BO and EE roosters?

[whispurr]

I have an area in my coop that I have set aside as a semi-permanent isolation cage. Right now my chicks are in there but if I want BO babies maybe I can isolate the EE rooster there for a while. I want to keep my EE rooster because I like him. He's the prettiest chicken I've ever seen, plus I like his personality. Breeding them is a secondary "if" goal, eggs are the primary goal, so no need to get rid of a rooster if they all get along.

 

[3KillerBs]

if I want BO babies maybe I can isolate the EE rooster there for a while.

You need to keep the hens away from other rooters for at least 3 weeks or possibly longer to be sure that they haven't stored sperm.

 

[NatJ]

isolation cage...if I want BO babies maybe I can isolate the EE rooster there for a while.

Yes, that would probably work.

A common recommendation is to have the hens away from the "wrong" rooster for 3 weeks before you start collecting the eggs you want to hatch, and for as much longer as you are collecting eggs. Some people recommend 4 to 5 weeks, based on occasions when 3 weeks was not long enough. (It seems to depend partly on the individual chickens involved, which makes it hard to predict.)

If you can recognize which chicks are pure Buff Orpingtons and which are crosses, and are willing to deal with the crosses, you can probably shorten the amount of time. ("Deal with" the crosses can be done in many ways: keep them, sell them, give them away, raise them for a few months & then butcher them, cull them as early as you can tell which ones they are, etc.)

If you pen up the EE a single week before you start collecting eggs, there is a good chance that the BO will be the father of most of the chicks-- but that's a good chance, not anywhere close to a certainty.

I want to keep my EE rooster because I like him. He's the prettiest chicken I've ever seen, plus I like his personality. Breeding them is a secondary "if" goal, eggs are the primary goal, so no need to get rid of a rooster if they all get along.

That makes sense. Identifying your own goals and priorities is helpful, because they may not be the same as anyone else's