Got a new rooster

[Keepin A Breast]

Probably not the smartest thing I have ever done, but the animal shelter has had this poor roo for a while now. He is a beautiful leghorn cross and I have free ranging girls with no rooster.
What do you think is the best way to introduce him? He had been in prison for a while now and I am thinking he is going to rape and pillage. I have him in a kennel in the coop for now. It's raining and snowing here so my run which has a separate side is useless. Your input is appreciated.

 

[Twistedfeather]

I would quarantine him for a few weeks to make sure he is free of disease. I would say to put him in a cage like a pet mate inside the coop, the only concern would be that he'll want to strike your girls more. You could also just put him in and see how it goes, you don't want a mean rooster to your girls so if all fails I would get rid of him.

 

[justplainbatty]

Probably not the smartest thing I have ever done, but the animal shelter has had this poor roo for a while now. He is a beautiful leghorn cross and I have free ranging girls with no rooster.
What do you think is the best way to introduce him? He had been in prison for a while now and I am thinking he is going to rape and pillage. I have him in a kennel in the coop for now. It's raining and snowing here so my run which has a separate side is useless. Your input is appreciated.

Either let them out together at free range time or put him up on roost at night so they all wake up together. He may or may not try to jump hens right away. He has to establish himself at the top of the pecking order first. The hens probably will rebuff his advances, not let him mate them until he is dominant. Chicken sex is not pretty, but it is not rape. Only humans rape, that trait does not exist in the animal kingdom. The chickens will work everything out, there'll be some running away, squabbles, a little fighting at first. It's all normal.

 

[bobbi-j]

I would quarantine him for a few weeks to make sure he is free of disease. I would say to put him in a cage like a pet mate inside the coop, the only concern would be that he'll want to strike your girls more. You could also just put him in and see how it goes, you don't want a mean rooster to your girls so if all fails I would get rid of him.

This is not quarantine. To properly quarantine you need to keep them far apart (I've read as far as 100 yards or more), change your shoes and clothes between coops, use different feeders and waterers. No contact whatsoever between new chickens and old.

 

[Twistedfeather]

This is not quarantine. To properly quarantine you need to keep them far apart (I've read as far as 100 yards or more), change your shoes and clothes between coops, use different feeders and waterers. No contact whatsoever between new chickens and old.

I understand what Biosecurity is and normally you do have to keep a closed flock but there's nothing wrong and harmless with adding new birds but to a breeding operation it could be bad but to someone else it's not that bad. I was expressing that she do something far apart for a few weeks but from what I understood the concern was that the rooster will cause accidents when trying to tread. Yes that would be weird to put a rooster you are trying to check for free of disease in a cage with them. I think I meant more of a short term isolation.

 

[Keepin A Breast]

Thanks for your replies. He came from a local flock that is in an area that does not allow roos. The people that had him got him with their hens from a local feed store so he was vaccinated before they got him (I believe their chicks come from Murray McMurray). He has been isolated for about two or three weeks, so I doubt that he has any diseases or he would have passed already and I wouldn't have brought him home. I NEVER have taken in hens that people are giving away etc because of biosecurity issues. I have never tried to integrate a rooster.

When I said "rape and pillage" it was meant as sarc/humor. Don't take it so seriously. Also, I beg to differ. I DID have a rooster that was a rapist. If the hens didn't submit he would beat them up. He had them in constant state of agitation and did not do his job at all. I came home one night to my favorite hen hiding under some iris and refusing to go back in the coop. When he came over she flew on top of my head to get away from him. I was set to put him out of my misery when the day after we decided to get rid of him, the neighbors dogs jumped the fence and killed him. Only good thing he ever did was die because it gave most of the hens time to get through the L hall into the coop. His last act and he finally did his job. Also, dolphins do rape. Just saying.

SO my hens have had a fairly placid life, but we need a rooster to keep watch. I am liking the idea of keeping him in the kennel for the day, putting him up to roost tonight and I will get up early and open the door so that they can free range together and the hens can have a chance to get away if he is too much. Believe me if he is a turd like the rooster I mentioned earlier, I will give him to the neighbor to do with what he wants, or take him back to animal control. Then I will just have to look at getting more chicks this spring. Oh darn. Probably ought to do that anyway. LOL

 

[bobbi-j]

It could be ugly for a while as he establishes his dominance. I'd give it some time. I don't know how much time is enough, but it may take weeks for him to do so. It sounds like your other rooster was a bad rooster. There are some out there, but I feel it's safe to say that most are not that hard on the hens. That has been my experience, anyway. I've definitely had more good roosters than bad, and the "bad" ones I've had were more aggressive toward people than the hens.

 

[justplainbatty]

Thanks for your replies. He came from a local flock that is in an area that does not allow roos. The people that had him got him with their hens from a local feed store so he was vaccinated before they got him (I believe their chicks come from Murray McMurray). He has been isolated for about two or three weeks, so I doubt that he has any diseases or he would have passed already and I wouldn't have brought him home. I NEVER have taken in hens that people are giving away etc because of biosecurity issues. I have never tried to integrate a rooster.

When I said "rape and pillage" it was meant as sarc/humor. Don't take it so seriously. Also, I beg to differ. I DID have a rooster that was a rapist. If the hens didn't submit he would beat them up. He had them in constant state of agitation and did not do his job at all. I came home one night to my favorite hen hiding under some iris and refusing to go back in the coop. When he came over she flew on top of my head to get away from him. I was set to put him out of my misery when the day after we decided to get rid of him, the neighbors dogs jumped the fence and killed him. Only good thing he ever did was die because it gave most of the hens time to get through the L hall into the coop. His last act and he finally did his job. Also, dolphins do rape. Just saying.

SO my hens have had a fairly placid life, but we need a rooster to keep watch. I am liking the idea of keeping him in the kennel for the day, putting him up to roost tonight and I will get up early and open the door so that they can free range together and the hens can have a chance to get away if he is too much. Believe me if he is a turd like the rooster I mentioned earlier, I will give him to the neighbor to do with what he wants, or take him back to animal control. Then I will just have to look at getting more chicks this spring. Oh darn. Probably ought to do that anyway. LOL

This link is not meant to be a point of argument, rather it explains animal sexual behavior. After reading, you will be able to recognize what has happened/ is happening in your flock. So I respectfully submit:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_coercion I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

 

[seminolewind]

Keeping a Breast, I've had 2 roosters that I bandaged one foot really big to slow him down for a few weeks. I had one I used a pinless peeper on for a few weeks. Anything to slow them down and give the girls an edge for a while. It helps during that time that they have left their manners behind.

 

[aart]

He may also get his butt kicked by the hens.......
.......once it stops raining, I'd introduce him in a large run, with plenty of places to hide and/or get up and away, and watch to see what happens.
Toss some treats out for distraction. Multiple food and water stations can help too.

I don't really buy the whole 'put them in at night and they won't notice a new bird in the morning' theory.

I assume that all the birds are over a year old and you have plenty of space in your coop and run?

If he's been in a kennel in the coop for awhile, how have the hens reacted to that?