Move rooster in with young birds??

[ratkinso]

I have 2 roosters (they are both about 8 months old) in with 11 hens, they don't fight seriously, but some scuffles.. I also have a section with 42 babies, hens and roosters, they are 9 weeks old. I was thinking of putting one of the roosters (not the dominant one) in with the babies, what is any opinion on doing this? He is a big rooster, but nice.

 

[Judy]

I would be very cautious if I tried this because of the size difference -- but like so many things chicken, you don't really know til you try.

 

[teach1rusl]

Typically I would say "No Way!" But as FlockWatcher suggested, you just never know with chickens. So if you try it, do so on a weekend or some time when you can really keep a close eye on how he/they react.

 

[ratkinso]

Thanks for the feedback. I guess I will hold off on trying to get him in there with them then. He has been in with them before, but not for an extended period. If the two roosters start fighting more aggressively then I may look further into moving him. I already have taken care of 4 other roosters, but my wife really likes one of them (he lets her pick him up) and the other is for future breeding, so we are keeping both.

 

[Judy]

It's possible it would work, since they have had some contact already. Your chances will be better in a month or so, though, when their size is closer to the same.

Sometimes people bring a bird onto their property and just turn it loose in the flock, and everything is fine. That doesn't make this a good practice, of course, if only for quarantine reasons, but it does sometimes work. Other times, or more likely, they spend a month nursing the attacked birds back to health, or worse.

 

[centrarchid]

The 8-month old rooster should be full adult. For me using American Games and American Dominiques as well as the hybrid, such rooster are easier on juveniles than hens, adolescent roosters or older juveniles tend to be. Problems if they develop will do so quickly but it is not in the adult roosters benefit to attack such young birds while it can be for the others mentioned. I do this routinely as rooster can help keep Coopers Hawks off juveniles when free-ranged. Introductions take place in confines of a chicken tractor to get rooster to roost where I want him to roost and also promotes bonding. Roosters have gotten a bad rap with respect to how they treat other flock members and much of that is based on behavior of subadults. We need to be more particular as to how we define a rooster especially with respect to age to promote better understanding.