Lonely New Roo

[Wefish]

I’ll do an introduction post later but need a bit of help now.

I SHOULD have figured it out but didn’t. We moved to a more rural area and haven’t got a coop in yet but I got a message there was a chicken a mile up the road so I grabbed a box and oatmeal and went up the hill. It was semi-dark and saw said chicken in a tree about 5’ up. So I grabbed it, put it in a box and came home. Didn’t get a good look till I got to the light at home. Of course it’s a rooster. Chickens cross roads, not walk a couple miles up a hill! Some one dumped him so they didn’t have to off him. So now I have a young Rhode Island Red, I think. We built him a temporary 6’ x 8’cage in the garage until we can build a proper coop. But he’s lonely so I ordered 4, 4 week olds. They’ll be close to 5 weeks when they get here. What do I do to introduce them?
He’s skittish, not mean. He’ll eat from my hand. No spurs as yet. Thanks!

 

[chickenenthusiasts5698]

Is the rooster an adult? I would not introduce pullets to him until theyre the same size as the rooster.

 

[Vickischics]

You may not want to read this BUT. The Pullet/ female to Cockerel/make ratio is: 9-10 females to 1 Male.
Cockerels< 1 year
Roosters >1 year
Pullets<1 year
Hen>1 laying year.

Males sole purpose is to Mate 10-30 times a day! And protect the flock.
Otherwise, he WILL over mate your 4 lil females and then you will have abused tattered girls.
Males grab and hold onto the back of the females neck and dig their spurs into their sides to hold on.
Its not a long process but 10-30 times a day!! Those girls will be worn and torn up.
Just saying, Order more females.

 

[Vickischics]

WELCOME to BYC.
We are EGG-cited you joined 7s

 

[WVBirdsAndBees]

Introduce them through chicken wire, a fence, etc for a week or more, if possible. Then gradually let them spend time together, supervised at first. Make sure there are hiding places for the girls in case he gets too aggressive. Introducing and blending groups is a challenge but just 5 younger birds should adjust pretty quickly.

The girls won't be old enough for him to try to breed them yet. But he may soon try. If he's too aggressive with them, keeping them separate until the girls are similar to him in size will help make sure they're safe. Depends on the bird. Once they're together, keep an eye out for overbreeding. Some roos are happy with a few girls and won't overdo it. Others need 10+ hens or they overwhelm them. Others can have 50 girls to choose from but will pick a few favorites to overbreed. You just gotta keep an eye on it.

Good sign that he'll eat from your hand. Keep working with him, especially with him being alone. Handling roos from a young age can help socialize them. Both ours are big babies and come for attention, which has even helped some of our more skittish hens realize the humans are actually ok.

It may not seem ideal to have found a roo but our 2 boys bring a lot to the flock. While that does include crowing and hormones, it also includes flock protection, big fun personalities, and fertilized eggs to make more babies. Good luck!! Sure you'll enjoy them.

 

[Wefish]

Introduce them through chicken wire, a fence, etc for a week or more, if possible. Then gradually let them spend time together, supervised at first. Make sure there are hiding places for the girls in case he gets too aggressive. Introducing and blending groups is a challenge but just 5 younger birds should adjust pretty quickly.

The girls won't be old enough for him to try to breed them yet. But he may soon try. If he's too aggressive with them, keeping them separate until the girls are similar to him in size will help make sure they're safe. Depends on the bird. Once they're together, keep an eye out for overbreeding. Some roos are happy with a few girls and won't overdo it. Others need 10+ hens or they overwhelm them. Others can have 50 girls to choose from but will pick a few favorites to overbreed. You just gotta keep an eye on it.

Good sign that he'll eat from your hand. Keep working with him, especially with him being alone. Handling roos from a young age can help socialize them. Both ours are big babies and come for attention, which has even helped some of our more skittish hens realize the humans are actually ok.

It may not seem ideal to have found a roo but our 2 boys bring a lot to the flock. While that does include crowing and hormones, it also includes flock protection, big fun personalities, and fertilized eggs to make more babies. Good luck!! Sure you'll enjoy them.

Thank you! I’m sure we will. And I know that, just needed to hear it. We’ll have to improvise since we weren’t planning a roo at all but he’ll fit in somehow.