Bachelor flock - add this roo or not?

[imacowgirl2]

I'm preparing to start a bachelor flock for our roosters so that we can control breeding, and because we have too many for a proper hen:roo ratio to leave them in with the hens anyways. When I planned this out, the original plan was to have 2-3 cockerels from our June batch of chicks to start the bachelor flock once they got close to sexual maturity, then later add our 3 cockerels from our early August batch of chicks and 1-2 cockerels from our late August batch together as a group to the bachelor flock once they were old enough.

Best laid plans of mice and men...it was just my luck that when I wanted 1-2 roos in my straight run, 100% of my straight run chicks were hens - so instead of having 2-3 cockerels from that June batch, I have 1.

So now my new plan is to start the bachelor flock when the younger cockerels are close to maturity and leave the current cockerel in the flock for now...but my dilemma then becomes, do I let my current cockerel stay with the hens, or do I move him to the bachelor flock when I start it?

I'm leaning towards moving him to the bachelor flock, just because we like to free range the hens, and it's been a pain to make sure I lock the flock back up before my 4 year old goes outside. He hasn't shown any human aggression to date, but he's only 12 weeks old, so I'm not taking any chances with him + young kids. On the other hand, are there any considerations I'm not thinking about as to why it would be a bad idea to put him in the bachelor flock? I wasn't sure if ages would be an issue? Or if he would be super stressed about being removed from his hens? The young ones would be about 7 and 10 weeks old and he would be about 19 weeks old at the time I started the bachelor flock, if I stick to my intended timeline. I'm also open to suggestions for a different timeline, if there is a better one that makes sense...

 

[Iluveggers]

I am in the camp that the earlier chicks are introduced, the better the transition goes. I mixed a 4 week old, 5 2 weeks old, and 4 1 week old chicks. They all were moved into the new area, starting with the youngest, giving them a little time to explore, then adding the older chicks. I think because no one could “claim” the territory, they all were more interested in the new brooder than each other, although I stayed about 2 hours to observe.

I worry if your oldest cockerel matures, and then is moved in with new cockerels, he will be at the “attacking” stage. Still no guarantee that moving him with the others now would be smooth, but the older he gets the more dominant he will try to be. You could always move the rooster with the best temperament in with the hens once they are all through the wild teenage stage.

 

[imacowgirl2]

I worry if your oldest cockerel matures, and then is moved in with new cockerels, he will be at the “attacking” stage. Still no guarantee that moving him with the others now would be smooth, but the older he gets the more dominant he will try to be. You could always move the rooster with the best temperament in with the hens once they are all through the wild teenage stage.

Thats what I'm worried about too...him having reached sexual maturity and being more aggressive then the younger ones. He is 12 weeks now, the middle batch of 3 is only 2 weeks old, and the youngest batch of 1-2 doesn't even hatch and ship until next week. I kind of assumed that putting him and 4-5 chicks together alone in the next couple weeks would be about the same as putting him totally alone as far as social needs, thus the new plan was to wait until the younger guys were a bit older. Is that not the case? Could I put him and the roo chicks together in the next couple weeks and him be ok socially? If it makes a difference, he has been crowing for about two weeks now.

 

[azygous]

I'm confused as to what's now the reality of male chicks and what is the future reality. Just woke up, sorry.

Regarding when to mix younger male chicks with older males chicks, the earlier the better, as @lluveggers mentioned. It's much easier for them the establish their social ranking and agree on who's dominant by giving young cockerels to an older one early enough where the older guy actually trains the younger ones.

When you do end up letting cockerels and roosters access the hens, do it in a controlled manner or you will have a huge brawl on your hands as they all fight over the hens. Never turn more than one rooster loose with the hens as even the best buds will resort to rumbling over who gets them.

 

[imacowgirl2]

I'm confused as to what's now the reality of male chicks and what is the future reality. Just woke up, sorry.

Regarding when to mix younger male chicks with older males chicks, the earlier the better, as @IIuveggers mentioned. It's much easier for them the establish their social ranking and agree on who's dominant by giving young cockerels to an older one early enough where the older guy actually trains the younger ones.

