In a pickle over pullets puzzled over next step

[WilderSkye]

Our lovely rooster is too big for two, if not three or our six hens. Plus, he needs more girls. I am trying to figure out best route to solve this before spring when he really ramps up. He is 23 weeks old and does not mate with them very often. Maybe a 2-3 times in day. But he is huge compared to the small hens.

I have a choice, put a sign up at feed store and sell him. (I am sure selling a rooster in winter, no matter how beautiful he is, is not easy)

Or spend around $700 to build a temporary coop for quarantine and ship in 4-5 pullets. We have already spent well over $7000 this summer on building them the Chicken Palace and Pasture. They are starting to feel like the money pit. However, I so love them and when i sit out in their pasture as they float all around me any stress I have melts away. Maybe I could tax deduct them as mental health therapy.

I am guessing I need to rehome the small hens. I actually have a friend whose daughter wants some pet hens. These are adorable Alchemist Blues and my absolute favorite of the flock (ABs and Fr blue coppers from Alchemist Farms). But I don't want them hurt by the roo. Also, the other AB, black hen, is halfway between her mates and the Marans hens. Seeing her size next to the rooster, is she too small, too? She is my buddy and follows me around chatting. I almost would rather give him away than her.

Any thoughts on this and best hatchery to order from? Or any other ideas on how to handle this?

Edited: I just thought of this, we can build the coop and use it in spring to put him in, but would he be miserable? Honestly, it is just me and my husband and we don't need loads of eggs.

For size reference:

 

[BoundlessLove]

First of all, what is your reason for keeping a rooster? Are you planning to hatch chicks? Do you free range and need a roo?

If he is a good rooster, I’d keep him.
Good roosters can be a blessing.
Some roos are very gentle with their hens no matter their size.
If he is gentle natured, six hens could be just fine.

 

[azygous]

Money well spent, in my view. I can tell you're deeply invested in keeping chickens for many reasons. You should be able to keep any and all types of chickens you wish. But you are also reasonable to be concerned about a rooster being much larger than some of your smaller hens. And he still has a lot of time to grow even heavier.

Since you spared no expense on your infrastructure, that is where I would seek to accommodate your desires. Roosters can be managed. I would partition that luxurious run so that you can protect the small hens while still allowing the rooster to mix with the larger ones. Plug in your imagination. Go wild.

I have a large luxurious run with two coops at opposite ends. The run is partitioned into four sections that can be closed off or opened up depending on the needs of my flock at any given moment. Over the years this design has enabled me to segregate problem chickens, protect injured or sick chickens, restrict behavior of two roosters that were bent on maiming and killingl each other, and even to brood chicks safely within the run.

What you come up with is only limited by your imagination.

 

[rural mouse]

If he's the same breed, then he's not too big. Roos are larger than hens of the same breed. If he isn't the same breed, check breed stats for roo-hen sizes for both the your pullets and your cockerel. (They're under a year old so they're not hens and roosters until then). If the sizes are comparable, then he isn't too big, even though he's larger than they are. They're all still growing, so that's a factor also.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'll copy something I wrote a while back about mating. If you are not familiar with the process it might help.

Mating Between Consenting Adults

1. The rooster dances to show his intentions. He lowers a wing and sort of sidesteps around the hen.

2. The hen squats. This gets her body on the ground so the rooster's weight goes into the ground through her body instead of just her legs. Most roosters of the same breed as the hen are heavier than the hen so the squat is nature's way of protecting her legs and joints.

3. The rooster hops on and grabs the back of her head. This head grab helps line him up right and helps him keep his balance, but the main purpose is to tell her to raise her tail up out of the way so he can hit the target. Without the head grab he would not be able to get to the target so there would be no fertile eggs.

4. The rooster touches her vent with his. That deposits the sperm. This may take a couple of seconds or may be over in a flash.

5. The rooster hops off, his part is done. The hen stands up, fluffs up her feathers, and shakes. This fluffy shake gets the sperm in a special container where it can stay viable from a week to maybe three weeks.

