add adult hens to 8wk chicks?

[YahKheena]

Hi!
I have a question (newbie here) we got six chicks about 8 weeks ago, found out that all but one are roos. We plan on giving the roos away and getting three more adult hens. My question is can I add 3 adult hens to our pin with one single 8-10 week old pullet (it may take a few weeks to find what we are looking for)... will they hurt her? How would be the best way for me to add to my single little girl? BTW she isn't alone just yet, we still have the roo's but it won't be long before they are gone. Thank you in advance

 

[YahKheena]

So, I've gone through the topic how to manage your flock and found some very insightful help. I've decided to find some pullets within the range age of the single girl I have and add them. I've also decided that I'm going to keep my sweet heart roo named sparrow. He is the alpha roo as of now and is so very friendly! I feel really good about this solution. Thank you to all who have shared your knowledge on this topic!

 

[Mrs. K]

well, I hope I can change your mind..... Don't keep the super friendly roo. Roosters that are pets, tend to lose their fear of humans, and when the hormones kick in, they can often become nightmares. They are not afraid of you, and will attack you to show their dominance.

It goes against nearly all animal training, but while being nice to a puppy will make it friendly, doing so to a rooster does not work out that way. It is better, to keep your roo at a distance, to make him get out of your way. If you hold him, it should be against his will, so that you are the dominant one. This forum is full of horror stories of the nicest, friendliest roosters going from wonderful to terrible in an instant.

And with only 3 hens, you would have too much roo, those hens will be heavily over-mated, and their feathers will be wore out. A rooster needs a flock of about 12 -15, to work best. Right now, I have a flock of 8 girls to one roo, and they are getting ragged.

As for the lone hen, it will be much better to add hens that are the same age, but even that can be tricky. You might just look at a complete do over, sending the lone hen where ever you are sending the extra roo's. And then get all pullets.

You, of course, have the right to do what you want, but I have been raising chickens for years, have been on this forum for several years, and I think you have a wreck ahead of you with this plan.

Mrs K

 

[AussieHens96]

Keeping a roo for that small a flock? Not a good idea. Not at all. Older hens should be fine, if you watch them closely.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I'm going to add my voice to Mrs. K and say don't keep the super friendly cockerel. That is actually a sign of later human aggression. Roosters are not friends any more than a bull is a friend. Actually, X2 to every single thing she said. Couldn't have said it better myself. I'd get rid of all the males.

 

[YahKheena]

I appreciate your wisdom on the matter. I think we're just gonna do a do-over... we picked up six red sex-link chicks last night and have friends in the country willing to take any chick we feel we don't need. As much as we have grown attached to sparrow, it would break my heart to see him turn on us, so we will be sending our first little flock to friends and starting over. Again, I so thank you and all who gave me much timely advice.

 

[farmer boy]

actually my rooster i have i babied them when t=he was little and he is my baby still wont attack or anything he did once but thats when he was going through his hormonal stage .. and my alpha rooster when he was 6 months old i babied him and when i go out with treats he will come up and sit on my lap to eat the treats .. but yes with some rooster you can't tell they can be nice but they can be mean so what did i was lucky because being more friendly with rooster when little makes them less and less scared of people like my houdan rooster i had him since he was younger but my mother was doing the birds for a while for me and then he started attacking me still is because he think my mother is the alpha rooster who ever takes care of them the rooster should respect them my alpha rooster is really nice to me since i raised him and all my other birds from a younger age ... so you could keep them and see how it turns out or just get rid of them

 

[YahKheena]

Thanks for sharing, but to be honest, the original plan was to have a small flock of hens for their eggs. I talked it over with my dh and we both agree just starting fresh may be the way to go with us. I'm hoping that a few of our hen will be just as friendly as the roo's were. Besides we will only be keeping six hens and I have read in several post that six is not enough for one roo. If we had more land perhaps things could be different, but for now it's a do-over for us. Again thanks for sharing, I'll keep your experience in mind when we have more land to keep a larger flock with roo's.

 

[Mrs. K]

I think you are going to be happier. A flock of just hens is a good way to start!

 

[olefarmersdaughter]

My daughter has terrible scars on her scalp from that "super friendly family rooster"...I agree.....they are about as unpredictable as an bull....NEVER trust them....