Hello, I have 5 hens and I'm thinking of introducing a rooster of the same age (7 months) but all the chickens are of different breeds. The rooster is a South American Land Race. What should I be aware of and what is the ideal way to introduce them? Is this even a good idea? The hens presently have an enclosed coop with two roosting areas and two compartments for laying. They have a messed in run to the outside that's about 4'by10' and are let out into a large area when the weather is good. I look forward to any information you can give. Thank you.
Bev, usually the rooster needs to be a mature cock. The girls will resent a new face and probably give him a hard life until he matures. I`m not familiar with the breed you mentioned, but most any rooser is jelly in their hands if he is young, even the same age as them, at this point. Good luck........Pop
I just did the opposite. I had the rooster and bought five new girls. Two hens and three pullets. I keep the hens and the pullets separate because I wanted the pullets to get some more size on them before putting them all togehter. I quarantined for over a month. Then for a week I put the pullets in a sectioned of place in the big run and let them be side by side with the rooster. I was a little more concerned for them with the roo than the hens. Finally I put them all together.....other than the hens once in a while chasing the pullets...the pullets do keep their distance....I have not had any problems. I really think it helps when they are all closer to the same age though. Same maturity level. My rooster has been great. After trying to bred the pullets it did not take him long to just leave them alone...except when it comes to the treats and such. He has the hens to breed and they can handle him and get away if they want to. I had lots of places for them to all get away from each other too. All and all it worked out better than I thought. The rooster could see the girls the entire time. He knew they were for him some how. The pullets are not quite at POL yet but will be by spring and hopefully any differences will be taken care of by then. Good luck.
Do chickens remember each other if separated (different home) for 3 months or so? The rooster I am thinking of introducing grew up with 3 of the hens that I have but was separated at 4 months. Thanks
I'm not all that familiar with your breed, but at seven months he should be getting close enough to maturity that he will be able to handle girls of the same age. He would have to establish himself in any new flock mature or not. In my experience, chickens do not remember each other all that well. I have separated birds due to injury only to have them have to reestablish themselves after only a couple of weeks. I have always had the best luck introducing new birds to the flock after dark. There is less (if any) fuss and they seem to get along better when they wake up next to each other.
I've introduced a roo several weeks younger than the rest of the gals, and he got along just fine. I think he just likes older ladies.
Quote:Much of it depends on the breed and the indeviduals involved. Glad that one worked out for you.........Pop
Quote:In a nutshell, no. Most chickens memory is good for about 2 weeks. You might get lucky. At 7 mos. it`s hard to tell the maturity level of the rooster until you try him out. If you quarrentine him for a month, as you should, he may have an even better chance......Pop
