Trying to Add Rooster to my Flock

[Lreiter3]

Hello! Currently trying to add a rooster, that i received from a friend that ended up with two, to my flock of hens. Thought they would be the bullies but its him! He was so nice to her girls and other rooster. My girls stay together in a corner and every time he even moves towards them they freak out. What do I do? My friend can take him back, but I wanted this to work! Any tips to help?

 

[hysop]

How long did you introduce them for before throwing them in the same run & coop?

 

[Ridgerunner]

How old are they, male and females? What is actually going on? "They freak out" isn't much of a description. What does he do and what do they do?

Typically when a mature rooster is introduced to a flock of mature hens he mates couple and it's over, they are his flock. He wins them over by the force of his self-confidence and personality. With living animals you don't get guarantees on behaviors so what "typically" happens doesn't always happen. There are always exceptions. Some males don't have that self-confidence. I need some information to try to figure out what might be happening. Having a rough idea of how much room you have might be useful.

One exception to this is that occasionally the dominant hen does not want to give up being dominant. She may not accept him and even fight him, but if he is bigger and more aggressive sometimes it's more of her keeping away than actually fighting. I've seen that with cockerels that are getting close but aren't quite mature. Usually that's just the dominant hen, not all of them.

Any time you add or take away a fairly dominant flock member you are going to change the pecking order and flock dynamics. Often that is pretty seamless, you might not even notice how it happens. Sometimes it can be dramatic. It sounds like yours has been pretty peaceful so far as you did not mention fighting or brutality. It may not be as bad as you think.

 

[Lreiter3]

My hens are 14 weeks, so he's around 13 weeks. I let them out of the run thru out the day depending on if I'm outside or not. 9 Hens. The coop is 4 ft x 6 ft with 9 boxes. The run is 8 ft x 12 ft.

I had the rooster outside of the coop yesterday roaming close to the run. Put the girls in the coop last night and left him locked in the run. Let them out this morning, and he keeps going after them. The girls just all go to one corner and when he gets close and peck at one, they all run away. I only had one hen that would stay out in the run with him. Thought they were getting used to each other but then he went after her. She has never been aggressive or in charge so I thought this was odd.

 

[hysop]

My hens are 14 weeks, so he's around 13 weeks. I let them out of the run thru out the day depending on if I'm outside or not. 9 Hens. The coop is 4 ft x 6 ft with 9 boxes. The run is 8 ft x 12 ft.

I had the rooster outside of the coop yesterday roaming close to the run. Put the girls in the coop last night and left him locked in the run. Let them out this morning, and he keeps going after them. The girls just all go to one corner and when he gets close and peck at one, they all run away. I only had one hen that would stay out in the run with him. Thought they were getting used to each other but then he went after her. She has never been aggressive or in charge so I thought this was odd.

You didn’t specify if you let them see each other for a week or two prior to throwing them in the same living quarters.

 

[Lreiter3]

I knew i forgot something. I only had them meet each other yesterday. Was hoping since it was a rooster going into a space with all girls, there wouldn't be an issue. I know it was when i had some girls out of the coop due to injuries months ago. I guess i was being hopeful. Need to figure out where to put the rooster to let them be around each other. Any suggestions on this step? I don't really have anywhere for him to be close but apart.

Thank you!

 

[Lreiter3]

I have come up with a plan! I still have the feeder and waterer from brooding my chicks so I will section off part of the run to keep the rooster separate. Update and pictures to follow! Thanks guys!

 

[keesmom]

I have come up with a plan! I still have the feeder and waterer from brooding my chicks so I will section off part of the run to keep the rooster separate. Update and pictures to follow! Thanks guys!

That's a good idea. You don't have a rooster and hens, you have a young cockerel and pullets. Males mature more quickly than females, so he's ready to go long before the pullets are ready for his attentions. He may have to stay separated until the pullets are ready to start laying.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm sorry but you don't have a mature rooster and mature hens, you have an immature cockerel and immature pullets. There can be a world of difference in the behaviors of mature adults and immature juveniles. He is probably just hitting puberty, a little young but some do that. He wants to dominate the girls but doesn't have the personality yet to do that. Besides, the girls are still pretty young and would not know what was going on anyway. Even if they had been raised together they are hitting an age and stage of development that can be hard to watch. Adolescence can be rough with chickens, that's when a lot of people decide they don't need a rooster after all.

Your coop is small but you are in Florida. With your weather they can spend all day every day outside so it can hopefully work. They are still growing so it will only get tighter. Your run is not overly large either. Tight spaces tend to make behavioral problems worse. At their ages and with fairly tight spaces it's probably not going to be as easy as it could be. I've never tried integrating a single cockerel to a flock or pullets at those ages but I do raise them together from hatch. I do have a lot more room.

Still, what can you do? As long as no one is actually getting injured you can leave them together and see if they can work it out. I'd be strongly tempted to try that. But I would absolutely prepare a place I could lock him up in isolation on a moment's notice if it becomes necessary. There is a real good chance you will need it.

You could isolate him across from wire for a week or two before you try again. At their ages I don't hold out a lot of hope for that but as long as you can observe and lock him back up if you need to it's worth a try. You may get lucky.

You can keep him penned up until he and they mature enough to get along, trying occasionally until it happens. I'd expect that to be a few weeks after some of them start to lay but it's hard to know exactly when.

If you are going to keep him I think that's your basic options. Good luck!

 

[aart]

They are all near babies!
You need more space too.