Hi all...I've been keeping chickens for about 10 years, but this is the first time I've run into this situation, so I'd appreciate some advice. I currently have a one-year-old rooster and three few-year-old hens. My neighbor will be taking the gals, and I'm replacing them with half a dozen newbies about three months old. What I'm wondering is: should I keep the rooster? He's pretty well-mannered, though he does chase after one of my hens who would prefer he keep his distance. But I'm worried about the age difference with the new pullets. Is it safe to mix them? Thanks in advance for the input.
Mature rooster & young pullets?
- Thread starter SashaEm
- Start date
I wouldn't mix them for at least another month or two.
My rooster is a silkie so he is naturally docile, and I have him with my 3 month old chicks, one of which is clearly a young roo. He was aggressive towards them all at first as the hen didn't like them, but after I gave him some 1 to 1 time with the 5 youngsters... First they tried to eat his wattle and comb and then they snuggled him and they have been best buds since, even though he had been terrorizing them for 2 months prior that.
Now the hen has a batch of 1 week olds and is caring for them, I have seen 0 aggression from him to the chicks, though he did steal one of their strawberries today, taking it to a safe distance to call the older chicks as the hen chases them but lets the rooster close.
Now the hen has a batch of 1 week olds and is caring for them, I have seen 0 aggression from him to the chicks, though he did steal one of their strawberries today, taking it to a safe distance to call the older chicks as the hen chases them but lets the rooster close.
If you're removing all of the older hens, I wouldn't integrate the rooster with the pullets until the pullets are laying eggs (5-6 months old).
I guess I should go back to your question though - "Should I keep the rooster?" The pullets will lay fine without the rooster (probably better than with him). Personally, I wouldn't keep a rooster unless I wanted him around to produce fertile eggs to hatch out from my own flock. I've had flocks with and without roosters, and the hens do fine without even when free-ranging. There are more management concerns with roosters, such as finding a well-behaved rooster, maintaining an appropriate rooster to hen ratio, and making sure the rooster is not too hard on the hens (e.g., back feathers).
I guess I should go back to your question though - "Should I keep the rooster?" The pullets will lay fine without the rooster (probably better than with him). Personally, I wouldn't keep a rooster unless I wanted him around to produce fertile eggs to hatch out from my own flock. I've had flocks with and without roosters, and the hens do fine without even when free-ranging. There are more management concerns with roosters, such as finding a well-behaved rooster, maintaining an appropriate rooster to hen ratio, and making sure the rooster is not too hard on the hens (e.g., back feathers).
If the cockbird is well mannered, he should leave the pullets alone until they are sexually mature.
This will be a pretty good test of his demeanor, tho the loss of his hens might complicate his behaviors. Might be best to keep him separated at first, or give it a try and be ready to separate him.
This will be a pretty good test of his demeanor, tho the loss of his hens might complicate his behaviors. Might be best to keep him separated at first, or give it a try and be ready to separate him.
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