Rooster to soon?

[Jbean5286]

Hello! I bought chicks about 2 months ago there are 8 of them. 2 buff orpington, 2 rhode island reds and 4 barred rock. They get along great. I moved them into a bigger coop once they outgrew the little one. I had no roosters. I met a woman today who has chickens and she mentioned she she also had 8 week old chickens but got two roosters and needed to rehome one.i said I would take him. She told me I could bring him home put him in with my ladies that they might squabble a little but they eould be ok. I brought him home in a cat carrier. I put it in the coop and everyone seemed ok. I opened the crate and my two dominant females were kinda rough. I kept an eye feeling nervous for him. They two girls were kinda mean and he seemed to shy away. They all ate and then things changed. All my females started trying to be as far away as possible. Cramming all together in corners. I then watched the rooster go after my lower pecking order chickens...causing them to shriek. Cornering them chasing them. I removed him and put him in his own coop. Was it too soon? Maybe not a good fit? Any suggestions would be great! Thank you

 

[Isadora]

For an integration to go smoothly, what would be best as if you could employ a "see but no touch" way of introducing them. So if the cat crate is large enough, just keep him in the crate for at least a week inside the coop, where they can see each other and they can get used to him, but they can't actually physically access each other. Chickens have a natural hierarchy within the flock, and throwing a new chicken in there unexpectedly can mess things up.
I would say you won't know for a while whether he is a good fit or not. Right now you just need to focus on integrating slowly. Good luck!

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC.

It's never a good idea to just dump a new chicken in with the flock. They need a slow integration period where they can get used to each other and accept each other.

Here are a few good articles about it:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/my-coop-brooder-and-integration.74591/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/introducing-new-chickens-using-the-“see-but-don’t-touch”-method.67839/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/adding-to-your-flock.47756/

 

[Mrs. K]

I would take him back if you can. Pullets get a lot of grief from a cockerel long before they are ready. If this is your first year - just have a hen only flock. You will get some experience and IMO roosters take some experience.

Mrs K

 

[Jbean5286]

I would take him back if you can. Pullets get a lot of grief from a cockerel long before they are ready. If this is your first year - just have a hen only flock. You will get some experience and IMO roosters take some experience.

Mrs K

I would take him back if you can. Pullets get a lot of grief from a cockerel long before they are ready. If this is your first year - just have a hen only flock. You will get some experience and IMO roosters take some experience.

Mrs K

I would take him back if you can. Pullets get a lot of grief from a cockerel long before they are ready. If this is your first year - just have a hen only flock. You will get some experience and IMO roosters take some experience.

Mrs K

Thank you, this is my first year. I had so many people tell me i "needed" to have a rooster. So when one the same age came to needing a home I jumped at the chance. I was not expecting this. My husband thought maybe putting the smaller coop (for him) inside the fence of there outside enclosure and having a seperation fence might help. Do you think 5his could work?

 

[3KillerBs]

Thank you, this is my first year. I had so many people tell me i "needed" to have a rooster. So when one the same age came to needing a home I jumped at the chance. I was not expecting this. My husband thought maybe putting the smaller coop (for him) inside the fence of there outside enclosure and having a seperation fence might help. Do you think 5his could work?

Yes, that would be part of a see-don't-touch setup.