New Rooster For My Hen Questions

[DeNomi07]

My Husband bought a rooster today for my hen so we have 2 now i put him near her but in a pen separated so they can meet and greet i guess but not get to each other
how long should i keep them apart for him to get used to roosting and for them to get used to each other?
He is extremely edgy however my hen is calm as can be checking him out threw the fence

 

[aart]

so we have 2 now

2 chickens(hen and rooster).... or 2 roosters?
How old are all birds involved?

FYI.....semantics, maybe, but can be important communication terms when discussing chicken behavior.
Female chickens are called pullets until one year of age, then they are called hens.
Male chickens are called cockerels until one year of age, then they are called cocks(or cockbirds or roosters).
Age in weeks or months is always a good thing to note.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The way I read this you had one female and brought home a male, so now you have a total of two chickens. Their level of maturity can effect how they behave toward each other. Calendar age isn't that important, maturity levels are. I've had cockerels that were pretty mature at 5 months, I had one that wasn't that mature until 11 months. With my pullets maturity is usually tied to whether or not they are laying. It's still handy to know their ages so you have an indication of how they may behave.

What your facilities look like would affect my answer. Are they confined to a coop/run or do they free range? And how big is the coop/run? If they are confined to a coop/run where he cannot leave looking for his old home you could just turn him loose. If he would not be confined to a coop/run I'd suggest keeping him locked up for several days, maybe even a week so he gets used to the coop as home.

Regardless of ages you could just turn them loose (in a confined coop/run) and see what happens. Do this when you can be around to observe. If they are both mature he will probably mate with her and integration should be over. If he is mature and she is still immature (not laying eggs) they may be OK together, a good rooster should not bother an immature pullet but sometimes they will.

If she is mature and he is immature it is possible she will beat him up. They may get along fine. He may try to force his attentions on her. Some of that depends on whether he is still a chick or if he is going through puberty and the hormones are hitting. Some of that depends on her personality, some on his.

If they are both immature about anything can happen. It can anyway regardless of maturities but this is the great unknown. They may get along great. He may chase her and mate her way too much. She may run way and be successful in avoiding him. He may force her. It can go really smoothly or it can get really wild. Usually the more room you have the better.

There is no set time for them to be housed together that gives you any guarantees, regardless of their level of maturity. If both are mature I'd just try it as soon as I could be around to observe. If one or both are immature, I'd probably house them side by side for a week before I tried it.

These things usually go pretty well in spite of how we make it sound, but occasionally there are disasters. Good luck!

 

[DeNomi07]

whew ok she isn't confined he wont be either once i know he wont run off i do the free range.. she seems pretty mature and sweet she's calm she wont run from humans she is more of a pet. i checked him today he has calmed down a bit still sounds the alarm when i walk in the coop but she pays no attention to him since i usually bring her food and water she coming running. she doesn't seem to have much interest in him being in there with her she kind of does her own thing pays no attention to him i was also thinking maybe a week would be good i love having her run around outside she stays near the house and covered area's. so i'll cross my fingers, toes and eyes hope it goes well. thanks so much ridgerunner for the insight helped alot!
god bless