Intoducing a rooster

[tweimer]

I have a flock of 14 hens of a varity of breeds about two years old. I just got a rooster from a friend who had two roosters and 10 hens. The rooster I got is about 2 years old.

Do I need to keep the rooster seperated in cases of diseases? If so, how long? The flock that the rooster came from was healthy and had not problems.

Also, do I need to worry about putting the rooster in with the hens while they figure out whose boss? Will the girls kill him or will he kill any of the girls?

Thanks

 

[Malibufarmer]

i would keep him as far away as posible for about 3 weeks minimun. As for fighting with the hens i dont think it will be a problem, i would just watch him at first and see how he reacts.

 

[tweimer]

Thanks, but, if he came from a healthy flock, what is the reason to keep him seperate from the others?

 

[Fresh Eggs]

Isolate him Just in case, birds are KEEN on hiding any illness until it too late, they die. SOOOOO, isloate him in a box 4 a month just to be safe.

 

[Msbear]

Healthy birds may also be carriers of disease. He is most likely fine but I would keep him isolated for a week then introduce your least favorite hen to him. Keep the two together for another week. If your hen is still healthy after that time, you can be confident he is clean.

Good Luck!

 

[speckledhen]

I added a rooster to my flock a few years ago. He's the only bird I have ever bought as an adult. He was in quarantine for five weeks. He had favus and lice and those had to be treated. You cannot sometimes see disease in birds until it's too late, so I would never, ever skimp on quarantine. I will never add another bird to my flock because of the stress of wondering if he was a carrier of some disease. My boy had the head hen and a couple others attack him, but he put them in their places and was the leader from the second day.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I got some wonderful advice from this board when it was time to get my roo out of quarantine--wait until everyone is asleep, go get the roo, and put him on a perch in the henhouse without turning on the lights. We'd tried to introduce him during the day, but there were feathers flying and I think every hen, even the most docile, attacked him. When we did it at night, the lead hen challenged him briefly, but that was that.