Question about expanding my flock

[blorbs]

I'm new and I don't know anything but!
I have 2 chickens currently (a male and I believe a female, I learned from posting them here that it was a male so let me know if that second one looks male-ish please). As I understand it, that's not a great ratio for her, there should be more females. I am therefore hoping to get some more chickens.

I got these 2 from the market that's once a month. I could go tomorrow and get 2 more from the same person, or wait a month. Here's my main question: Will the ratio thing (the fact that there's only one hen for one rooster) become an issue within the next six weeks?

Couple of things: I do not know how old they are, and I don't think I can find out exactly (I don't have any languages in common with the man who sold them to me and communication was basically impossible). The rooster started crowing earlier this week, so I guess he's 4 or 5 months? I think they're about the same age, she's always been smaller and I thought that meant she was younger but I think it's just because she's a female. They came out of a cage of a bunch that all looked very similar and the same-ish sizes.

I'm asking about six weeks because if I don't get some tomorrow, I'll get them at the market in September, and then do 2 weeks quarantine. If it's not tenable to have a 1:1 ratio for 6 weeks, I'll get some tomorrow and quarantine now. A reason for waiting is that I don't currently have a coop to quarantine in, but there are some solutions to that (there's a spot in the garage that I let these 2 sleep in for their first few days, and I can make them a run if I have to, although it's not ideal at all).

I have other questions too, like I was thinking of getting 2 more of the same, but if there are full hens there, I might get that instead, is there any reason to get the same age-ish? If I get them from the same person, do I still have to quarantine (I'm guessing yes, he's nowhere near any other chicken sellers but honestly they came to me sick so I'm guessing the new ones will be sick too)? But mainly my question is, is it okay to have one male and one female for another 6 weeks.

 

[Mrs. K]

A lot depends on your space. Space is crucial for birds to get along. Many people understand that not enough hens per rooster is not good, so they think if I add more hens that will fix the problem... but that will only work if you really have a large set up.

As for your question, will the problems start in the next 6 weeks, as Ridgerunner often states, no one really knows what these particular birds will do, but based on experience, I would say, yes you have a fairly good chance of problems in the next six weeks. You might get lucky or it might get ugly. Do have a crate of something, that you could put the rooster in, if you need too, and have it set up and ready to go.

The easiest way to deal with this is to re-home the rooster. See if the guy will take the rooster back, for another hen if you can. Take him back, and just have a hen only flock this year. I often recommend to have a hen only flock the first year to get some experience.

How were they sick? What did you do for it? Normally, I would not do sick chickens, but ten to one, your chickens have immunity to this flocks diseases.

Mrs K

 

[blorbs]

A lot depends on your space. Space is crucial for birds to get along. Many people understand that not enough hens per rooster is not good, so they think if I add more hens that will fix the problem... but that will only work if you really have a large set up.

Thank you for the advice. I free-range them all day, so if I had another coop I think integration could be okay, although I think confining the new chickens to a smaller area at first might be good (even aside from quarantine).

I might rehome the rooster (cockerel I guess), or eat him (I'm not opposed to it, though my mother who is also here for anther month is NOT happy about it). I agree it seems it would be best to have all hens, again, my family is not in agreement about it. So far the cockerel has not been super rude to me, he tried at the beginning of puberty (I guess - when he started looking very rooster-y and crowing), I know he will get more difficult. If I do need to put him in a crate (is this what people call rooster jail?), how long can I keep in him there, is it mean to do all day?

As to how they were sick, they were wheezy and sniffly and seemed to vomit clear stuff on and off for the first week and a half. The pullet was a bit lethargic too, though she never went fully inactive. I didn't actually do much for them aside from check on them a LOT and make sure they were eating and I tried out different foods and gave them extra protein and things. So whatever they had going on, it resolved itself.

 

[3KillerBs]

As to how they were sick, they were wheezy and sniffly and seemed to vomit clear stuff on and off for the first week and a half. The pullet was a bit lethargic too, though she never went fully inactive. I didn't actually do much for them aside from check on them a LOT and make sure they were eating and I tried out different foods and gave them extra protein and things. So whatever they had going on, it resolved itself.

I don't know chicken diseases to identify it, but I would consider it unethical to rehome a bird who had been sick and recovered because he might be a carrier.