Chicks-Introducing Silkie Rooster and acquanted Cochin Hen

[trishok8]

Hi Everyone,
I'm certain this has been discussed to death, but here is my question:

I have 3 Silkie and 3 Austro chicks, a week old Tuesday--
I have been offered a Silkie Rooster 1 year old, and a Red Cochin Hen who suposidely live peacefully together.

I'm not appose to adoption, but my concerns are the following:

I'm nervous about owning a rooster as I have never had chickens before.

I'm more concerned about them not being healthy and how to tell or what to look for. I dont want my chicks or my newly built coop exposed to anything.

Any comments or suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks


BTW--I hope I'm putting this post in the correct spot

 

[silkiechicken]

Keep the new adults in quarantine for a full month and wash hands and so on after contact with the babies and the adults until you can give them a clean bill of health. Look for sores on their bodies and mites/lice in their feathers. Just see if they look healthy, and after a month of quarantine, see that they still look healthy. Then. You will have to wait till your babies are about 16 weeks old before you introduce them. Let them spend a few weeks in a common area before putting them together. There will be fighting and pecking till the order is set up about who's boss. You have to let them fight it out. Roosters will keep the girls in check usually.

 

[trishok8]

Thanks SilkieChicken you have been helpful to me.

I have heard that roosters are not for beginning chicken owners, what do you think?

 

[silkiechicken]

I say roosters are great, even for beginners. It gives you a fuller view of chicken social dynamics. Good luck! If you search "introducing hens" you can find quite a few good threads on how people introduced their hens and the precautions they had to take.

Have fun!