Guess the dumbest question is the one not asked....

[RevaVirginia]

I'm new to the art of chickenry....chickenese?

Sorry if this is a braindead question...I'm wondering if I should let a rooster in the hen house part of the chicken coop or keep him isolated from them at night, been pretty much isolated all along so far anyway.

The coop is a work in progress and my best guessing tells me that I need to make it so the hens can retreat safely to a place where the rooster can't get to. I need a chicken whisperer.

David

 

[mamaKate]

They'll be happier if you let them all live together. The ladies will adjust to him and they won't want to be separated. Just make sure you have a healthy hen/rooster ratio.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

David! Welcome to the wonderful world of chickeneering!

You're so right, the only dumb questions are those you don't ask. We are all learning together, and often it takes knowledge to even formulate questions.

I like to keep my roosters together with my hens all day & night. They shouldn't be bothering the hens at all after dark, and may help alert them to predators and try to protect them too. The only time a hen needs protection from a rooster is if he's giving her too much "attention" and she's losing feathers from it. If a rooster has enough hens to keep him busy, this shouldn't happen.

 

[RevaVirginia]

Quote:
I'm so glad you used the plural on "Rooster". Does that mean you let more than one rooster in the coop?
Also quite happy about "chickeneering"!!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

A good ratio is 1:10-12, so if you have enough hens to accomodate, you can keep more than 1 rooster. Whether or not your roos will get along is another subject, with lots of discussion already held about it here. Some roosters are more tolerant & congenial than others. You can try keeping everyone together, but if it doesn't work, you can make separate pens for each rooster's flock.

 

[RevaVirginia]

Quote:
Thanks Sunny, sounds great. Started out with all roosters - long story, down to 2/BR, 1JG and 1/RIR. 19 hens purchased early Feb....My thinking now is the Giant is the most attentive to the pen, roo/hen have been isolated to this point and 1 BR seems to be the alpha. Red roo is a meanie. Trim em to 2 ...JG and BR and let em all coop together. oops...??