When you do end up letting cockerels and roosters access the hens, do it in a controlled manner or you will have a huge brawl on your hands as they all fight over the hens. Never turn more than one rooster loose with the hens as even the best buds will resort to rumbling over who gets them.

Lol, sorry, it's a bit confusing. As of today, I have 1 - 12 week old cockerel and 3 - 2 week old cockerel chicks. The 12 week old is fully integrated into the main flock and the 2 week olds are in the process of integration (the batch of 2 week old contains both hens and cockerels). Next week I will be getting another batch of chicks that will contain hens and 1-2 cockerels that I will be keeping as well.

 

[azygous]

Thanks for making that easier to understand.

I think one of your questions was whether to take the older cockerel out of the hen population and put him with the small chicks. Not just yet. But you can begin integration of the two-week olds with the older one by letting the young ones spend the day with the older one with a barrier. The babies should be fine outdoors with no heat at 70F and above. Provide shade and protection from wind and predators.

By the time the younger ones are six weeks old, they should be fine to move in together. The older one will take over their training and whip them into his platoon.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Adult Roos introduced to other adult Roos, I'm not saying it can't be done as I gave my friends an adult Roo & he did fine with their other 3 Roos, but of course they have an acre to run around & a few different sheltered night perches to choose from, plus he has never been aggressive, he'd fight if attacked by another but mostly he was always busy hanging with his fav hens, & could really run fast if he had to.

I have predator proof pens here, can't free range, so introducing new adult Roos didn't work here, in confined areas. A sweet adult Roo Buff Orpington did however, did do very well as a surrogate dad to 8 chicks, 2 of which are now grown Roos...all are still together & all still respect their daddy Roo. So if young chick Roos are introduced to eacother while young, or introduced to a sweet a Daddy Roo, well, you stand a better chance of them all getting along as they grow up.

I had 10 chicks, all hatched together, 5 were Roos, and the boys got along well until the Spring came & their 1 year old adult hormones became fired up & began picking on 1. The Wyandotte boys seemed grumpiest, so they were moved out to be with hens 1st. I kept removing "the 1 that got picked on", So then it was just down to 2 Roos together for awhile. I got some new hens, so the duo was split up then. Unfortunately, with their own harems, they no longer cared to be buddies, couldn't even have a nice visit.

At least in my experience, most baby Roos do fine together. Some may grow up to be buddies. Some might not. Sparring can be playful or later may get serious...if I saw blood, that's where I drew the line, blood & mean pecking & biting means the friendship is over. It's not impossible to bring adult Roos together but it depends on personalities, if hens are within sight or sound, if Roo has bonded with any of the hens they can still hear & how much room they'll all have.

When introducing some rescued adult hens, that had attitudes, I did use the pinless peepers, which is like wearing little mini eye spectacles that allow the wearer to see enough to eat & get around, but not get a clear line of sight directly ahead, to peck & hurt someone. It took about 2 mos. for those hens to calm down & be friends with the others. When I saw them finally dustbathe together & not constantly chasing after or running from, I took each hen's peepers off, 1 at a time 1 per day, & observed to make sure no one was bullying. They're friends to this day. Maybe try pinless peepers when introducing Roos? But they can still spar & do damage with spurs.

Trimming spurs...well in predator proof pens you can, But you don't want to trim spurs leaving Roos vulnerable to predators, if you have a free range set up.
I've got an attachment to all of my Roos, love them so much. So...I ended up building more coop & pen space with individual sections, so each Roo & his hens have peace. Still, there's an occasional display of Roo attitude & one will spar at the HWC dividing pens & hurt his own spur or toe but nothing too serious. 1 Roo was really aggressive so I bought the wind/sun shade stuff with grommets & installed that down his side. Can't jump & spur at what you don't see...calmed his feisty butt down. 1 Roo knocked his spurs off so often, they won't grow back. He's an old spurless man now, but in Spring he feels rather chipper!

I've known others to have successful bachelor coops, all Roos, & they do fine. All I can say is try & be observant to see how the friendship progresses. Don't ignore a bloody comb or spur. Spring hormones really get Rooster behavior fired up. Good luck to ya!