new rooster

[bduke]

I have 8 E.E.'s and 2 rod red's that are 8 wks old this Monday .a friend ( or maybe just somebody who needed to get rid of a rooster) gave me a 1 yr old E.E. rooster............I've been reading how protectaive they are so i'm going to try and keep it . whats the best way to intro them all without the little one's getting hurt? this is what I've got so far .............the run is 8 ft wide and 24ft long . I fence the rooster in on one end in a 6 x 6 chain link cage . i'm letting the little ones run up and check him out and he ignores them unless they try and get his food . if I leave it the way it is for a week then let him out into the run should it be ok or do I need to do something totally different? also I got him chicken scratch to eat and they are still on chick starter ....... is this ok?

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I would leave everyone the way you have them until they're all about the same size. He might be a nice guy and fine with the chicks in general, but at some point he's going to want to mate, whether the younger birds are ready or not.
Also, I would switch him over to the chick feed (if its not medicated) or a starter/grower, all flock or gamebird feed. Scratch should be fed as a treat, no a base diet, as it in not a sufficient source of protein and nutrients.
Good luck.

 

[bduke]

Why not the medicated? Will it hurt him or is it just a waste of money to feed it to him? Right now I have chick starter ( medicated) and chicken scratch...... Fri after I get paid I can get him something else , but which can I feed him till then?

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

He, as an adult, should already have built up an immunity to cocci. He doesn't need the preventative dose of meds in the chick feed. Hes not going to lay any eggs (obviously, lol) so the residual medication in the eggs isn't the issue either. And yea, if you're buying it in those small bags, its not a very cost effective feed. Also, the way the medication works is by blocking the uptake of thiamine (an essential nutrient for all living things), which starves the cocci protozoa. Him not receiving those vitamins and being on a diet of scratch could actually be detrimental to his health. If that's what you've got as feed for the week, then go ahead and give it to him. But he would likely benefit greatly from getting a new feed as soon as you can manage it. You could pull a bunch of grass and weeds from your yard to help supplement his diet until you can get him another feed though. Or feed him kitchen scraps
I would go with an all flock type formula or game bird feed. Then you can give the same feed to him and the chicks.

 

[bduke]

thank ya'll both for the info