Keep a roo with new babies coming or no?

[Arnolds2638]

We have 20 week old chickens- As luck would have it we ended up with 5 roosters and 3 hens. We have babies from a hatchery on the way in a couple of weeks. (Hopefully hens!). We really love our Roos, but have arranged for them to be rehomed. Question is, can we keep a roo? Mostly because he’s awesome and to keep a protector when they are free ranging. 1. I’m afraid the ratio of 1 rooster to 3 hens may be a little overwhelming for our little hens. I’ve seen him start to mate with them already.
2. Also afraid he would potentially make it harder to introduce the new chicks in a couple of months.
Advice?

 

[sourland]

If he's a good cockerel, I would be tempted to keep him. Have a 'Plan B' in mind (think temporary separation) if the pullets get over mated. Actually integration of the new birds may go easier with a cockerel/rooster in the flock.

 

[Sally PB]

This "advice" won't be much help, sorry.

You have cockerels, not roosters; they won't be roosters until they're a year old. I have one cockerel and three pullets. They've been together since they were about 3 days old, so their whole lives. They get along well, no over mating. 1:3 is considered not enough females for the number of males, but so far, it's ok. I'm lucky.

It all depends on the individual bird, unfortunately. There is no "magic way" to make flock dynamics work. As Sourland just said, try it and see, but have a Plan B as a backup if things go south.

Good luck!

 

[ChicNmom]

Since there will eventually be more hens I would keep the good boy. We have a coop that can be divided. Once the new girls are feathered they live alongside the others. There is a little bit of trouble initially from the older hens but my rooster has always been interested in the little ones. While trying to integrate them into the older group he would go and spend time with the younger ones. There will always be territorial issues. That's just the dynamics of chicken behavior but they almost always work it out with minimal help from us.

 

[Arnolds2638]

If he's a good cockerel, I would be tempted to keep him. Have a 'Plan B' in mind (think temporary separation) if the pullets get over mated. Actually integration of the new birds may go easier with a cockerel/rooster in the flock.

How does it help with integration of new chicks?

 

[Anne02]

I integrated three young pullets into my flock over the summer, and I found that my cockerel actually protected them from bully hens.

 

[sourland]

How does it help with integration of new chicks?

@Anne02 has experienced the same thing as me. Generally an established flock leader will intercede in hen fights/bullying.

 

[Arnolds2638]

Since there will eventually be more hens I would keep the good boy. We have a coop that can be divided. Once the new girls are feathered they live alongside the others. There is a little bit of trouble initially from the older hens but my rooster has always been interested in the little ones. While trying to integrate them into the older group he would go and spend time with the younger ones. There will always be territorial issues. That's just the dynamics of chicken behavior but they almost always work it out with minimal help from us.

How can I tell if my existing 3 hens are being overmated?

 

[NatJ]

How can I tell if my existing 3 hens are being overmated?

If they get bare spots on their back.

 

[MissMonty]

If he's a good boy I'd consider keeping him. I've had nightmare roosters so if you have a good one then its a good idea to keep him. If he's not REALLY good already then I'd probably rehome. Roosters are very easy to come by.

I never had a problem integrating new hens with a rooster. It actually goes easier than just a flock of hens in my experience