I have an almost year old silkie cockerel that is well integrated with 9 same aged pullets. Some of the girls do not care for him, though.
I now have a one month old silkie cockerel (DNA tested, so yes, I am sure) that I plan to keep, at least for now. I would like to make a "bachelor pad" for the two boys and then only put them with the females for breeding. I do understand the boys' pad should be out of sight of the girls to prevent fighting.
My question is then, how do I integrate these two boys with each other? The pad will be new to both of them. How old should the young one be before attempting placing them together?
Currently the little one is being brooded with 3 same age pullets, that I place in a tractor during the day right next to the coop, so all the birds can see each other. On the front porch at night under heat still. I did search the threads and could not find anything that quite fit these circumstances. Thanks for any help!
I now have a one month old silkie cockerel (DNA tested, so yes, I am sure) that I plan to keep, at least for now. I would like to make a "bachelor pad" for the two boys and then only put them with the females for breeding. I do understand the boys' pad should be out of sight of the girls to prevent fighting.
My question is then, how do I integrate these two boys with each other? The pad will be new to both of them. How old should the young one be before attempting placing them together?
Currently the little one is being brooded with 3 same age pullets, that I place in a tractor during the day right next to the coop, so all the birds can see each other. On the front porch at night under heat still. I did search the threads and could not find anything that quite fit these circumstances. Thanks for any help!
That was kind of what I was thinking. The older boy has never chased or pecked chicks that have been integrating before. The girls on the other hand...
