I am thinking about buying my hatchery ladies a well-bred rooster so I can have some purebred hatching eggs. However, I currently have a little Polish bantam roo that was raised with my flock (13 hens, all but one are standard sized).
If I get the new rooster, how do I go about integrating him into my flock? He's about the same age as my hens - 7 months. I do have the old turkey pen, which is empty. I assume I would put him and the female he ships with in there for quarantine for a couple of weeks before letting him in with my girls.
Then do I just have to wait and see if the roos try to kill each other? The Polish guy is such a scaredy cat, I can't imagine him doing anything other than running away from the new rooster. He really is the epitome of "chicken!".
I really should rehome the Polish roo- he's got a nice temperament, but he HATES the only bantam hen in the flock. I suspect because she is different from everyone, and he doesn't know that he is, too.
If I get the new rooster, how do I go about integrating him into my flock? He's about the same age as my hens - 7 months. I do have the old turkey pen, which is empty. I assume I would put him and the female he ships with in there for quarantine for a couple of weeks before letting him in with my girls.
Then do I just have to wait and see if the roos try to kill each other? The Polish guy is such a scaredy cat, I can't imagine him doing anything other than running away from the new rooster. He really is the epitome of "chicken!".
I really should rehome the Polish roo- he's got a nice temperament, but he HATES the only bantam hen in the flock. I suspect because she is different from everyone, and he doesn't know that he is, too.
