I told myself that chicken math was silly and that I would not succumb to it, and while I am still not giving in, I am starting to feel its siren call.
So while I will continue to maintain my position as being chicken math resistant, it can't hurt to take to take certain precautions and gather information (in the event of a total willpower failure).
We've got five 5 week old hens (or at least they were sexed to be hens, and so far, appear to be hens). Assuming that none of them turn out to be roos, I'm hoping to get a roo and possibly another pullet or two in the future. So how far into the future? Well, the problem is that I keep coming across listings for roos in my general locale...even a few listings for some breeds I'd really like to try out some time, which makes the future feel rather near (though I am holding out as hard as I can by NOT saving any of the listings/contacts I find for things that pique my interest
).
So my questions are: When is a good age (for both the roo and the flock) to introduce a roo? Could I acquire an adult roo from somewhere (preferably from someone who needs to rehome a roo) and integrate him into the flock (I know there should be a 30 day quarantine and then gradual introduction to minimize any overly aggressive behavior)? If so, what would be the best age for my existing flock to be before we do this? Or would it be better to include a roo in a batch of a few 1 day olds?
Also, any advice regarding generally good beginner roo breeds for a new chicken keeper are most welcome (I understand that there is always a potential for bad apples)!
So while I will continue to maintain my position as being chicken math resistant, it can't hurt to take to take certain precautions and gather information (in the event of a total willpower failure).
We've got five 5 week old hens (or at least they were sexed to be hens, and so far, appear to be hens). Assuming that none of them turn out to be roos, I'm hoping to get a roo and possibly another pullet or two in the future. So how far into the future? Well, the problem is that I keep coming across listings for roos in my general locale...even a few listings for some breeds I'd really like to try out some time, which makes the future feel rather near (though I am holding out as hard as I can by NOT saving any of the listings/contacts I find for things that pique my interest
So my questions are: When is a good age (for both the roo and the flock) to introduce a roo? Could I acquire an adult roo from somewhere (preferably from someone who needs to rehome a roo) and integrate him into the flock (I know there should be a 30 day quarantine and then gradual introduction to minimize any overly aggressive behavior)? If so, what would be the best age for my existing flock to be before we do this? Or would it be better to include a roo in a batch of a few 1 day olds?
Also, any advice regarding generally good beginner roo breeds for a new chicken keeper are most welcome (I understand that there is always a potential for bad apples)!