I separated a few hens and a roo from my main flock to a smaller coop and run. They have been together for 4 weeks. I pulled the roo out yesterday and put him back in the main flock, having met my breeding goal. I wanted to give my hens a break and left them in the smaller run
The roo I reintroduced back into the main flock got pretty beat up yesterday. He was all blooded up. So o pulled him back out and put him back with the ladies.
How do we prevent this roo, or any roo, from getting beat up when we reintroduced after breeding?
If you wanted pure eggs... you didn't yet make it.
Hens can hold sperm for a full month. So if you want 100% pure eggs then you need to hold them out for a full 6 weeks with the male, THEN start to collect the eggs.
Or hold the hens out for 6 weeks by themselves, add in the male for a week and then start to collect.
Anyway.. reintroduction.
1. Adding only 1 chicken is most likely to be problematic. If you tossed the entire breeding group back into the main pen at the same time things might have been OK.
2. Get better behaved chickens. I hate bloodshed in the coop. I like having everyone together in the winter for ease of chores. I like separating out various breeding groups during my hatching season. Usually they are segregated for about 3 months (6 weeks where I just wait for eggs to be pure, then 6 weeks of setting their eggs every other week, then done).
Back when not everyone was well behaved I would make sure to toss them back together all on the same day. Simultaneously moving the feeder, adding a feeder and waterer, cleaning the coop, all with the goal of disrupting their environment so ALL of the chickens are off balance so to speak. If everyone is off balance then they tend to not gang up on anyone. They are more "good grief EVERYTHING changed" and more peacefully reestablish a pecking order in a non-bloody way.
However, over the years I have STRONGLY bred for personality.
As a result I can now toss in a lone chicken if need be, no bloodshed. With adding a lone chicken though I do need to make sure I have 2 feeders and waterers.
