Adding a chicken back to the flock after 2 days away

[duckduckgoose71]

(Hope I’m in an appropriate forum)
Hi All, this is a long story lead up to my question but I’ll try to keep it quick. I gave away a young rooster and it just didn’t work out. I gladly took him back and he’s been hanging out with two flock mates in my chicken tractor for 36 hrs. I really really want to get him back in with the larger flock, for his sanity and to lessen the reentry gauntlet. I feel fine about the heath of the flock where he’d been for about 48 hrs. She had him in a crate with 3 young hens that stayed away from him. There was no pecking or injuries. So my question is, when I can I put him back in? When would you? Thank you!

 

[NatJ]

If you're not worried about diseases or parasites, I would put him back now and watch what happens. If they pick on him, set up a look-no-touch arrangement for a few days and then try again.

If you were worried about diseases or parasites, I would advise keeping him completely separate for several weeks or longer, to give time for symptoms to develop and get noticed, before letting him possibly spread it to the rest of the flock.

 

[aart]

a young rooster

How young is he....and the other birds?

 

[duckduckgoose71]

How young is he....and the other birds?

He’s 12 weeks, as are 12 other hens he was raised with. There are grown 5 hens that they’re all adept at avoiding. The one grown rooster is fine with them. We’ve already mixed him in with the exiled group and he’s perfectly accepting.

 

[duckduckgoose71]

I decided to put the three back this afternoon. They seem pretty good. There were maybe a couple pecks from their young flockmates but they’re also the biggest of them all. They did seem to linger near me a bit but let’s hope given a few hours it’ll all be forgotten.