Rooster and hens together or separate coops at night?

[SnackMeat]

First time chicken owner mistake; I should have researched the sexual maturity of the chickens. So should I just keep him separate until the pullets are older, 16 weeks? Would I just keep him by himself in his own coop with his run? Could I try supervised visits and see how he does?

Depends on the rooster. I've had some early ones start to be dicks at 8 weeks who previously were the sweetest ones. I have some at 11 weeks who are starting up but aren't terrible bullies (yet.) and I have some obvious cockerels who are just chill dudes for now.


If you start to see bullying that goes for longer than a few seconds then you can reevaluate.

As a side note, I can almost guarantee that one of your other chicks is a rooster, if not more. Barring DNA testing, there's always a failure rate, even with sex-linked ones even though I'm unsure of the failure rate.

 

[rural mouse]

Useful info for having roo(s). Biggest thing to take note of: petting chickens is not like petting a dog or cat. Running your hand down a hen's back (especially in the presence of a roo ( and he is watching) is MATING with her. You're "trying to steal his ladies". Crop massages/chest/wattles rubs are much less problematic as they aren't matting behavior. Also, give treats to the roo so he can give them to the ladies. He looks good for them and you, again, are not trying to lure his ladies away.


Article 'Understanding Your Rooster.' https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/

 

[bakersdozenroo]

Depends on the rooster. I've had some early ones start to be dicks at 8 weeks who previously were the sweetest ones. I have some at 11 weeks who are starting up but aren't terrible bullies (yet.) and I have some obvious cockerels who are just chill dudes for now.


If you start to see bullying that goes for longer than a few seconds then you can reevaluate.

As a side note, I can almost guarantee that one of your other chicks is a rooster, if not more. Barring DNA testing, there's always a failure rate, even with sex-linked ones even though I'm unsure of the failure rate.

Hopefully he is a nice gentleman and doesn’t attack the hens or my family.

The hatchery I got the chicks from said they would take back any chick that ended up being a rooster. Hopefully they all stay pullets and I don’t end up with another cockerel!

 

[bakersdozenroo]

Useful info for having roo(s). Biggest thing to take note of: petting chickens is not like petting a dog or cat. Running your hand down a hen's back (especially in the presence of a roo ( and he is watching) is MATING with her. You're "trying to steal his ladies". Crop massages/chest/wattles rubs are much less problematic as they aren't matting behavior. Also, give treats to the roo so he can give them to the ladies. He looks good for them and you, again, are not trying to lure his ladies away.


Article 'Understanding Your Rooster.' https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/

Thank you so much for this and the article. It has given me the best information about roosters I could find.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

even with sex-linked ones

Unless you do the wrong pairing, you cannot get a sexlink that is displaying the wrong indicators.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Unless you do the wrong pairing, you cannot get a sexlink that is displaying the wrong indicators.

No, but certain colors or patterns can obscure the identifying characteristics in newly hatched chicks. For example, with barred sexlinks it can be difficult to see the head spot that indicates barring (and therefore male) on colors other than black. For red sexlinks some patterns, like lacing, can make it challenging to be certain whether a chick is silver(male) or gold(female) until the feathers start coming in. So while they do have the correct indicators, it may not be obvious until the chick is a little older.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

First time chicken owner mistake; I should have researched the sexual maturity of the chickens. So should I just keep him separate until the pullets are older, 16 weeks? Would I just keep him by himself in his own coop with his run? Could I try supervised visits and see how he does?

I would let them be together for now unless or until you see behavior you don't like. Then, if necessary, separate until the pullets are laying and then put them back together and watch. As long as he's not HURTING them, drawing blood, leave them together. It can look a little rough while he learns but they'll sort it out.

There is no reason the separate at night now, they're not doing anything but sleeping anyway.

 

[bakersdozenroo]

I would let them be together for now unless or until you see behavior you don't like. Then, if necessary, separate until the pullets are laying and then put them back together and watch. As long as he's not HURTING them, drawing blood, leave them together. It can look a little rough while he learns but they'll sort it out.

There is no reason the separate at night now, they're not doing anything but sleeping anyway.

Thank you for the advice! Since he’s going to move out to the coop first, should I have him in the big coop and have the girls join him? Or should I have him in his coop and then join him with the girls? I’m not sure how long to keep him inside in the dog kennel as I don’t want him to be lonely outside by himself but at the same time I don’t want him to feel confined in the dog crate. Since he is a little over 6 weeks and the pullets are only 10 days old, he can go ahead and go outside where they cannot. It is really hot where I’m at, mid 70s at night, high 80s low 90s during the day.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Oh the pullets are just tiny chicks! I'm sorry, I missed that somehow. I would let the chicks get some size on them before integrating them, maybe about three or four weeks. Can they see and hear each other now, the way you have them set up?

 

[bakersdozenroo]

Oh the pullets are just tiny chicks! I'm sorry, I missed that somehow. I would let the chicks get some size on them before integrating them, maybe about three or four weeks. Can they see and hear each other now, the way you have them set up?

No worries, again thank you so much for your help! Yes, I have his dog crate next to their brooder (it’s on of those pop up brooders that has mesh on the sides). So I have the mesh opening facing his crate so he can see and hear them and they see and hear him. Here’s the picture of their setup