Advice On Integrating A Roo?

[Allie Grace Sanders]

So I found a rooster and I want him... I already have eight ISA Brown, 8 month old hens. He is 7 months old, and is a Buff Orpington. If I get him, does anyone know the best way to integrate him?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

It's best to pen him where they all can see him for a few weeks before letting them mingle, though sometimes a rooster will integrate right into a flock of hens without problems.

There's always the quarantine issue to consider before adding him, whether you wish to do it or not. Either way he could be carrying things your hens haven't become immune to so it's possible your hens could get sick despite a proper quarantine.

 

[Allie Grace Sanders]

If I get him I plan on keeping him quarantined from a few days to a week.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

He still can make your hens sick, so just so you are aware of that risk.

 

[Allie Grace Sanders]

The owner has told me that he has had fowl pox before, but it's cleared up now!

 

[Allie Grace Sanders]

Also, if we get him will it be OK for him to eat layer crumbles?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Also, if we get him will it be OK for him to eat layer crumbles?

I feed mine an All Flock. I found roosters lived shorter lives eating a layer ration.

 

[aart]

He still can make your hens sick, so just so you are aware of that risk.

.....and your hens could make him sick.
Chances are you don't have the facilities to really quarantine, so it's a risk.
BYC Medical Quarantine Article
BYC 'quarantine' search

First look at why you want a male bird.
Yes, they are pretty and free(cause no one wants them), crowing can be cool(or not). If you are a newbie keeper, it might be better to wait a year or so to add a male

Adding a young cockerel can be much different than adding a mature cockbird.
He could be fine, or he could cause havoc trying to mate the pullets.
Best be ready with a separate enclosure to keep him away from the girls if he is too aggressive.

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).

And I wonder if you have enough space for your existing flock,
let alone adding a male. You say "very small coop recommend for 6-8 chickens",
but I'm betting it's too small for even that.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...uck-buyers-unite.1209379/page-2#post-19234440

 

[Allie Grace Sanders]

The owner said I could try it, and after a few days bring him back if it's not working out. Yes I do have a small coop, but a very large run. I also keep the food and water outside. Do you still think it's a bad idea? I have to let the owner know today.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I think you knowing your goals and why you want him is important to you in many ways, but your question is how to best integrate a 7 month old cockerel with 8 month old pullets. How much room you have in the coop and in the run could be an issue too.

Quarantine is a serious issue. Different diseases or parasites can be transmitted by them sharing a water of food dish, pecking at the ground where others have pooped, by vectors like mosquitoes, slugs, grasshoppers, or many other things moving between them, or just by floating on air. You can possibly transmit diseases or parasites on your shoes if you don’t change them whenever you go from one to the other. Or if you use the same bucket to carry feed or water to both flocks. Very few of us have the facilities or ability to quarantine like this. Whatever you do will help some, but even a perfect quarantine is not an absolute guarantee. Sometimes a flock develops flock immunities where they do not show any symptoms but can transmit the disease or parasite to other chickens. That could as easily be your flock causing him problems as the other way around.

A strict quarantine would last about a month. That’s not really to check for the flock immunity things but to check if he was exposed to something new recently. If he is coming from a closed flock where he has not been exposed to new birds for a month the potential benefits of a strict quarantine aren’t very high but if he is coming from an auction or chicken stock or the owner moved chickens in and out a lot the potential benefits are much higher. You are not checking for flock immunity issues there. A one week quarantine would help more than nothing, and it gives you a chance to check for mites or lice or maybe take a fecal sample to a vet to check for roundworms or tapeworms if you wish.

There can be a world of difference between cockerels and pullets versus roosters and hens when it comes to integration or just have them live together. I don’t go by biological age for that much though, I think level of maturity is much more important. If your pullets have been laying a while they are probably mature enough to act more like hens than pullets. That’s both good and bad. If the cockerel is mature enough to be seen as a rooster integration may be as easy as putting them together. He mates a few to make then his flock and it’s over. The current dominant hen or pullet may put up a little resistance but often not much.

If that cockerel is not mature enough to WOW! them with his magnificence and self-confidence, at least some of them will probably resist his advances. It can get really physical with him trying to take over by pure physical force. That’s often not pleasant to watch. Sometimes the more dominant hens may seek him out to beat the snot out of him, not just resist. Usually no chicken gats really injured in this but it can happen. Usually the cockerel eventually matures enough to take over and you get a peaceful flock. Getting there though can be really rough to watch. The less room they have the more likely it is that somebody might get hurt. When there is conflict they need room to run away. If they are locked in the coop you might see the pullets on the roost staying away from that cockerel, or you may see the cockerel up there staying away from that mean old dominant hen.

I’ve had cockerels take over a flock of older hens by the time they were seven months old. I’ve had cockerels not be accepted by all the hens until they were 11 months old. They all mature at different rates. Some people say it has taken a lot longer than 11 months for their cockerels to take over.

Once you sort out quarantine, my suggestion is to just put them together when you can observe. If it all goes well, fine. But have a Plan B where you can isolate that cockerel where they can see each other and give him time to grow up before you try again. This is a situation where you need to be flexible.

Good luck!