Adding a Rooster

[ECiesielczyk]

I am looking to add a rooster (9-10 month old) to my flock of 12 girls (ranging from 6 months to 2 years old) and have one lined up. I know that I am supposed to keep it separate from the rest of the flock for at least 3 days. Here is my question: where the heck do you guys keep it?

We only have one coop/run and my girls are free ranging. Short of keeping it in the house (hmmm crowing first thing might not be the best way to encourage happiness in my family) I am not really sure how to keep it separate and yet let it range. Any ideas? We rasied our chickens in big tubs in the house then moved them to the coop. Thanks!

 

[GoldDogsMom]

I don't know how others will respond to this question but when I added a rooster to my flock of 12, he was younger than most of the girls and I first let him free range with them then put him in the coop at night once the girls had gone to roost and then let everyone out first thing in the am to free range. I did this for about a week and they eventually got used to him.

 

[ECiesielczyk]

I don't know how others will respond to this question but when I added a rooster to my flock of 12, he was younger than most of the girls and I first let him free range with them then put him in the coop at night once the girls had gone to roost and then let everyone out first thing in the am to free range. I did this for about a week and they eventually got used to him.

Sorry, so wait, you kept him out of the coop while the girls went in. Did you catch him and wait until night fall? You didn't keep him separate?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have no idea why you are supposed to keep him separated for three days. Why or where did you come up with the 3 days?

If you are going to do quarantine, it should be closer to 30 days, not 3. I have no idea what your area and set-up looks like. You need to find a place where they cannot d=share food or water, cannot scratch their poop into each other’s area, and where they do not share air. Some diseases can be transmitted by air.

Do you have another rooster with your flock? How old is your rooster, new and old. How old are your hens? I have some suggestions but to save me a lot of typing out all the what-ifs, could you please help with a bit of information?

 

[GoldDogsMom]

At first he would just hang out between my 2 coops, about a 3 ft wide area cuz he was scared of all the girls so he would be there after they all went in...then I would scoop him up and set him in the coop on a roost a distance from the girls.

I didn't know what to do to seperate him and he was so timid at first...

Maybe I just got lucky that they all settled in so quickly but no one was ever injured and I kept a close watch for the first few days while everyone was out.

 

[ECiesielczyk]

I have no idea why you are supposed to keep him separated for three days. Why or where did you come up with the 3 days?

If you are going to do quarantine, it should be closer to 30 days, not 3. I have no idea what your area and set-up looks like. You need to find a place where they cannot d=share food or water, cannot scratch their poop into each other’s area, and where they do not share air. Some diseases can be transmitted by air.

Do you have another rooster with your flock? How old is your rooster, new and old. How old are your hens? I have some suggestions but to save me a lot of typing out all the what-ifs, could you please help with a bit of information?

I have 12 hens: some 2 yo, some 1 yo and one 6 month old. No roosters. I researched adding new chickens and it seems that the quaritine lasts anywhere from 3 - 30 days depending on who the source is. The rooster is 9-10 months in excelletn health.

 

[GoldDogsMom]

I was responding to the question thinking you meant to acclimate the rooster...not in terms of quarantine-definitely need to quarantine a new bird. My rooster was raised with 3 of the girls in the coop he was added to (by me)-I had put him in another smaller coop and then figured out I had 2 roosters and wanted to split them up -so I didn't need to quarantine.

I hope I didn't confuse you!

 

[ECiesielczyk]

Okay. Yes, I am adding a new bird to my flock. I would just like the girls to have one, plus in the future, when my Black Jersey Giant goes broody again, I would like to hatch a few.

 

[SD Bird Lady]

Do you have a garage or other outbuilding and a dog crate? If you are serious about a quarintine then he should not be allowed to range anywhere the girls already have access too. so you willl be in isolation for 3 weeks or so. After that I agree with golddogsmom. If they are all ranging then there is less confrontation and more room to retreat if neccessary. Generally introducing animals of the opposite sex is a lot easier than introducing same sex animals in my experience.

 

[ECiesielczyk]

Do you have a garage or other outbuilding and a dog crate? If you are serious about a quarintine then he should not be allowed to range anywhere the girls already have access too. so you willl be in isolation for 3 weeks or so. After that I agree with golddogsmom. If they are all ranging then there is less confrontation and more room to retreat if neccessary. Generally introducing animals of the opposite sex is a lot easier than introducing same sex animals in my experience.

No outbuildings but my garden is fenced. There isn't much cover and I would assume he could just fly right over the fence. To keep him from anywhere the girls are allowed, I would have to keep him in the house as the girls have full access to the yard and fields.