Switching Breeding Roosters

[Redhead Rae]

I currently have my Black Cochin rooster in a separate run with my Dominique and Dominique cross hens so I can get hatching eggs with known parentage. The rest of my flock has 3 different mobile coops, but all share a fenced paddock. One of the mobile coops houses my 21 week old pullets (just starting to lay, maybe), another the 21 week old cockerels (all the 21 week old birds are New Hampshires and Delawares) and the third houses my Leghorn mix hens, Buff Orpington Roosters and pullets and a couple leghorn cross chicks (17weeks). There is a little mixing and matching every now and then, but generally they all go back to their own coops.

I have a broody sitting on eggs from the breeding group that should hatch this weekend. After the chicks hatch, I want to swap my Black Cochin for one of my Delaware Roosters so I can have hatching eggs from that mix. The question is, how do I reintroduce my Cochin back to the rest of the flock? I'm going back and forth between just moving him into the 21w old pullets' coop after dark one night and watching how he does with the rest of the flock the next day, or re-configuring my fence (I have premier one poultry net) so that he has a run next to the main flock for a week or to (maybe put a couple of pullets in with him) before letting him interact with the main flock. I'm more worried about him getting beat up than him doing the beating. We originally separated him from the main flock at 16 weeks because our Alpha rooster at the time (since sent to freezer camp) was beating him up something horrible. He has grown and matured since then but I'm still worried.

 

[Mrs. K]

I have always found introduction of a rooster, one of the easiest introductions.If I read you right, though, your Delaware rooster is only 21 weeks old, so about 5 months... he might get harassed if your girls are older. On rereading this, I am not sure, perhaps you are putting the cochin in as a rooster?

Mature roosters will do fine, adlolescent roosters have to prove their mettle. Personally a few older hens turn out better roosters, because of this.

Mrs K

 

[Redhead Rae]

I'm worried more about introducing my Cochin back to the main flock not the Delaware to the breeding hens. The Cochin - who was about 6 months old at the time I introduced him and more flighty than my Delawares are - was wary of my older girls.. They would chase him if he got too close and made him mind his manners. In 2 weeks they accepted him as their rooster and he is watchful over them (except where people are concerned, he is scared of people). I'm thinking I have enough room in the paddock to make sure the roosters in the main flock don't gang up on him. I'm hoping the re-introduction goes ok. If not, I do have the means to separate them for a bit. Actually, I'm beginning to think rotating potential breeding roosters through my older hens as a training and assessment time might not be a bad idea.

 

[Mrs. K]

Oh, wait, I made a mistake. I did not realize that you were introducing him to an established flock WITH a rooster or more roosters. Truthfully that would have a high chance of a wreck. The roosters will more than likely attack this new rooster unless you have a LOT of room, and pretty laid back roosters. Mixing roosters is chancy. While the older girls can give a young rooster a schooling, nothing like a full fledged rooster fight.

 

[Mrs. K]

I reread your original post... are you free ranging everyone except the mating/ hatching flock? I take it all your birds know each other, and mingle freely with each other, just happen to roost in certain coops, due to their own choice?

Cause then, this might not be too bad. However, really you should not take my advice, cause I cannot quite get my head around your set up.

 

[Redhead Rae]

I reread your original post... are you free ranging everyone except the mating/ hatching flock? I take it all your birds know each other, and mingle freely with each other, just happen to roost in certain coops, due to their own choice?

Cause then, this might not be too bad. However, really you should not take my advice, cause I cannot quite get my head around your set up.

They are sort of "free ranged", we have about 6000 sq/ft of chicken yard fenced in with 4ft high, electrified poultry netting with the mobile coops set up inside the netting. Yes, everyone puts themselves away in certain coops and we shut the doors at night. We were moving the fencing weekly during the height of summer, but we are trying to get the chickens to kill the grass and fertilize this area for a garden in the future. We haven't lost any chickens that were in this setup. It isn't advisable to truly free range them because of the predators we have. Several neighbors have lost entire free ranged flocks. Also we don't want to free range them anymore because we tried it once and they made a nuisance of themselves (pooping on our porch and walk ways, raiding the garden and the neighbor's bird feeder, eating foam insulation off our house, attacking a contractor). Surprisingly, they generally stay inside the fence, if they get out a lot it is often because the fence came down in an area, it isn't properly electrified, or I need to cull more roosters.

 

[Redhead Rae]

Oh, wait, I made a mistake. I did not realize that you were introducing him to an established flock WITH a rooster or more roosters. Truthfully that would have a high chance of a wreck. The roosters will more than likely attack this new rooster unless you have a LOT of room, and pretty laid back roosters. Mixing roosters is chancy. While the older girls can give a young rooster a schooling, nothing like a full fledged rooster fight.

I know, that was the reason I pulled him in the first place. Our old Alpha roo was great with the hens, great with chicks, timid around people but never attacked. However he was VICIOUS to other roosters. He eventually went to freezer camp for that since we didn't want him as a breeder. Our main flock currently has 2, 8.5 month old roosters and 7, 21 week old roosters. It is generally peaceful, but we've decided to cull the Beta rooster, because he is a trouble maker, and get down to 4, of the 21 week roosters (I just need to decide which 3 I'm culling). I'm thinking I may do a slower introduction. I have a 8'x10' pvc tractor I can put inside the chicken yard to get them used to each other before removing barriers.