Just lost our rooster!

[Crazy in Claremont]

We are new to the backyard chicken game. We built a great (and very secure) chicken coop and rushed out and got 10 hens and a rooster in May. They get locked in at night and roam all day. Today we arrived home and found the girls in in the coop and no sign of the rooster. We did find him, looks like a dog got the better of him.

My question is can we add another rooster to the flock. There are 5 Barred Rock and 5 Aracauna's. We found 5 month old Barred Rock that is looking for a new home. Can we do it? How do we do it?

 

[cholland]

Sorry for your loss. Sounds like he protected his flock though.
Yes, you can get another roo. A younger one may need to work his way up the pecking order a bit at first.
I would introduce a roo like any other new bird to the flock. Isolate them in a pen next to the other birds for a week or so before letting them out with everyone together. Let them get to know each other before they can actually interact in the same space.
There will still probably be a few scuffles the first couple of days.

I would also consider some predator control. A simple two wire electric fence can do a lot for a free ranging backyard flock.

 

[Crazy in Claremont]

Would one that is a bit older than the girls be better?

 

[Susan Dye]

Hi, nice to have you join us. Sorry about your roo. Hope you find another suitable roo for your girls. You will surely find lots of useful information from many knowledgeable people here on how best to maintain your flock. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Welcome to BYC!
I am sorry about your roo. Yes, you can get that roo and I also recommend it too! A roo protects a flock so that is beneficial to them. Just handle him a lot so that way it can be easier for wounds him might get.

 

[50-45-1]

Check out the conditions of your roosters home and the way he was kept, you will still keep him separate for a few days for observation to make sure he is healthy and mite, lice and desiese free.
Introduce him gradually as explained above by cholland. He should adjust just fine.
What i would be more worried about is whatever killed your rooster. If it was a dog i think you were lucky to only loose one. Dogs kill chickens for fun and usually dont stop until there are all dead. I would get to the bottom of this before i worried about anything else.
My neighbors came home from town one day and had only been gone about 45 minutes, and all 15 of there young birds were scattered all over there yard dead. They believe it was there own dog!
Chickens have no defenses, you must protect them or its a very sad story.
Please let us know how this turns out.
welcome to back yard chickens!

 

[RWise]

IF I were adding a new roo, I would look for one at least 1 YO, and I prefer 2 YOs
I dont know where on the planet you are, but I have some 5 month old EE cockerels that must go, a few pretty boys,,, but they are young,,,

 

[Crazy in Claremont]

We think it was the neighbours dog. No proof but a lot of evidence. If I were to put up a larger fenced area how high does it need to be? There is a lot of tree coverage and we are north of Toronto. Not much risk from hawks.

 

[Susan Dye]

We think it was the neighbours dog. No proof but a lot of evidence. If I were to put up a larger fenced area how high does it need to be? There is a lot of tree coverage and we are north of Toronto. Not much risk from hawks.

Many ppl seem to prefer a 5 ft fence, depending on what you use for fencing. But, if it was a dog, you have to consider that the dog is likely to try digging under the fence. There are of course other predators that will also dig under a fence. To prevent our Basenjis, who are masterful escape artist, from digging under our fence, we buried chicken wire around the bottom of the fence. We buried it about a foot wide. As soon as they start digging and their paws hit the wire, they stop. Was the only sure fire way to stop them. And if works for Basenjis, it'll work for just about any other predator/dog you'll run across.

 

[bobbi-j]

I would wait a bit. A 5 month old cockerel is just coming into sexual maturity, and I'm guessing at 4 months, your pullets aren't there yet. A cockerel (male chicken under a year old) will mature more quickly that the pullets (females under a year old) and can be a holy terror while those hormones are balancing out. He will chase and try to mount your females and they likely aren't ready yet, so they will be stressed. I like the idea of letting the pullets mature, then getting either a mature rooster, or a younger cockerel that will have to learn some manners.

Have you asked why this cockerel is being rehomed? If you are going to get him, I'd go to the place and observe him with his current owners. It seems that some aggressive behaviors start at around the 5-6 month mark. If you bring him home and find him to be human aggressive, what is your plan?