Integrating young flock with established

[Sagenovese]

I have a flock of 9 hens and 2 roosters. The second rooster was going to find a new home, but he is beautiful and sweet and well, I'm in no hurry and I'm even considering letting him stay. The flock roo is his dad.

The adolescent roo hatched in February and is now about 22 weeks old. He is definitely trying to get the girls' attention but his dad puts a quick stop to him chasing the ladies and the poor guy ends up all alone and frustrated. I feel sort of bad for him.

I also have a 10 week old flock of 8 pullets (and one additional unintended roo). They have been in an isolation coop for 3 weeks next to the adult coop. I am interested in letting them out (free range) to join the established flock and I expect it would go just fine except for my adolescent roo. I wouldn't mind if this new flock could become his own flock but I have no idea how that will go. I'm also worried that at 10 weeks, these pullets are too young for the 22 week old adolescent roo frantically trying to mate (rape) them.

What would you all do?

Thanks!

 

[azygous]

First of all, father and son roosters usually get along well and all the discipline can usually be left up to Pop. He isn't really keeping his son away from the hens as he is insuring he develop proper manners. Your adolescent is not being frustrated in his sexual gratification, which is actually a human construct, not something cockerels experience.

Watch the dynamics between your father and son duo. You will see Pop run to the rescue of a hen that is being clumsily jerked around by Junior, and Pop will chase him off the protesting hen.

I have just such a duo myself, and have watched the dad discipline his son, even getting off his roosting perch where he'd settled in for the night to run to the aid of a hen outside the coop being accosted by Junior. It's absolutely a wonder to behold how they work it out. Now, at one year old, the son is becoming well behaved and the two are splitting off the flock of hens into two harems of around nine hens each.

As for your third "accidental" cockerel, he may become the problem since he is not related and will be competing with the other two for hens of his own. It could lead to disharmony in your flock and stress for the hens. He's the one I would rehome, and ten weeks is a good age to send him to a flock with no rooster.

The group of ten-week old pullets shouldn't be a target for mating until they get much closer to point of lay. However, you should be getting the two age groups acquainted and then integrated. Late integration of young pullets is much harder the closer in size they become to the adult chickens. Many of us integrate chicks at two weeks rather than waiting for them to grow up. But you can do it if you provide plenty of space and places for the youngsters to escape any bullying, especially food and water. I find it helpful to place these necessities on top a table or shelf so they don't have to compete with the feeders the adults use.

 

[FeatherstoneFrm]

I'd like to get in on this conversation. Can the same relationship be true for two roos that we're raised together? Dominance was established very early. They are only 17-18 weeks old. The dominant one is a week or 2 older.

I also wondered about integration. I have the 2 roos and 3 pullets in the first flock. All the same age. The new chicks (hopefully all pullets) are about 6 weeks old. They've been separate but in the run for a week. I plan to make the cardboard escape doors for integration, but when should I try it. Should I let them out for short, supervised periods before full integration?

 

[azygous]

Two cockerels brooded together can sometimes get along fine, but sometimes they will only see each other as competitors, and they will have a tense if not violent relationship. I had two cockerels brooded together and when they reached hormonal age, from that point on, they spent all their time trying to kill each other. It ended when dogs killed one of them.

 

[FeatherstoneFrm]

Two cockerels brooded together can sometimes get along fine, but sometimes they will only see each other as competitors, and they will have a tense if not violent relationship. I had two cockerels brooded together and when they reached hormonal age, from that point on, they spent all their time trying to kill each other. It ended when dogs killed one of them.

Great! Something unpleasant to look forward too. I hope mine will not do that. Their order has been understood since they were just a couple of weeks old so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

 

[Sagenovese]

Wow, so glad that you explained the father son duo relationship! How wonderful! I had been shocked every night when I check in, the father son are almost always side by side on the roost. I thought it was really bizarre. I'm new to having roosters. Predators have moved in and I'm getting hammered by fox. I'm hoping the roosters will save some hens. I now do supervised free-ranging when I know that I can put them safely to bed. Otherwise, they are stuck in the coop though luckily it is large and open and has good air flow and fans for really hot days.

My juvenile coop is next to my adult coop and both have wire so they can see/hear each other with wire in between. I had considered free-ranging them all together last night but was afraid "junior" would harass the 10 week old pullets and maybe hurt them. Is this a fair possibility? Or will his dad not allow it?

Separately, for Featherstone, I had two accidental roos in my last pullet order and I sent them to live on a friend's farm. She has just them, no hens, no other poultry of any kind. No competition. One is Black Australorp and the other is Swedish Flower Hen. The BA was always extra nervous and flighty unlike any BA I've ever had before. They are now a year old and the BA roo has been ruthless with the SFH roo who is currently in quarantine recovering from a recent attack. I had thought that since they'd brooded together, they'd get along for life especially with no hens to compete for.

I'll keep looking for a new home for my Buff Orp cockerel. I'm hoping my friend makes stew of her BA roo and takes my sweet Buff Orp cockerel. Or would that be another problem in the making? I hear both SFH and Orpington roos tend to be sweet and docile.

 

[azygous]

The daddy roo should keep junior in line if he tries to molest the pullets. You will need to wait and see what happens. No guarantees, but it shouldn't be a problem.

My two problem roos were both of a docile breed, Cochin and Brahma, so breed doesn't really provide guarantees either. It all boils down to individual temperament.

 

[FeatherstoneFrm]

I had read that some people have whole flocks of roos with no problems as long as there are no hens. I guess, just like everything else with chickens, it is a waiting game to see what will happen.