Integrating a rooster

[Tehwrd]

Hello. We are getting a 6-9 month old rooster. Right now I have only 4 hens which are 6 months old. I’m planning to quarantine this guy for at least 2 weeks. After that I was thinking I’d put him in a 4’x4’x6’ dog kennel inside the run for the hens so they can all see each other for a week and then put him in the coop in the evening when I bring them all in. Does that sound okay?

 

[Anne02]

Hello. We are getting a 6-9 month old rooster. Right now I have only 4 hens which are 6 months old. I’m planning to quarantine this guy for at least 2 weeks. After that I was thinking I’d put him in a 4’x4’x6’ dog kennel inside the run for the hens so they can all see each other for a week and then put him in the coop in the evening when I bring them all in. Does that sound okay?

That sounds like a great plan!

 

[Elizabethwood09]

Sounds like a perfect plan to me!

 

[ChloeSilkie08]

That's what I did for my silkie roo. The hens were VERY confused but it worked and had fertile eggs within a couple weeks!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Are your pullets laying yet? If they are laying you can pretty much consider them mature as far as behaviors go. If not, you may have some issues. At 6 to 9 months old he may be mature enough to behave like a rooster or he may still behave like an immature cockerel. It's not pure age, some mature faster than others. The behaviors of mature hens and mature roosters can be quite different from immature pullets and cockerels. Yours may be fine, they may not. I simply don't know.

Hopefully you've read up enough on quarantine to know how to do that effectively.

I would not integrate that way. I would not lock them together where they are in a tight spot when they wake up like that. To me the risks are too high. A lot of the time integration is that easy, it often works. Integrating a boy that acts mature to girls that act mature is often the easiest integration there is. He mates one or two of them and it is his flock, it's that easy. But if some of them are immature it can go bad. If it goes bad I would not want them locked in a small space where they can't run away.

I'd suggest instead of locking him up at night with them where they might wake up all lovey dovey or ready to destroy each other, let him loose during the day when you can be around to watch. I like to do it in the morning so they have time. It is highly possible they will immediately bond into one flock and they will all go to bed together. It's possible they won't get along and you will need to lock him back up for a while. I don't know how big your facilities are but if something goes bad I'd want them to have room to run away from each other, not be trapped where they really get beat up.

 

[Tehwrd]

Are your pullets laying yet? If they are laying you can pretty much consider them mature as far as behaviors go. If not, you may have some issues. At 6 to 9 months old he may be mature enough to behave like a rooster or he may still behave like an immature cockerel. It's not pure age, some mature faster than others. The behaviors of mature hens and mature roosters can be quite different from immature pullets and cockerels. Yours may be fine, they may not. I simply don't know.

Hopefully you've read up enough on quarantine to know how to do that effectively.

I would not integrate that way. I would not lock them together where they are in a tight spot when they wake up like that. To me the risks are too high. A lot of the time integration is that easy, it often works. Integrating a boy that acts mature to girls that act mature is often the easiest integration there is. He mates one or two of them and it is his flock, it's that easy. But if some of them are immature it can go bad. If it goes bad I would not want them locked in a small space where they can't run away.

I'd suggest instead of locking him up at night with them where they might wake up all lovey dovey or ready to destroy each other, let him loose during the day when you can be around to watch. I like to do it in the morning so they have time. It is highly possible they will immediately bond into one flock and they will all go to bed together. It's possible they won't get along and you will need to lock him back up for a while. I don't know how big your facilities are but if something goes bad I'd want them to have room to run away from each other, not be trapped where they really get beat up.

Thank you for this information! Morning integration does make sense as does our in the pasture where whomever needs to can get away. My hens have been laying for about a month. We are getting an egg from each of them every day. The guy we chose is about 6 months old. She gave me an age range when we were talking because she had several roosters, some of which were older. I’m not sure how he is acting as far as maturity goes. He was docile enough with me when I caught him, though not eager to be caught he was pretty chill once I caught him. Yes, I w been reading up on how to quarantine him.

 

[Tehwrd]

Are your pullets laying yet? If they are laying you can pretty much consider them mature as far as behaviors go. If not, you may have some issues. At 6 to 9 months old he may be mature enough to behave like a rooster or he may still behave like an immature cockerel. It's not pure age, some mature faster than others. The behaviors of mature hens and mature roosters can be quite different from immature pullets and cockerels. Yours may be fine, they may not. I simply don't know.

What am I looking for in mature rooster behavior as opposed to immature cockerel behavior? I've not had roosters before. He is a barnyard mix if that makes any difference.

Hopefully you've read up enough on quarantine to know how to do that effectively.

I have now read the quarantine article on this page and Mr. Rosco will be hanging in the quarantine coop for at least 4 weeks. We are a week in at this point. Other than eye/nose discharge, are there other specific things I should be looking for? He does not appear to have mites or lice.

I would not integrate that way. I would not lock them together where they are in a tight spot when they wake up like that. To me the risks are too high. A lot of the time integration is that easy, it often works. Integrating a boy that acts mature to girls that act mature is often the easiest integration there is. He mates one or two of them and it is his flock, it's that easy. But if some of them are immature it can go bad. If it goes bad I would not want them locked in a small space where they can't run away.

This makes total sense and I will definitely choose to do the integration in this supervised way, especially since I don't know if he is mature or not.

