Breeding Pens, separation and intergration

[HenHoneyGirl]

I'm thinking about separating a rooster and two of my hens into a breeding pen for a month or two to get eggs to incubate but after that I'll be putting them back in my flock, would there be any fighting issues when I put them back? (I have 3 other roosters and have 40+ hen and 10 turkeys.) I'm just worried the hens might loose their place in the pecking order and then they might be hen pecked. And the rooster might get used to having those two hens to himself and fight with the other ones over breeding those two.
Is my thinking off? Will they be fine? Am I just being paranoid?

 

[sourland]

There will most likely be fighting upon reintroduction. The pecking order is an ever changing social structure. I would be most worried about the 3 flock roosters gang fighting the reintroduced rooster. If your birds are free range or have a lot of space they may work things out without too much damage. I would monitor the reintroduction. You are being sensible not paranoid.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Just because you are paranoid doesn’t mean they are not out to get you. People from my generation understand that. Sour is from a previous generation and might get confused about things like that. How are you and the princess doing friend? I haven’t seen you mention her for a while.

That’s a sensible question. People do it all the time quite successfully but there are some risks. I really would not worry about the hens working their way back into the pecking order. While you are dealing with living animals and anything is possible, most of the serious hen reintegration issues involve limited room and flocks with no roosters.

There is a reasonable chance there will be some sorting of the flock dominance issue among the roosters. With the type of room you are describing it should not be a huge problem, but do it when you have a chance to monitor for a day or two, say a weekend. I think you will greatly reduce your chances of reintroduction problems if your breeding pen is mostly wire and where they can see each other.

Good luck!

 

[sourland]

@ Ridgerunner, although all body parts may not function at the level of a 25 year old, the brain still does.

The Princess is still deluded into thinking that I am the most wonderful guy in the world. What can I say - marry them young and train them well.

 

[HenHoneyGirl]

Thank you guys, I'm a little less paranoid, they have a good amount of room and they have lots of places to hide if they become somewhat persecuted. And I'll make sure to monitor them closely while they're being integrated back. Hopefully I'll have the breeding pen set up by next week!

 

[rockriver]

The rooster does not have to be with the hens 24/7 hens have the capibility to hold sperm for up to 3 weeks the roo only has to go in once a week if u do it this way he will not loose his position in the pecking order the hens on the other hand will loose their postition if they are totally isolated. If the hens could be seen by the rest of the flock there shouldnt be too much fighting when they join the flock again