Adding A Rooster to the Flock

Tblas

In the Brooder
May 1, 2020
12
38
36
Upstate NY
Hello,

We have six 7month old Red Stars! They are great ladies, they are laying daily and pretty friendly girls for us getting them at 16 weeks.
My husband has been wanting a Rooster since the start. I’m finally saying yes. One of my friends has a nice 4 month old cockerel that she said we can have.
So I’m here looking for any and all advice on owning a rooster, introducing him to our ladies and any thing else you can think of!

Thank you in advance!
Here’s some photos of our girls!
 

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Roosters are great but do sometimes have attitudes. Make sure to handle him, but don’t handle him too much. And make sure he knows your the boss. Don’t let him think your part of the flock because he will try to treat you like one of the flock. At this age hormones will start kicking in and he might try to be bossy, but roosters are usually great!
 
I added one a couple of years ago to older ladies, and it took him 3 weeks before he roosted with the girls. This not always a bad thing for roosters to meet some birds that he has to win over verses bully over. They seem to become better at chicken society.

He will change the dynamics of your flock. Instead of looking to you, they will look to him. I am of the group, he should not fluff up at me, he should not crow incessantly when I am in the coop, he should not give me the evil eye, he should not sneak behind me, and he should not attack me for any reason.

He should casually move so that he is about 5-8 feet away from me when I come into the set up. He should be the first bird to see me when I approach. He should be standing up tall often when out free ranging, he should casually keep his flock together, he should tidbit for his ladies and wing dance. That is a great rooster, and will become a flock-master. Not often do you get all of those traits, but if you do it is pretty sweet.

Roosters are a crapshoot, do not take a rooster if you do not feel like you could dispatch a rooster if needed. They are not like puppies where as if you are nice to them, they are nice to you. They have a brain the size of a walnut and are highly driven by hormones. Some are wonderful, some are a nightmare.

Good luck,

Mrs K
 
You are not introducing a rooster to hens. You are introducing an immature cockerel to mature hens. Technically they are still pullets but once they are laying I expect them to act like mature hens. Introducing a mature rooster to a flock of mature hens is usually one of the easiest integrations there is. That's not what you have.

At four months there is a lot of uncertainty about this. His hormones have probably kicked in. He will probably want to mate with the hens. At his age that's not so much to fertilize eggs but to establish dominance over them. Some hens may squat for anything in spurs, even one that young that doesn't have spurs yet, but I would not expect that. Many if not most mature hens want a mate that will make a good father to their chicks. They want them to behave in an appropriate manner and WOW! them with his magnificence and self-confidence. Most immature cockerels can't manage that. I've had one five-month-old cockerel that could do that. I've had one that could not until he was 11 months old. Most of mine can manage that at 7 months but that can vary.

The hens and their personalities have something to say about this too. Some may easily give in, I'd expect most to run away, and some mature hens may fight back. That's what Art is alluding to about him getting his butt kicked. Your dominant hen is most likely the one that will do that but it could be any of them.

From your photos it looks like you have a lot of room, that should help. With an immature cockerel like this I'd house him somewhere predator safe for about a week, as much to teach him that this is his new home as much as to try to ease his integration. Then let him out and see how it goes. I can't predict what you will see, it could be many different things. Base your actions on what you see. This may go so smoothly you wonder what all the fuss was about or you may decide you need to isolate him until he matures more. When he matures enough to win them over by personality it should be a really peaceful flock, but getting to that point may be hard to watch. Or it may be a piece of cake.

My definition of a successful integration is that no one gets hurt. I can put up with a lot of stuff as long as none get hurt. They often outgrow that kind of stuff. But if one gets hurt, that's different.

I agree roosters are a crap shoot. Some are great, some are not. I don't now how your experience will go. Don't expect an immature cockerel to act like a mature rooster, so you might have a need for patience. I don't have any great advice on how to raise a "good" rooster. I have my opinions but I don't always get good results. People with different methods sometimes have problems, sometimes have good results.

If a rooster is human aggressive, tries to attack people, I'd get rid of him. He's especially dangerous to kids as their faces are more on his level and they are less likely to be able to defend themselves. Sometimes they won't attack you but will other people.

If a rooster is a brute to his girls I get rid of him. There is some judgment here. An immature cockerel is more likely to use brute force than a mature rooster so he gets some leeway. But there are limits with that. If he is physically injuring them he is gone. Some people don't have the patience I have with cockerels. I have no tolerance for a brutish mature rooster.
 
Usually the easiest integration, but he's young and will probably get his butt kicked by the ladies.
Keep him in a 'see no touch' enclosure for a few days, ideally adjacent to their coop and run, then let him range with the girls. If you have a large enough run, wire off a place for him there.

^^^This!^^^

A separate pen is good as is introducing while free ranging.

If it seems the girls are prone to bullying him then another option is to select one or two of the less aggressive pullets and put them in his pen for a while so he makes friends before dealing with the rest of the flock.

I have Mareks in the flock and while I have not had a bird get sick from it for several years I am always mindful that adolescent social stress is the main trigger. Making sure the adolescents are not picked on and have some birdy friends/allies is very important.
 
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