I'd suggest instead of locking him up at night with them where they might wake up all lovey dovey or ready to destroy each other, let him loose during the day when you can be around to watch. I like to do it in the morning so they have time. It is highly possible they will immediately bond into one flock and they will all go to bed together. It's possible they won't get along and you will need to lock him back up for a while. I don't know how big your facilities are but if something goes bad I'd want them to have room to run away from each other, not be trapped where they really get beat up.

If integration does not go well, do I separate and keep the rooster in the kennel in their run for a longer period?

Thank you so much for all of your help.

 

[Mrs. K]

I did this not too long ago, just let them both out at the same time during the day time to free range. My girls had never seen a rooster... but they figured it out. He followed them to the coop that night. But he did not get up on the roost for nearly a week.

Adding a rooster has always been one of the easiest things to do for me. I have never had a wreck, not saying you can't, but much easier than adding others.

Mrs K

 

[Ridgerunner]

What am I looking for in mature rooster behavior as opposed to immature cockerel behavior? I've not had roosters before. He is a barnyard mix if that makes any difference.

An immature cockerel often has hormones raging and little, if any, self control. He desperately wants to be in charge, be the flock master. He has to dominate. If there are other males around they often fight for dominance. If there are females around he energetically tries to mate them. With him the mating act is not about fertilizing eggs, it's about dominance. The one on bottom is accepting the dominance of the one on top, either willingly or by force.

Some hens (and especially pullets) will squat for practically anything in spurs, even if the spurs haven't really started growing yet. But many, pullets and mature hens, want a male to act like he would make a good father for their chicks. They don't accept him but instead resist. Usually they run away when he makes his advances. He often chases them and tries to force them, not always easy to watch. Occasionally one might fight back, even sending that boy packing.

What I've seen is that a few pullets or hens might squat for him but most run away. The dominant female sees him trying to mate with another girl and knocks him off. Either he then runs away of she beats the snot out of him. Usually my boys run until he builds up the courage to face up to her. Then he takes over, sometimes rather easily, sometimes with a couple of days of knockdown drag out fighting.

A mature rooster takes care of his flock. He finds them bits of food. We call that tidbitting, He makes a certain sound and bends over the ground to show them where it is, then lets them eat it. An immature cockerel may do that whether there is any food there or not and try to mate the girl when she comes over to check it out. Cockerels that do this don't get much respect.

A rooster should watch out for predators and warn his flock when he sees something suspicious. Then he might go investigate, putting himself between the flock and the possible danger. When mine recognize a clear danger they are more likely to lead the flock to safety instead of forming a rear guard, but a few will. He keeps peace in his flock, breaking up fights between the girls. Occasionally he might help one find a good nest. A mature rooster might help a broody hen take care of her chicks. He dances for his hens instead of just hopping on them.

A mature rooster still mates with the hens, one of his jobs is to keep the eggs fertilized. But he doesn't rely on force to win them over. He has such great self-confidence and swagger that he wins them over by personality alone. Occasionally a hen may run if he starts dancing for her. He may let her go but he may give chase. When he chases the hen often squats pretty soon. It's almost as if she was checking to see if he was really interested in her.

When does a cockerel mature enough to manage all this? I don't have a good answer. I've seen a 5 month old cockerel manage with a flock of mature hens. I had one that took 11 months and never really had the self-confidence he needed. Most of mine seem to make that change around 7 months, but each one is different. The personality of the girls has a lot to do with this too. Some will squat for almost anything, some really don't want to accept him.

Sometimes this process goes so smoothly you never notice any problems at all. I think having a lot of room helps with this. But sometimes it gets really messy. I have no idea how your process will go.

My hens have been laying for about a month.

I find that my pullets start acting like mature hens about the time they start laying. So at least some of yours should be acting like mature hens. Immature pullets don't know how to act so it can be messier with an immature cockerel. Girls acting mature is good.

If integration does not go well, do I separate and keep the rooster in the kennel in their run for a longer period?

That's the way I'd handle it. Give him a chance to mature.


Other than eye/nose discharge, are there other specific things I should be looking for?

Mainly behaviors. Does he stay huddled up in a tight ball with feathers fluffed, lethargic and looking like he feels awful? Is he eating and drinking OK? any strange poop? Are there worms on his poop?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've not had roosters before.

I wrote this a few years ago in response to a different question but I think it applies. This is between chickens that are acting like mature hens and mature roosters. They don't always do all this, each one is an individual. A rooster may not always dance. A hen may run away. But as long as the hen squats to get his weight safely into the ground and you don't see blood, excess violence, or bald spots on the hen it is all good.

Typical mating behavior between mature consenting adults.

The rooster dances for a specific hen. He lowers one wing and sort of circles her. This signals his intent.

The hen squats. This gets her body onto the ground so the rooster’s weight goes into the ground through her entire body and not just her legs. That way she can support a much heavier rooster without hurting her joints.

The rooster hops on and grabs the back of her head. The head grab helps him get in the right position to hit the target and helps him to keep his balance, but its major purpose is to tell the hen to raise her tail out of the way to expose the target. A mating will not be successful if she does not raise her tail and expose the target. The head grab is necessary.

The rooster touches vents and hops off. This may be over in the blink of an eye or it may take a few seconds. But when this is over the rooster’s part is done.

The hen then stands up, fluffs up, and shakes. This fluffy shake gets the sperm into a special container inside the hen near where the egg starts its internal journey through her internal egg making factory.