Can I introduce a grown rooster to my established flock of hens safely?

[Rcasady]

I have 6 hens 2 are 8 months old and 4 are 5 months old. They work well together and are very sweet. Not as snuggly as I wanted it of my chicken family but sweet nonetheless. I love in the country and have recently felt the loss from the predators in the area. I'm contemplating on getting a rooster to help with protection. Can I introduce an older rooster to my flock now? Should I wait till spring and get a baby roo?

 

[Isadora]

You could introduce an older rooster to your flock, but some of your pullets may be a bit young to mate.
There are more effective ways to protect your flock then getting a rooster. Even if a rooster attacks an intruder, chances are he's going to get injured or killed.
Do you have a secure coop and run setup? Those are steps one and two to protecting your chickens.

 

[Rcasady]

You could introduce an older rooster to your flock, but some of your pullets may be a bit young to mate.
There are more effective ways to protect your flock then getting a rooster. Even if a rooster attacks an intruder, chances are he's going to get injured or killed.
Do you have a secure coop and run setup? Those are steps one and two to protecting your chickens.

I have a secure coop, fenced in run that is buried but is open to the sky. My chickens primarily free range the property. I'm contemplating on keeping them in the run/coop always now. It's a large run but they act like it's the smallest area ever.

 

[DobieLover]

I have a secure coop, fenced in run that is buried but is open to the sky. My chickens primarily free range the property. I'm contemplating on keeping them in the run/coop always now. It's a large run but they act like it's the smallest area ever.

What kind of shelter do they have from aerial attack?
I have found that a good alert rooster or two are very effective in warning for ground and aerial threats. I have personally been out in their pen and witnessed hawk attack attempts three times. I would have to assume that there have been many dozens of attempts on the flock over the years based on the percentage of time I am actually out there. I have only lost a single bird. No other bird has been injured.
But the flock has a very large quince shrub, various other planting arrangements plus the solid roofed run they seek shelter under when an alarm is sounded.

 

[Rcasady]

What kind of shelter do they have from aerial attack?
I have found that a good alert rooster or two are very effective in warning for ground and aerial threats. I have personally been out in their pen and witnessed hawk attack attempts three times. I would have to assume that there have been many dozens of attempts on the flock over the years based on the percentage of time I am actually out there. I have only lost a single bird. No other bird has been injured.
But the flock has a very large quince shrub, various other planting arrangements plus the solid roofed run they seek shelter under when an alarm is sounded.

They mostly hang out in or under the coop otherwise in the winter aerial protection is a bit scarce. I was thinking about a net to go over the run as a roof of sorts but since we free range then primarily we opted to wait on one. I think getting a rooster will be a good idea but should it be older, baby and should I wait till spring so it can be quarantined first and introduced slowly? Should I let them out to free range again or keep them locked up? I've never had chickens before and I was told not to get attached to them but I can't help it. They have such quirky personalities.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, welcome to the forum, glad you joined.

I think getting a rooster will be a good idea but should it be older, baby and should I wait till spring so it can be quarantined first and introduced slowly?

People do this all sorts of ways, we all have our own preferences. My goals are different to yours and my situation is different. For you I'd suggest one of two things, mainly based on your thoughts on biosecurity.

I consider eggs that you hatch or baby chicks from an established hatchery to be the safest from a biosecurity respect. But you have to wait seven or eight months before they grow enough to be of much use. Raising them and integrating them can have issues.

I don't know how much you know about how to do a proper quarantine and the risks from that. Many people on this forum don't do a good job, we are just not set up for it, let alone have the knowledge of the details. I find the easiest integration is just turning a mature loose with a flock of mature hens. My pullets start acting like mature hens about the time they start to lay. Your young ones ay be a bit young for that.

I have 6 hens 2 are 8 months old and 4 are 5 months old. They work well together and are very sweet. Not as snuggly as I wanted it of my chicken family but sweet nonetheless.

Until my pullets start to lay they tend to avoid the adults. Not always but usually. If they are not laying yet they should become more of a happy family when they do.

I love in the country and have recently felt the loss from the predators in the area.

What predators? I find roosters to be pretty worthless against larger ground based predators like coyotes, foxes, dogs, and bobcat. I'm not sure where you are located so I don't know what predators you may have. Most of these are ambush predators and don't leave any time for a warning before a chicken is taken. I've had dog and fox attacks. My roosters are much more likely to try to lead the flock to safety instead of fighting a rear guard action. I've never had a rooster lose a feather due to an attack on his flock.

One thing a rooster should do is if something suspicious is going on he will get between whatever it is and his flock and kind of check it out or at last give a warning. This probably makes him the primary target if something is going on. So some benefit to that.