It doesn't always go this way between adults. Sometimes the rooster does not dance but just grabs and hops on. No harm no foul, but it shows he does not have the self-confidence he should. Sometimes the hen runs away instead of squatting. The rooster may let her go or he may give chase. If he chases the hen may squat, she just wanted to know he was serious. He may stop the chase pretty quickly and let her go. He may chase her down and force her. As long as she squats and is not injured it's all OK. Even when he forces her it is usually not very violent.

Specifically I'll mention #2, squatting. When the hen squats it allows the rooster's weight to pass through her body and into the ground. It's the same principle as the tires on your car. 30 psi on your tires can easily support most cars as the tire is spread out with a lot of area on the road. If instead of that spreading you have a thin edge or point, it would poke a hole in the roadbed.

The more difference in size between the hen and rooster the greater the risk, but many people keep bantam chickens with large roosters without a problem. Unfortunately Alchemist Farms apparently isn't kind enough to give the size of the adults which could be of help in this. I also do not know the breed of your cockerel or how big he may get when he grows up. It looks like a Marans with those feathery feet, Marans roosters weigh around 9 pounds. I do not know how much risk their is or if the hens will cooperate with the rooster or resist mating.

He is 23 weeks old and does not mate with them very often. Maybe a 2-3 times in day.

He is mating with them now. Are you seeing any problems? Do they look injured?

There is a common myth on here that a rooster needs a bunch of hens or you will have problems. You can get the same problems or lack of problems whether you have a couple of hens or 25 hens with a rooster. The ratio of hens per rooster is not important. The personality and interaction between the individuals is. If you want to use that as an excuse to get more pullets go for it. But it is an excuse, not a reason.

I cannot tell you what to do. Is it possible you will see injuries to one of those small pullets from the rooster? Yes, it is possible. Is it a guarantee that you will see issues, no. Does it bother you thinking about the possibility? It sounds like it so maybe you want to isolate them forever or get rid of one or some.

Good luck!

 

[WilderSkye]

First of all, what is your reason for keeping a rooster? Are you planning to hatch chicks? Do you free range and need a roo?

If he is a good rooster, I’d keep him.
Good roosters can be a blessing.
Some roos are very gentle with their hens no matter their size.
If he is gentle natured, six hens could be just fine.

Yes, they have a large free range area and he has done an incredible job of watching for our resident Coppers hawk. All of them are very predator aware.

All of them are same age, and I had them shipped in from Alchemist Farms. We knew we needed and wanted a rooster and they emphasize quality and temperament. He has been quite lovely. I have not held them or made pets out of them but they love to float all around me. We respect Rocco and he has always been peaceful. He is not overly vigorous in mating but this is new to us.

I have not seen him mate with the little hens, yet they love to hang right with him. If he dances around them they take off.

Looking at the little AB that is right behind him in the field shot, what do you think of size difference? Seriously, best case scenario would just keep everything as it is. They don't even seem to have a pecking order, they all get along very well.

 

[WilderSkye]

Thank you all for the input! It would be absolutely perfect if we can just keep the status quo. They all get along incredibly well. I am outside most of the day and I never hear them squabble.

So far he is polite with them. He lifts his wing and does his little dance and more often than not they dash off, and he walks off. They are all healthy and have zero injuries. No feather picking. About the only thing I have seen him do is be rude about garden produce or greens, if they get right under him he will give them a peck on the head. He hasn't shared with anyone yet. Lol

Other than the first week of having them and stressing over losing two chicks, everything has been remarkably easy peasy. It didnt take them a moment to get used to the electric fence. As my husband says, "the feng shui is perfect, dont "f" with it."

Truly, I do not want to get anymore birds nor lose any of the ones I have. I think we will just watch and see how it goes. I was under the impression a rooster would go nuts in spring. If he does we can segregate him.

Breed:
French Blue Cooper Marans, rooster and three hens
Alchemist Blues, three hens

And I had no idea the size disparity between the two. All of them have the greatest personality but the ABs are like little comedians. For comic relief alone they are my favorite. The Marans would probably be lap pets with a little encouragement. They are all very predator aware. And our dog runs off the hawks for them, too.

 

[WilderSkye]

To everyone here, you ALL made my husband of 41 years extremely happy when I said we would wait and monitor and shared the replies with him. He did the touchdown dance!