Attempting to integrate a new roo to the flock

[FunnyBunny89]

Hi all,

Just wanted to share this for anyone who is curious. Details:
I have a flock of 15 with a roo who is good natured and about 1 year old. He is an OE/Ameraucana mix.

A contractor doing work for us saw our flock and coop and asked if we'd be able to take a roo he can't keep due to the fact that he had another roo who was picking on the smaller guy. After much consideration, I decided to give it a shot. He's about 6 months old, is also an OE mix but with Silkie, and he has the same general temperament as Roger, our OG roo. His name is Socks.

It has been only one full day now, and we seem to see some improvement in their aggression towards each other. I consulted some friends who have multiple roos and they all said, "give him a week to cool off and then let them fight it out." So that's our plan, at present. I will play it by ear though.

Just thought some of you would be curious to see the interactions. I recorded some yesterday right after we got him into the pen, but then I had to spray them with the hose (gently of course) to get them to quit fighting so I could add wire mesh to keep them from destroying each other's combs.

As of now, 11:52am, Roger has calmed down a lot and Socks seems to be showing submissiveness. Not total submission, but he is definitely not returning the aggression as much, and even laid down while Roger was standing by the wire.

I am feeling hopeful!

Here is a link to my compilation video:

FYI I love Roger, I don't wish to see him out of sorts, so the family agreed to take Socks back and try to rehome him elsewhere if it doesn't work. I don't want this to upset the balance we have, but I know for sure we have enough hens to go around, and I wouldn't mind having two sentinels since we free range. Can't hurt to try, if we're careful about it!

 

[sourland]

A dominant established rooster will almost always fight another rooster added to 'his' flock. It's all about the DNA. Given enough space and the temperament of the rooster that achieves dominance they may be able to coexist once their positions have been determined.

 

[FunnyBunny89]

A dominant established rooster will almost always fight another rooster added to 'his' flock. It's all about the DNA. Given enough space and the temperament of the rooster that achieves dominance they may be able to coexist once their positions have been determined.

Yes, I know the fight has to happen. I'm hoping with some time through a wire wall, they will be able to go into the fight with clearer expectations. Fingers crossed!

Also, they have a lot of space out here so hopefully the fight will be quick and easy. Generally, Roger is very easygoing and originally came from a flock with multiple roosters where he got picked on, hopefully he doesn't need too much to feel confident this time.

 

[FunnyBunny89]

Well, after a lot of observation, I decided it was time to let them duke it out this morning once Roger got his morning routine and morning matings out of his system. They had their fight, Roger won, no blood was shed, and Socks is now very clear about his position. He tried to mate with a hen once and Roger came running and knocked him off but then walked away. I think in time, they'll be able to sort it out because 3 of the hens prefer to be with Socks, and they are the 3 hens that Roger doesn't mate with.

Socks seems a little bummed and shy now, but I think he'll be fine. Hopefully we can maintain this! I read a lot of stories and I know things can go sideways real quick, but I'll keep the pen out here for a while so Socks has his own spot to go to. He's in there now. It's wide open for access but he clearly feels safer in there and the hens come and go.

 

[FunnyBunny89]

Update 6 days later:

(Socks has been renamed to Boots.)
Boots has dutifully accepted his role at the bottom, and is learning how to earn the attention of his ladies. Roger still knocks him off hens if he catches him mating, but overall is tolerating sharing his space with Boots. Last night, I observed Boots follow his 3 hens into the coop, and Roger actually allowed him to roost on the same bar (with 3 hens between them). However, once he was awake and crowing, his patience subsided. I made sure to open the coop a bit early so Boots could run out if he needed to. Today, I think it's looking good and Boots just needs to learn how to impress his girls a little bit better

Hopefully things stay peaceful ✌

 

[FunnyBunny89]