said, you might consider not hatching any more or there will come a point when flock dynamics and nature will take over and start killing birds off for you. And that will be an ugly situation. Trust me any of those girls would rather die quickly than be brutalized to death slowly by flock mates.

Do your best with what you have but try very hard not to add any more to your plate. I know the excitement about animals is hard to contain! I too was caught without enough pens and shelters to separate all the animals I needed to. It was a very frustrating situation especially when I saw a bunch of young cockerels hold down and takes turns mating my most docile pullet.

So with what you have, if you can tell genders in your ducks.. I would go with a drake/rooster pen, a duck pen, and a hen/pullet pen with 1 boy if you choose. I think anyways that's what I have from your description. And all of my hens/chicks would be (are) in with my standard hen pen.

Are you able to consider letting the extra boys feed someone else's family who would do it humane? Or is that out of the question as well? We are not ugly, disrespectful, or brutal when we dispatch ours and we KNOW very vividly where our food comes from. It isn't fun and we don't enjoy it all. But IF I WANTED TO HATCH it was a decision that had to be made.

In my stag pen, most the boys get along. (Those who don't are culled first). I don't have too much problems. And they are a lot of fun to have around. My head rooster is a really good guy. Calls the other boys or chicks to treats and lets the hens clean his comb and such through the fence. I am not anti rooster at all, so please don't think that. I'm just pro happy healthy hen/flock.

Truly wish you and ALL your birds the best!

I am anxious to try and integrate all the females together as I have been worried about the young girls. I actually saw 2 of my older hens gang up on one of the roosters and pull all his tail feathers out because he tried to mate them without being in their good grace. So far none of the roosters have tried to attack me or anyone I might feel differently about sudden demise if they had.
I don't think I could ever bring myself to eat one of them unless I was starving and I don't know anyone to give any of them to.
I do appreciate you sharing and I am going to figure out a better method of separation for them. I want them to be healthy and happy always. I have been at this for only a couple of years and this is the first year for having a rooster and raising my own chicks via mother hen. I do understand that the boys can quickly outnumber the girls. How many hens do you recommend per rooster?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

General recommendation is 10 hens to 1 roo. But there are so many variables.

It's kinda nice when the hens are older than the boys. They taught him some manners when they pulled out his tail feathers.. but it could definitely turn ugly.

Will make more kind suggestions, but gotta run for a while. Hang in there and focus on one thing at a time. Try not to be overwhelmed.