Introducing new chickens to my hen ?

[farhan1997]

I had a single hen and got a roo a hen and a pullet a week ago. They are currently next to each other in seperate enclosures. My current hen had a few chicks that i hatched for someone else and all but one(stunted growth) were given away. How to introduce the hen and the chick to the flock? The chick is quite small for her age(size of a 2 week old chick) and i am afraid the roo might attack her. I let all the ladies+ plus the chick out and the new hens seem fine and dont bother her(except when she gets too close to them, they peck her away). Btw they were the only chickens their owner had, so they were in a sense quarantined.

 

[coloradowildflower]

How is your mama hen? Fairly protective? What does she do when your other ladies peck the baby away? Does she ignore it or does she seem to step in? Was she kept with the roo before, or are they new to each other, too?

 

[farhan1997]

The mama does steps in but since it is just a peck she doesnt usually bother.
Btw i tried letting everyone out together and the roo is very gentle towards the chick even though he is very aggressive towards us.

 

[Mrs. K]

How old is the rooster? If he is under 6 months - use caution, and be aware around him, yourself. If he is over or close to a year old, I would not worry about it.

SPACE is the key factor. What are the measurements of your set up. Do you have hideouts, roosts, mini walls, in your run? Multiple feeders, where a big at one feeder is out of sight of a bird at another feeder will really help.

Mrs K

 

[Mrs. K]

Well, it sounds like the flock is working. However, if you have small children, do not keep the rooster. A rooster attack can be very violent. Roosters have ruined the whole chicken experience for a lot of people.

I think it is unrealistic to think that the aggression in the rooster will diminish or get better. Generally they get worse. It always amazes me how some people will tolerate abuse from an animal, but some people are ok with that.

It does make you liable if you have company and they visit the chickens. I would not keep him.

Mrs K