Adding older rooster to younger flock?

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Bethany101

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Apr 18, 2020
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I am raising chickens for the first time. I bought 6 chicks, and thought one was a rooster based on its behavior and looks, so I bought one more. Well now I'm pretty sure I have 7 hens. They are all about 2 months old, and I am wanting to get a rooster for them. One in particular caught my eye, he is listed as "almost 5 month old Dampierre rooster". My question is, will the older rooster be especially aggressive toward my young pullets? I need them to be protected and would like to hatch some babies, but I don't want to risk them being injured by him. I will be putting him in his own small run next to the hen enclosure for a while before letting them together, will this be sufficient or should I take other precautions? Thanks.

(( P.S. -- I wanted to know the temperament to expect from him so I tried researching the Dampierre breed but can't find any information other than what's on the websites selling them (which is not much) , so I'm not convinced that it is a true breed....? Also, the Craigslist photo does not look like what I found through searching the web, so she could just be lying, or they are mixed?? No idea. Anyone have anything on this breed? I attached photos for reference.))
 

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Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.
Do not get a cockerel until your pullets come into lay. He will terrorize them.
And don't get one just because he catches your eye! Get one that has proven himself to be a good, gentle flock leader and non-aggressive to humans.
I would wait until the pullets are a minimum of 20 weeks old.
Don't believe what you read about this or that breed having good roosters. I did that. I got a Salmon Faverolles. They are supposed to be very mellow roosters. Someone should explain that to Fabio! He has flogged me more times than I can count. I still have him because he is great for the flock but I am always working to build his trust in me and realize I'm not going to "steal" his girls from him!
chicken bush.jpg
 
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Hi and welcome to BYC. Since the pullets are nowhere near sexually mature they should not attract any unwanted behaviour from the cockbird. Here are some helpful links:
Best wishes

Pork Pie
 
Thanks for the advice! That's pretty much what I was thinking, I was only interested in the one posted because I had never heard of the breed and they looked like cool birds lol. However I have serious doubts that those are actually the bird they are claimed to be. I was mostly just curious about the breed, even though the one I saw for sale might not even be one lol. Anyway! - What if I were to get one the same age, or as close to it as possible? Do you think there would still be problems? Does it make a difference if the rooster is raised with your hens from chicks, vs introduced later? I'm sure there is, I just wonder if it's a significant difference. I suppose there are many factors. Thanks for the response.
 

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