What is the normal procedure that I need to take when introducing a new rooster?

[chixcoop]

I am considering a new rooster, but what do I need to do to make sure that he is good for my flock? What about diseases? Also, is it okay to mix breeds of roosters and hens? I have bard rock hens.

 

[mechanic57]

Read about how to quarantine the new bird from the others. Quarantine is important. If the new bird has any parasites or diseases, you have a chance to see if they manifest, cause problems, and treat them in the new bird, before he has a chance to spread it to the rest of the flock. This way you can treat (or if necessary remove) one bird instead of the whole flock.

As for mixing breeds, I read that you shouldn't have a full size rooster trying to mate with bantam hens. Other than that I'm not aware of any issues. If you mix breeds and hatch the eggs, you'll have what they call barnyard mix birds. Its not a problem, but by doing this with full breed chickens, you could be eliminating some of the desirable attributes of a full breed bird. Example, mixing a white leghorn hen (desirable for high production of eggs) with a rooster whose breed is one that doesn't lay eggs frequently, will probably result in offspring with less frequent egg laying cycles than the leghorn (though not as infrequent as the roosters breed). The alternative would be to keep a rooster of each breed of hen, and keep the rooster and that type of hen separate for breeding purposes and then collect those eggs specifically for hatching. Its a little more work and more resources to have separate breeding pens. If you won't be hatching the eggs or don't care if you get mixed birds, just leave them all together and they will be fine. I have 3 different breeds of hen and 1 rooster and they are all together.