Advice for cockerel introduction

[Svaness]

Hi, I recently Recieved a beautiful cockerel.
He is 2 months old, he is currently enclosed in our garden with his own coop (alone).
We've had him for 2 days.
I have 4 hens (1 year old)
36 pullets (11 weeks)
All the girls are together during the day but I don't have them sleeping in the same coop yet, going to start that soon.
I'm wondering how I can safely introduce my rooster to them and when?
I tried yesterday and he was too nervous aND flew onto my shoulders.

 

[Roo5]

Personally I’d wait till he hits puberty, which could be anywhere from 3-6 months or later.When he has become noticeably more active and showing more interest in the hens, then try introducing, as long as they can see each other through the fence for awhile they should be easier to put together

 

[Svaness]

Personally I’d wait till he hits puberty, which could be anywhere from 3-6 months or later.When he has become noticeably more active and showing more interest in the hens, then try introducing, as long as they can see each other through the fence for awhile they should be easier to put together

Thanks for your response,
Theyre all very curious about eachother except for my alpha hen which I thought strange

 

[Criticalicious]

Good advice is to quarantine any new birds you bring in for 30 days to be sure they aren't going to make your entire flock ill. Otherwise, after that time period, you can integrate birds by putting them together where they can see each other but not touch for a week or two and then let them free range together and see how they do. I have had good luck integrating young cockerels with adult hens by giving the smaller ones space to get away from the adults. A simple cage in the larger run with their own food and water and a small opening that the adults can't fit works.

 

[aart]

Theyre all very curious about eachother except for my alpha hen which I thought strange

She's just waiting to kick his butt.

He's a baby...I agree, keep him separate until he's older.
Or you might integrate him with the youngers first.

All the girls are together during the day but I don't have them sleeping in the same coop yet, going to start that soon.

How much space do you have, coops, runs, etc?
Dimensions and pics would be great.

 

[Svaness]

This is where were keeping our young hens. I believe it is about 8' x 18' they sleep in there and during the day they have free roam of our entire yard. The garden he's in runs the length of our yard.

Last night he was hell bent on sleeping with them and I felt so guilty about him being alone I ended up putting him in with them.. they were fine he was cuddled up to a hen all night. I woke up extra early to be up before them. When they finally woke up they started picking on him so I put him back in the garden. I know I shouldn't have put him to bed with them but I felt so bad.

 

[aart]

View attachment 1868628
This is where were keeping our young hens. I believe it is about 8' x 18' they sleep in there and during the day they have free roam of our entire yard. The garden he's in runs the length of our yard.

Last night he was hell bent on sleeping with them and I felt so guilty about him being alone I ended up putting him in with them.. they were fine he was cuddled up to a hen all night. I woke up extra early to be up before them. When they finally woke up they started picking on him so I put him back in the garden. I know I shouldn't have put him to bed with them but I felt so bad.

Nice big building!
So you put the cockerel loose with the pullets(younger birds)?
Where is he during the day..."in the garden".... in a crate...can all the birds come up to the crate???
You could put the crate in the coop at night so he won't be alone but safe from harassment.

FYI.....semantics, maybe, but can be important communication terms when discussing chicken behavior.
Female chickens are called pullets until one year of age, then they are called hens.
Male chickens are called cockerels until one year of age, then they are called cocks(or cockbirds or roosters).
Age in weeks or months is always a good thing to note.

These tips might help....
Integration Basics:
It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.


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Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
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[Svaness]

Hi,
Thanks for the great info. I'll reread all that to make sure I absorb it.
He's in the garden all day, it runs the length of the yard and is fenced in. The pullets are in the yard during the day with the 4 older hens. I do have a large cage I could put in the barn for him to sleep in. I like things when they are not complicated so maybe leaving him in the garden for a while longer might be best. There is a small coop in the garden for him to use.
I live in Nova Scotia, Canada. Nice weather this summer so far and we're far enough south that the winters really aren't too bad.
Thanks again!