Separating Roos for the "season" ... then putting them back together?

[kimb]

Right now all but 1 of my roos "get along" ... they're all still young <1 year old ... they all free range on 3 acres and tuck themselves into the coop at night in their favorite places

...

I have ...
1 Mille Fleur Bantam Cochin
1 Lavender Bantam Cochin
1 SL LF Cochin
1 NN Frizzle
and
1 D'uccle (the crabster in the bunch that HAS to be separated ! or else he engages in total gorilla warfare with the Mille Fleur and the SL LF.) I'm seriously considering rehoming him as I've not had very good luck with d'uccle ladies in the past 2 years and it's just heart breaking to keep losing them ... and without his own ladies - and his aggression towards everyone else there isn't much point in keeping him.

The lavender and the NN really mind their own business entirely and are clearly content being low men on the totem pole .... But the Mille and the SL LF have just recently come to terms with the SL LF being top man ... previously they had some intense stare downs and a little blood shed but the Mille would back down (even though he initiated the stare downs) ... he got his tail handed to him when the d'uccle got out last week ... (although he did put up quite a fight) he has a large comb and waddles and was a mess) ... but this may have been just what he needed to resolve his conflict with the big guy ...

Anyway...
... come spring I'd like to separate the LF and the Lavender into breeding pens (don't have any mille ladies or else he'd be separated too

) ... I'm nervous that separating them will disrupt their hierarchy and will result in everyone needing to be separated permanently... has anyone separated and then reintroduced their Roos into the flock without a problem?


They won't be entirely secluded - just separated with fencing... Whats the likelihood that they'll keep the peace? is there a "re-introduction" process I should take ? ... or maybe letting all the boys out together for some of the day to free range ? ...

 

[tammyd57]

I've found that roos that already get along well together will still get along after being separated into breeder pens, as long as they can still hear and see each other while separated. If they don't get along before the separation, it could go either way. The pecking order may be disrupted enough that they will get along when back together, or the animosity may have grown now that they can't actually fight. The best thing would be to let them free range together during the separation. Free ranging seems to reduce stress and tension between roos quite well.

 

[kimb]

...

I think the reason the D'uccle doesn't get along with anyone else (even though he used to) ... Is that I thought he was sick because his legs were turning red so I separated him up in a stall in my barn for a few weeks ... ... then once I was told that there actually wasn't wrong with his legs I brought him down and put him in the side pen but he flew over it and went on the rampage (now I have netting over it so he can't fly out ... ... I'm hoping that maybe after a while he'll not be so hostile to be back down with everyone (as he can now see everyone again) ...

I've got a while to plan what I'd like to do

... and see what works with them ...