A good rooster should be on the alert for flying predators. Often the dominant hen will take on that job if no rooster is present but a good rooster should be an early warning system for that. Again mine tend to lead the flock to safety once a threat has been identified, but sometimes he will attack a hawk if it can, say the hawk has a hen trapped on the ground.

These are my opinions, others feel differently.

Should I let them out to free range again or keep them locked up?

I don't know what happened, what predator, or how risk adverse you are. I don't know what your facilities look like. If you can, I'd suggest you keep them safely locked up for three or four weeks as a minimum, give the predator the idea that a free easy meal isn't necessarily available for the taking. Sometimes that helps.

Any time you free range they are at risk, even if you are there with them. People on this forum have had a fox or hawk take a chicken just 10 to 15 feet from where they were. I permanently remove predators that are hunting my area, that removes one immediate threat but there can be others that can move in if they are not there already. It's not unusual for me to trap a different predator two or three nights in a row, there are that many already there. New predators are being born all the time and they need to find their own hunting range.

The best defense are good barriers, depending in which predators you are defending against. I use electric netting which has totally stopped all ground based predators. Flying predators can still attack but I haven't had any real issues with those. Others are wiped out almost immediately by flying predators. We are all in different circumstances and get different results.

Whether or not you let them fee range again is your personal decision, I can't make that for you. I can't tell you how big the risk is, you may be able to go for years without another attack or you might have one immediately.

 

[Carol Lynn Rose]

I have 6 hens 2 are 8 months old and 4 are 5 months old. They work well together and are very sweet. Not as snuggly as I wanted it of my chicken family but sweet nonetheless. I love in the country and have recently felt the loss from the predators in the area. I'm contemplating on getting a rooster to help with protection. Can I introduce an older rooster to my flock now? Should I wait till spring and get a baby roo?

I wanted a rooster for my 8 Barred Rock hens and found him on Craigs list near by. My hens were 6 months old and the Rooster is 7 months old. I want to have baby chicks coming from this brood so getting him was essential. I took the advice from this site and introduced him from through fencing for a while and then let them get together. I think almost all of them challenged him to a fight. Then once that was over he stayed a little off to the side from where the hens were then after a few days he was cozying up to all of them. For the first few mornings he was the last that came out of the coop. He is also becoming less afraid of me as the days go by. I move slow enough for him to navigate where he feels safe. He started mating the hens on the second day and I was stoked! He arrived January 5th, only 24 days ago and it is as if he has always been with us. I think that if your hens have begun laying eggs then it is ok for a Rooster. They are all fairly young birds and I think that this helps them acclimate.
Much fun,
Carol

 

[BigBlueHen53]

@Ridgerunner is a wonderful source of information. I did it all wrong, but with good results. Mom always said the Lord looks after fools and lovers. This past spring a coyote got five of my hens and my BJG rooster. Hadn't had losses to a predator in ages, but my LGD wasn't feeling well and was off duty. Anyway, a neighbor had plenty of roosters and gifted me one. I stuck him in with my pullets and hens and at first saw no problems. The hens accepted him and he didn't bother the pullets who were, I think, about 3 months old. Well, after a bit he did start dancing at the pullets so I separated him and put him in the bachelor pen with 6 cockerels. And there he stayed for a couple of months. Nobody was free ranging during all this time but they have large runs. One morning I saw that Rojo, the rooster, had somehow managed to put himself in with the girls. That day I turned them all loose to free range, and that night he put himself to bed with the cockerels. He never made that mistake again, lol! Yes, I know I should have quarantined him. But I lucked out. And everybody's happy. All the cockerels have now been processed but one. With 20 hens, I feel two roos are better than one. They are back to free-ranging again for a few hours every afternoon under the watchful eye of my Sheltie.

 

[Iluveggers]

I've never had chickens before and I was told not to get attached to them but I can't help it. They have such quirky personalities.

A lot of us are attached to our chickens. I won’t listen to anyone who tells me not to! They have brought me so much joy!

 

[Flockincrazy]

I have 6 hens 2 are 8 months old and 4 are 5 months old. They work well together and are very sweet. Not as snuggly as I wanted it of my chicken family but sweet nonetheless. I love in the country and have recently felt the loss from the predators in the area. I'm contemplating on getting a rooster to help with protection. Can I introduce an older rooster to my flock now? Should I wait till spring and get a baby roo?

You are better off with a younger roo for the reason that the girls will put him in his place if he gets too rambunctious but you can also benefit from an older one that maybe more protective I would get a younger one myself