Rooster before hens??

[VAeggman]

Hi,
I'm setting up my first coop and run and preparing to get pullets in a few weeks. My coop is 10X10 with a 10X14 run. I plan to have about a dozen hens and would like to have one noisey rooster. Should I wait until the hens are already settled? Can I go get a rooster now? What kind? Advice? Does it really matter? Will the rooster fight the hens??

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum!

Glad you are here!

Chickens each have their own individual personality. You will be surprised at how much personality they can show. But this means that no one can accurately predict what will happen with your specific chickens. We can give you what will probably happen or what or experience has been, but your experiences could be quite a bit different. With that legal disclaimer out of the way, plus an explanation why you will probably receive lots of conflicting advice, I'll get your questions.

What age are the pullets? What age rooster do you plan to get? Adding a rooster to a flock of hens can be the easiest integration of all or it can be a nightmare. If the pullets are mature enough to accept a rooster's advances and the rooster is mature enough to dominate the pullets with the force of his personality, it can go very well. When they are introduced the rooster establishes dominance over the hens by mating with them and the flock goes about its business. The pecking order will have changed so there could be some scuffles while this is sorted out, but overall it can be very peaceful. The potential problem with this scenario is that the rooster may not have a strong enough personality to dominate the hens just by force of personality or one or more of the hens may have such a strong individual personality that she will never accept dominance by any rooster. I don't know any way to tell this in advance.

If the pullets are not old enough to accept the rooster's advances yet he has the hormones flowing and recognizes them as female and of age, especially if the rooster is in an adolescent stage, he can start mating them by brute force. The pullets try to get away but he is bigger, stronger, and very determined. It is not pretty. This scenario sometimes happens when chicks are raised together. Sometimes the rooster matures faster than the pullets. The young, oversexed, clumsy adolescent rooster is trying to follow his instincts and the immature pullets are not cooperating. The rooster is assumed to be a brute and literally looses his head when a big part of the problem is the pullets not cooperating plus he is not really mature enough to know how to curb his urges.

If the pullets are more mature than the rooster and he cannot dominate them by his personality, the pullets may pick on the rooster mercilessly. This often happens when a young rooster is introduced to a flock of mature hens. The hens can be much harder on him than they would be on a new pullet the same age. Eventually he will probably mature enough to dominate the flock, but the first few weeks or months can be quite dangerous for him.

Lots of people will have different experiences than this. As I mentioned before, a lot depends on the individual personality of your specific chickens. You may or may not have these problems. What I would suggest is that you wait until most of your pullets have been laying for about two months then introduce a rooster that is about one year old. I think that will give you the best chance of success. I offer no guarantees though.

As far as what kind, what are your goals of having a rooster other than noise? What breed pullets are you getting? Do you plan to hatch the eggs? Are you raising them for eggs, eggs and meat, pets, to show, to eat insects, to get good compost material, to have some really weird looking breeds, or what? I can't even come close to suggesting what kind until I have a feel for your goals. Even then, there will be a very wide range of possibilities that will work for you.

Good luck! Hope this helps.

 

[Mahonri]

I like adding a younger but still mature roo to older pullets. They teach him manners..

 

[VAeggman]

YES!! Thats a big help!