I was reading one web site that recommended you not get chickens in the fall/winter due to the risk of disease even after the 1 month seperation.Something about diseases that stay dormant till cold weather/confinment. Our 13 week old roo died last Monday and I can not stop thinking about getting another.I see a lot of people giving away their extra roosters. I am waiting a bit anyway to see if anyone else gets ill.Part of me thinks that I should find out where my roo came from,and get from the same stock.But on the other hand it might be better to get a completely different looking roo.In the end though the most important thing is that the roo and the 8 hens I have do no make each other sick. So is it really better to wait till late spring/summer and maybe start with a little one,or just get any nice rooster when I come across one?
I think, that if you find a rooster you like, buy it. (Or take it if it's free.) But then just follow the two week quarentine to be safe. It's still early enough in the year where they don't have to be cooped up due to bad weather. If you free range them, I would let them free range together once quarentine is over, that way the transition might be easier. Good luck to you!
I have added roos, hens, juvies, pullets, etc at all times of the year and have not noticed illness break out more at any certain time. Actually the only time of year that seem to affect my chickens at all is the super hot humid days of Summer. I would get another roo whenever I wanted or needed to...just do the quarantine thing for a few weeks to make sure he isn't visibly sick. I will be getting chicks in Mid Sept, so I will be adding new roos in the cold, I am not worried.
Sorry for your loss. IMO get a nice rooster when you come across one. I'd be looking for one roughly the same age. Separation is a requirement regardless of the time of year. Main reason I can think for not getting one in the dead of winter would be due to the "stress" they experience when relocating. Having that and extreme cold can be deadly.
