How to reincorporate, can I reincorporate a rooster with his hatchmates after a pecking injury?

[blessedflockmama]

We are very new to raising chickens and hatched are first eggs in August. Our chicks are just about 12 weeks old. We have 15 birds, 5 roosters and 10 chickens from what we can figure out (we are not sure about one of the black ones so maybe 11 to 4). 4 days ago discovered one of the roosters was pecked, one eye swollen shut, comb bloody and several feathers missing form his head... honestly not bad compared to some of the pecking injuries I have seen on this forum. Not scabbing but his comb still looks mottled with dried blood. We have him indoors in a puppy playpen pop up coop recovering. His eye is open, he looks well, though sparse in the head feathers and his comb still looks not the best. kids voted he was lonely so we moved his favourite hen in with him... that was tough as he pecked her 3 times pretty hard when she arrived but has been better ever since. that was 2 nights ago. Now we have 10 more chickens arriving at the end of the week who are coming from another household. they are 2 years old ish. someone is downsizing and needed homes for their flock. I am hoping to quarantine the new gals from our present chickens but only have one week to figure this out.

I will have 30 chickens and 5 roosters total (all roosters hatched together but are a barnyard mix including easter eggers, some black copper maran, 2 are white, 2 are gray and 2 are speckled black and white, rest are black with gorgeous iridescent sheens). 1 have 2 coops, one 8 x 12 with a run that is 8 by 6 (ie 96'ft of coop plus 48 of run), it will be covered and wrapped vapor barriered in for the winter to extend outdoor space ), the other one is 6 x 10 run, with a 4 x 6, (ie 24 of coop and 60 of sheltered run space) coop above part of the run also vapour barriered and vented for making it more useable all winter. I have ample roost space for the birds in both coops.

My hatchlings presently live in the smaller coop. I was thinking to move them into the big coop into an 8 x 4 covered dog kennel for the introduction to the young layers and keep then separated until they are more equal in size. I am willing to cut a second door into the coop and make a separate run to help with the transition.

Question 1- am I asking for trouble keeping 4 roosters to 20 hens if they all hatched together? Kids really want to keep all of our first chickens as they are very much pets to them at this point. Seeing the one injured was a wake up call. We did add an extra roost as the injury happened overnight not in the run.

Question... should I separate him from his favourite hen and reincorporate her back in with the others before anymore time goes by? My thought is the 10 imported 2 year chickens have been living together and have their pecking order all sorted. I was thinking if I let my injured rooster recover, I can just put him in with these new ladies once he is recovered. But if I put him and her in together, she is at greater risk of being pecked plus that puts my number in the small coop up at 12. I was thinking 10 chickens and 1 rooster in the smaller coop and 20 chickens and 4 roosters in the bigger coop.

Will she be accepted back readily after 2 days of separation from the flock? It is cold already, near freezing and they go in and out of the insulated coop to the run all day long so I don't think it is warm enough for her to be out there in a cage all day long alone in the run.

I would likely have picked a different configuration putting the biggest rooster in with my imports. The injured rooster has been one of our gentlest and most loved roosters so we would like to avoid parting with him.

This will leave me a few days to clean out the smaller coop and prepare it for the imports and let my injured roo recover his head feathers fully before introducing him to his new flock. I would appreciate your insights. Thanks.

Would love your suggestions.

Thanks!

 

[aart]

am I asking for trouble keeping 4 roosters to 20 hens if they all hatched together?

IMO, Yes.
Hatching together doesn't make them friends, males will most often end up fighting and/or overbreeding the females. Male become sexually active at about 3-4 months, females not unitl about 6 months

Kids really want to keep all of our first chickens as they are very much pets to them at this point.

Romance meets Reality.
The whole family will have to learn the subtraction part of 'Chicken Math'.

I will have 30 chickens and 5 roosters total (all roosters hatched together but are a barnyard mix including easter eggers, some black copper maran, 2 are white, 2 are gray and 2 are speckled black and white, rest are black with gorgeous iridescent sheens). 1 have 2 coops, one 8 x 12 with a run that is 8 by 6 (ie 96'ft of coop plus 48 of run), it will be covered and wrapped vapor barriered in for the winter to extend outdoor space ), the other one is 6 x 10 run, with a 4 x 6, (ie 24 of coop and 60 of sheltered run space) coop above part of the run also vapour barriered and vented for making it more useable all winter.

These are tight spaces...especially if your winters are harsh.

Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[blessedflockmama]

Thank you Aart!

IMO, Yes.
Hatching together doesn't make them friends, males will most often end up fighting and/or overbreeding the females. Male become sexually active at about 3-4 months, females not unitl about 6 months


Romance meets Reality.
The whole family will have to learn the subtraction part of 'Chicken Math'.


These are tight spaces...especially if your winters are harsh.

Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 3323200

We are in zone 4, think middle of nowhere Northern Wisconsin. longish cold winters. Great counsel. I had planned to give away all the roosters and had only purchased one dozen fertilized eggs but were gifted the other... but once those little fuzzballs come out of the shell, it is hard not to get attached. I have feelers out already to rehome 3 roosters, if not we have friends who would happily receive them for food. I have heard 10 hens per rooster is a good number.. potentially if I rehome two roosters, I will be ok keeping the 3? I am keeping the food and water out of the coop as much as possible. If we hit a really cold snap, it will go into the coop too. That is definitely a factor. And of course the teens will get bigger yet. I feel like they are half the size of the full grown ones I have seen hatched from this same parents. I put the hen back in with the flock as we definitely want to keep her. She is a lovely gray color and has a sweet temperament. I put her in the run with lots of greens and seed right before opening up the run this morning. She was only missing for two days, no one really even paid attention to her and she is in their having breakfast with the others with no incidents.

 

[aart]

I have heard 10 hens per rooster is a good number

The 'rooster' to hen ratio of 1:10 that is often cited is primarily for fertility efficiency in commercial breeding facilities.
It doesn't mean that if a cockbird has 10 hens that he won't abuse or over mate them.
Many breeders keep pairs, trios, quads, etc ....short term and/or long term.
It all depends on the temperaments of the cock and hens and sometimes housing provided.
Backyard flocks can achieve good fertility with a larger ratio.

My coop is also 96sqft, and I learned my second winter that 22 birds was too many.
Now I keep it to 18 or under.
Tho my run is not winter proofed.