Father and Son Integrating

[Sadness Child]

I currently have 1 Buckeye rooster, and 7 hens. They have been living peacefully except for the occasional scuffle. Near the end of August 2020 my Dutch Bantam went broody, so we put several eggs under her. She hatched out 3 of them which are Buckeye mixes, 2 are female, and 1 is a male. The male's mother is a Sapphire Gem hen. He is a nice cockerel and takes after his father in a lot of ways. These chickens have had face to face contact with the main flock for about a month, they have mingled together twice. My rooster fought with the cockerel the first time, the rooster won and chased the cockerel away and would not leave him alone. The second time the roster just terrorized the cockerel, and I have to carry around the rooster until I put the cockerel back. The younger pullets have been integrating normally, but the pullet wants to be with the chicks she raised, so she only sticks around the pen I have the cockerel in. They young ones are currently living together in the same coop, and I have not noticed any problems. I would like advice on how to integrate my young cockerel into the main flock, I will do just about anything to keep him. I cannot keep another flock of chickens, so the best I have right now is to keep him by himself in our barn, so that if my main rooster suddenly perishes, I can put my young cockerel in his place.

Here is the younger cockerel :

Here is his father:

 

[bobbi-j]

You may have to choose which male you want to keep and rehome the other. Had they been raised in the flock from hatch or shortly thereafter, the rooster may have tolerated the cockerel better. As it is, he sees a competitor and will not accept him. If you choose to keep both, maybe you could put a couple of hens in with the cockerel so he’s part of a flock?

 

[Sadness Child]

You may have to choose which male you want to keep and rehome the other. Had they been raised in the flock from hatch or shortly thereafter, the rooster may have tolerated the cockerel better. As it is, he sees a competitor and will not accept him. If you choose to keep both, maybe you could put a couple of hens in with the cockerel so he’s part of a flock?

Ok. The cockerel was hatched in September 2020, whereas I got the rooster in March 2020.

 

[Yardmom]

The more they are separated the more they will fight when together. Some rooster will allow a subordinate who minds their manners in. If your roo keeps attacking when the cockeral retreats it will be very difficult to put them together. You could try see no touch (you need a gap not just a wire) for a while until they ignore each other. Then see what happens in a large space with hiding places that are not dead ends. I would put hens with the separated cockeral.

 

[Mrs. K]

A chick raised up in the flock, does have a better chance.

However, I would reconsider keeping the rooster in the picture. His beak is a bit crooked, a bit of a cross beak it appears in the picture. That is a genetic flaw that tends to be passed on, and could eventually become much worse in future chicks.

Mrs K

 

[Sadness Child]

A chick raised up in the flock, does have a better chance.

However, I would reconsider keeping the rooster in the picture. His beak is a bit crooked, a bit of a cross beak it appears in the picture. That is a genetic flaw that tends to be passed on, and could eventually become much worse in future chicks.

Mrs K

I have never noticed any of my chickens having cross beaks.

 

[Mrs. K]

In the second picture down, the rooster's beak does not line up. The top beak swings to his left. It is not a real bad one, but I would not want to breed from him. They are your birds, your decision.

MK

 

[Sadness Child]

I never planned in breeding him because his is a cross that I did not really want to continue. But that still good to know, thank you.