This thread has been invaluable to my wife and I as we watch our first roos come of age. Thanks for sharing your experiences and knowledge.
Our update: We merged two flocks 3 weeks ago. Our older flock of 6-2 yr old hens pushed around the 12 pullets and 2 roos (all 21 weeks at the time) for a day or two as expected, but they fell into a pecking order soon enough. They have plenty of coop, run and a 4000 sq. ft. yard space. The roos, a Jubilee Orpington and a Coronation Sussex started crowing about the time we mixed the flocks. The Orpington appeared to be assuming the dominant role but came down with a case of bumblefoot that rained on his parade for a couple weeks. In the meantime the Sussex has been establishing his position in the flock. We call him King George, but so far he has been Rico Suave with the girls, cool, watchful, gentle and attentive. He seems to have a few favorites that he pays the most attention to and they seem receptive for the most part. He pays no attention to us as we work around their domain. The Orpington has made a full recovery and is now trying to establish his role. He is certainly second place at this point and doesn't seem real thrilled about it, so we are watching him closely. He pays me no mind at all, but he stood up tall and eyeballed my wife today while taking a step or two toward her as she was checking one of the hens. We always talk calmly to the chickens the whole time we are near them and she smooth-talked him down this time. We'll see if that continues to work now that he's 6 months and the hormones are flowing. I find chicken behavior fascinating and am enjoying watching and learning from the changes taking place in the flock.
