Adding a Rooster to my Pullet flock

[homesteadmama8]

Okay so I’m lost here because I see so many varying opinions-
My flock is 14 pullets, they’re barred Plymouth Rock, buff orpington, and australorp.
Thoughts on adding a rooster to a flock of my 17 week old pullets? They’re all just now beginning to lay. When I first got them I only wanted hens, but now I’ve decided I eventually will want to breed them, and I know someone who is currently trying to rehome their docile, 1.5yr old orpington rooster. Will this work? Tips?

I know some people say that the rooster can hurt the pullets by trying to mate, but others say it’s fine.

 

[Chicken37]

Okay so I’m lost here because I see so many varying opinions-
My flock is 14 pullets, they’re barred Plymouth Rock, buff orpington, and australorp.
Thoughts on adding a rooster to a flock of my 17 week old pullets? They’re all just now beginning to lay. When I first got them I only wanted hens, but now I’ve decided I eventually will want to breed them, and I know someone who is currently trying to rehome their docile, 1.5yr old orpington rooster. Will this work? Tips?

I know some people say that the rooster can hurt the pullets by trying to mate, but others say it’s fine.

There probably old enough to have a rooster with them but only one and if he gets to rough with them you might want to wait a bit longer

 

[3KillerBs]

If the pullets are laying then a mature rooster is unlikely to hurt them. He's old enough to know how to court them properly.

Quarantine is advisable before introducing them.

 

[Brooks_]

Quarantine is advisable before introducing them.

^^That can't be forgotten.
That said, I have read that integrating a rooster to an all girl flock can be as easy as just slipping him in after dark.

 

[DonyaQuick]

That said, I have read that integrating a rooster to an all girl flock can be as easy as just slipping him in after dark.

I'm doing a rooster integration right now. I read that too in multiple places, that you can just dump them in the coop at night, but I didn't do it myself because I worried about how a rooster deprived of all contact with other chickens from a lengthy quarantine might react when he wakes up and realizes he's suddenly surrounded by new girls - and how my hens might react given they've never seen a rooster. My roo turned into a chaotic clown and really scared the very first hen he saw. A few hours later he was a gentleman, but if that first outburst had happened in a small area I worry a hen or two could have gotten injured just from freaking out in a confined space. It would be less risk in a really big coop I guess, but a non-trivial concern for a smaller one.

 

[Mrs. K]

If this is your first year, I would recommend just keeping the hens. Roosters take experience, and by just keeping hens, you will get some.

Some roosters are fantastic, and some are awful. You need a plan in case he turns awful. And do know that having him will change your hens attitude towards you. Now, they look to you, but after they have a rooster, they will look to him. It is not a big deal to me, but bothers some people.

If you have small children, I would really encourage you to wait. If a rooster gets aggressive they often attack children first.

The breed of rooster is not a big deal in most backyard flocks, certainly a BO rooster would be fine with your birds. Some things to look for in a good rooster.

• Do not take anything you feel sorry for, as in saving him from becoming dinner or if he is badly beat up in the set up he is in.
• A good rooster, should be the first bird to see you, aware of his surroundings
• He should not flap his wings at you, or puff up his feathers at you, or begin incessantly crowing when you come around.
• He should not give you the stink eye or try and sneak around behind you.
• He should casually move his hens away from you, and give you about 5-6 feet of space naturally.
• I like a rooster that keeps his flock together, but I have terrible predators.
• With a good rooster, my daytime predation stops. He will have different calls for different situations.
• He should tidbit and wing dance
• The girls should like him.

Good luck, you have years to do this hobby, my advice is work into it slowly.

Mrs K

 

[homesteadmama8]

If this is your first year, I would recommend just keeping the hens. Roosters take experience, and by just keeping hens, you will get some.

Some roosters are fantastic, and some are awful. You need a plan in case he turns awful. And do know that having him will change your hens attitude towards you. Now, they look to you, but after they have a rooster, they will look to him. It is not a big deal to me, but bothers some people.

If you have small children, I would really encourage you to wait. If a rooster gets aggressive they often attack children first.

The breed of rooster is not a big deal in most backyard flocks, certainly a BO rooster would be fine with your birds. Some things to look for in a good rooster.

• Do not take anything you feel sorry for, as in saving him from becoming dinner or if he is badly beat up in the set up he is in.
• A good rooster, should be the first bird to see you, aware of his surroundings
• He should not flap his wings at you, or puff up his feathers at you, or begin incessantly crowing when you come around.
• He should not give you the stink eye or try and sneak around behind you.
• He should casually move his hens away from you, and give you about 5-6 feet of space naturally.
• I like a rooster that keeps his flock together, but I have terrible predators.
• With a good rooster, my daytime predation stops. He will have different calls for different situations.
• He should tidbit and wing dance
• The girls should like him.

Good luck, you have years to do this hobby, my advice is work into it slowly.

Mrs K

Wow. This was a wealth of information, thank you for sharing! I’ll keep all of this in mind

 

[homesteadmama8]

I'm doing a rooster integration right now. I read that too in multiple places, that you can just dump them in the coop at night, but I didn't do it myself because I worried about how a rooster deprived of all contact with other chickens from a lengthy quarantine might react when he wakes up and realizes he's suddenly surrounded by new girls - and how my hens might react given they've never seen a rooster. My roo turned into a chaotic clown and really scared the very first hen he saw. A few hours later he was a gentleman, but if that first outburst had happened in a small area I worry a hen or two could have gotten injured just from freaking out in a confined space. It would be less risk in a really big coop I guess, but a non-trivial concern for a smaller one.

Yes, that plan does make me a little uneasy

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I usually just add males to female groups and female groups to males. Same sex introductions are more complicated for my flocks than adding the missing sex

 

[Ridgerunner]

I know some people say that the rooster can hurt the pullets by trying to mate, but others say it’s fine.

You get different opinions because people have different experiences. We all have different set-ups, each chicken has its own personality, you can never tell for sure how a living animal will react in a given situation.

I'm a firm believer that the more room you can provide in any integration the better off you are. That's not a square feet thing, if a chicken needs to run away they need enough room to run away. How much room do you really have? It's not a coop only or a run only thing, it's how much room combined to they have when they need that room.

My pullets start acting like mature hens about the time they start to lay. You say your 17-week-olds are just starting to lay. They may need a few more weeks to actually make that transition. It won't be all of them laying but just a few should be enough.

A GOOD mature rooster should not bother pullets not yet laying. Most mature roosters should be OK but every now and then you get one of the others. As I said, each chicken is an individual.

An Orpington rooster should work well with those pullets. They are all full-sized fowl and have fairly similar traits. A Buff Orp rooster with those BR and BA hens has the potential to create some really interesting colors. 1-1/2 years old should be enough for him to be mature. I'd consider it a great age.

I try to suggest you go by what you actually see instead of what some stranger over the internet like me says. What I would expect to happen if a few pullets are old enough is that he swaggers up to the flock, impressing them with his magnificence and self-confidence. He mates a couple (maybe willingly, maybe some chasing involved) and the flock is his. It's often that easy. The age of your pullets concerns me a bit but if you quarantine him for a month that kind of works itself out. But observe and go by what you see. It doesn't always happen the way I or anyone else expects it to.