New roosters

[LynnTXchickenmom]

I’m sure we did not do this correctly. We have a flock of RIR all hatched out on Aug 3: 18 hens and a rooster. Our kids’ school hatched out chicks on Oct. 11 and is keeping the hens for egg production; they had 12 roosters that needed culling. A local boy slaughtered 10 of them for his family’s consumption, leaving 2. I agreed to take the 2, as I have just the ratio our city requires: No more than 1 rooster for every 6 hens; no more than 26 chickens total. My son plans to slaughter them when he’s home for Easter and then we’ll make soup and coq a vin. So … we put them in our run today. Nothing happened at first, then some scuffles with our rooster that were short lived. Now the RIR flock is staying on one side of the run and the two new roosters are hanging together on the other side. (This is a large run.). Lots of egg call sounds from my hens and even the same from my rooster, making me think he’s calling about the intruders. Will things just stay this way? Will they go into the coop when it gets dark? Will my hens be upset and reduce their laying? I’m interested in hearing others’ experiences. (We don’t want to keep them—this is temporary until my son gets home to do the slaughtering. He’s experienced; I am not.)

 

[Mrs. K]

If nothing is actively fighting - count that as a win. Look at your coop /run - do you have clutter, hideouts, and multiple feed bowls? That will help.

If they start fighting - do have a plan B set up and ready to go. A 5 foot fish net can snag a bird, so you can separate them if needed.

Sometimes - a situation will stress your layers - and some egg production will slow, but it should rise again if it does happen, when the boys are gone.

MRs K

 

[Ridgerunner]

This is a large run.

Good. makes this a lot easier.

Lots of egg call sounds from my hens and even the same from my rooster, making me think he’s calling about the intruders.

That's not the egg song. I consider it a distress call. To me it seems that they know or suspect that something is wrong but may not know exactly what.

Will things just stay this way? Will they go into the coop when it gets dark? Will my hens be upset and reduce their laying? I’m interested in hearing others’ experiences. (We don’t want to keep them—this is temporary until my son gets home to do the slaughtering. He’s experienced; I am not.)

They are five months old and Easter is still almost a month away. Soup and Coq au Vin sounds good but personally I'd bake them. Just personal preference, I can give a recipe if you wish.

Is your run predator proof? What is your weather? Would it be horrible if they stayed in the run? They may or may not have gone into the coop with the rest so I'm late with suggestions. I'd have suggested being down there at daylight to see how they were getting on when they woke up.

You can let things go to see what happens, that's probably what I'd do. Sometimes these things do work out. But I agree, have a plan B and go by what you see. If you need something you may need it quickly. Have a place you can isolate one or both of those cockerels. Dog crates or cages can work for a short time.

I don't know what your coop looks like, can you build something in there to house the two for a month? Building a predator proof shelter with a bit of run inside your run might be the easiest way to go if you need something. I think you probably will before the month is out.

Will it reduce their laying? Maybe, possibly for a bit. When you change the pecking order you induce stress. That may affect how some to them lay but it should be a short term effect if it has any effect.