Rooster vs. Hen???

[thechxwhisperer]

Today I introduced a new Rooster to my 7 hens. All the hens except for 2 were totally fine with the new leader.
The new rooster was put in a big isolation box in our run,


Then, one of my Buff Orpingtons started to get aggressive. She just puffed up and glared.
Then she walked away. 5 seconds later, the leader of the flock, a Rhode Island Red,started to fight with him through the wire. They both drew blood. Eventually, it got so bad, we had to shove the hen away. That was it. Is this normal? Should I take his box out of the run?

 

[Twistedfeather]

How old are those two?

 

[thechxwhisperer]

The Rooster is not full grown yet, so probably 6-7 months? The hen is 2 and a half years.

 

[cafarmgirl]

You need to fence off an area for your rooster and let him live there for a couple weeks, next to them but separated by fence, so they can all get used to each other. Chickens HATE newcomers and they need time to settle down and get used to a new bird. They will still work out some pecking order issues when you do integrate but by then it should be a lot less violent. Hopefully you have already had him quarantined for at least a couple weeks well away from them completely?

 

[thechxwhisperer]

Well, I just got him today and we put him in a big wired box. We put him in the run thinking it would be okay, but apparently it was not. Should I keep him near the run or just leave him?

 

[cafarmgirl]

Your hens have already been exposed to him but personally I'd still quarantine him away from them for a couple of weeks, 30 days is even better, so you can observe him for any sign of illness. Sometimes if a bird is a carrier of a respiratory disease the stress of moving to a new home can bring on symptoms. After quarantine then you can work on integrating him as decribed above. It's just really a big headache if you by chance bring home a bird, and it's a big chance, that spreads some respiratory disease into your flock.