Hens aren’t accepting new rooster. I need a protector

[Finnfarm]

I have 8 hens & introduced a rooster 2 days ago bc I was tired of losing my babies to hawks. Well day 1 he chased em all around the pen & the ladies kept running away from him. He tired to sleep outside the first night (& 2nd night) but it was raining so I forced him in the coop. He seemed scared to go in but all was good. The next day he seems to just hang out in the coop all day while the ladies are out. The hens aren’t bullying him but they don’t like him. Or maybe they are scared. Either way I’m kinda frustrated bc I got him thinking he would protect the ladies & all day today hawks are hanging out in nearby trees watching the hens while the rooster is in the coop. I can’t watch the ladies all day that’s why I got a rooster. Will this work itself out?

 

[WildCHILD400]

What kind of rooster?

 

[RodNTN]

How old are the hens? And the rooster? If this is just day 2 or 3, this is normal. They'll get used to one another in a few weeks

Do your chickens free range?

 

[Little Chicken Girl]

Welcome to BYC! So sorry to hear about your present predicament though!

How old is your rooster and what breed is he? How old are the hens and what breeds are they? As RodNTN said, if this is just the first few days, it is fairly normal behavior, particularly if the roo is young/small.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Sounds like you are not entirely familiar with the process of integation in a flock setting. I would suggest you do some reading on it to better understand what you (and more impirtantly, the birds) are experiencing and how you can help them. The questions posed above are good ones.

 

[bobbi-j]

If you just put him in with them, there will be an adjustment period. Depending on ages of the birds, it may take a bit longer. If he's not a mature rooster and these are mature hens, you just stuck a teenage boy into a flock of middle aged women. If he's also mature, he will eventually earn their respect. Chickens don't do well with change or other chickens just suddenly appearing. They are very territorial.

Personally, if you are having that much trouble with hawks, I wouldn't rely just on a rooster to protect my hens. He may be a good warning system (a dominant hen can to the same), he may lead the way to cover (again, something a dominant hen could do), and he may even give his life protecting them. But then what? You're out a rooster and would have to go through the integration thing all over again if you want another one for protection. You may want to consider putting them in a covered run for a while until the hawks give up and leave.

What is their range area like? Is there plenty of cover for them to go hide? Shrubs, bushes, pallets on cement blocks... anything they can get under if a hawk comes around would be helpful. One day when I was out with the flock, a buzzard flew over. (No threat to the chickens, but they didn't know that.) I looked around and *POOF* there was not a chicken to be seen. They disappeared so fast, I didn't even see it happen. In my opinion, that's better protection for them than a rooster.

 

[Mrs. K]

Personally, I have had good luck with with protection from day time predators with a good rooster. However all roosters are not good. A rooster is really not worth much protection until he is about 1 year old. When you approach the coop/run set up, he should be the first to see you. His head should come up, and he should be alert as he assesses the situation. Not all roosters do this. He should stay out of your space, and be good to his hens.

If the hens have never had a rooster, or are older than the rooster, there will be a settling in period. Give him two weeks- not what you want, look around some more. My hens have always been in love by morning!

Mrs K

 

[aquabum]

My young rooster is getting a lesson in how to treat a lady for sure. He's trying all kinds of sneaky teenager stuff like sneaking up behind them to try and mate. The other mature hens immediately come to the rescue and peck him off! One hen challenged him and they both puffed up and said, "you want to box, LET'S GO! That hen put the rooster in his place. Having older hens that stand up to the new rooster to let him know the lay of the land is good I think!

Most rooster will eventually become king of the flock! But it just takes time! My young rooster still stays clear of the old hens unless he's trying to sneak up on them!

But he looses every battle so far! But he's young and dumb! The old gals are just showing him the ropes of living with them!

While out free ranging he is always looking up and alerts to big birds overhead etc... He's getting the hang of it!

 

[Finnfarm]

Thank you all for replying
Not only am I new to this page I’m also new to the ‘chicken life’. I’m always researching & learning.

Ok so to answer y’alls question he is going to be a year next month. My hens will be a year come next April.

He’s a lavender Orpington. The hens (8) are Isa Browns

I separated the run & kept them separate for awhile to let them get to know one another before I put him in there. I even did the 30 day incubation period to make sure he wasn’t sick.

I have not let them free range together yet bc the hawks are so bad this time of year. All last summer I let the hens free range so don’t worry I plan on doing that again.

When I walk in he is always right there to see what I’m doing.

I have a HUGE run. I actually think I made it too big. 70x50.
Reason I say that is bc that made it hard to cover.

My setup:
my coop (w hardware cloth, doors, ramp, nesting boxes) is inside two huge metal dog cage w doors & cover this is where food is.
Then a huge run connected to that, so they can run around. Inside the run is a huge tree & 2 shrubs.

So like I said I’m new to this, I didn’t realize the run had to be covered at first. I even dug down in the ground around run to make fence deeper I thought I was doing everything I was suppose to. Of course I didn’t mean my babies any harm. The first chicken I lost was this January. I then got an aviary net to cover run. While I was waiting on amazon to deliver I made them stay in dog cage part. Well the hawk found a weak spot and got another one. I think he got in by a bush. I then got fishing line and put that up over the netting bc I heard that keeps them away too. So I have not lost anymore since then but the hawks are ALWAYS lurking

We are actually in the process of turning our shed (16x20) into a coop & make a smaller more secure run on the other side of the yard.

P.s. I’ve let the ladies out to free range while I was out recently and there were 2 hawks circling around. The chickens didn’t take cover or anything. After reading yalls reply’s I’m wondering why they didn’t run & hide. That worries me.
I ended up put them back in the coop/run bc they wouldn’t quit circling

 

[Chelsa'sChicks]

I have 8 hens & introduced a rooster 2 days ago bc I was tired of losing my babies to hawks. Well day 1 he chased em all around the pen & the ladies kept running away from him. He tired to sleep outside the first night (& 2nd night) but it was raining so I forced him in the coop. He seemed scared to go in but all was good. The next day he seems to just hang out in the coop all day while the ladies are out. The hens aren’t bullying him but they don’t like him. Or maybe they are scared. Either way I’m kinda frustrated bc I got him thinking he would protect the ladies & all day today hawks are hanging out in nearby trees watching the hens while the rooster is in the coop. I can’t watch the ladies all day that’s why I got a rooster. Will this work itself out?

I just did this back in August! I have a younger BO due to my old rooster died protecting the hens from a coon. All hens were safe. Mine have always had one so they immediately accepted him. Also how young or old is your rooster compared to your hens? My BO is going to be 1 year old in may. He didn't know to direct them then because he was a boy among women.. still learning his job. Now that he is older he guides them around and is protecting them, but he is still young and learning. Eventually they will find their order. Have your hens ever had a rooster before?

Regarding your hawks I always have 2 hawks that are the size of a 12 pound dog. If your yard is not well shaded with trees when they free range they are not as well protected as they could be. My birds have free ranged for years. I rarely lose a hen. The rooster will warn and guide the ladies once they are all used to each other. My birds on very sunny days will not be out in the open (or far from brush or trees) to run to. Your rooster will get better. They mature and grow until they are 2 years old for some breeds. My rooster just chased a bunny in the barn lol not exactly a predator, but point is my rooster is younger then yours and already protecting them. Your roo just needs to get used to the hens as my rooster is already adjusted to my hens.