When and How to Introduce Cocks?

[jlgoinggreen]

I want to keep my Chickens pure bred, so I am purchasing a Buff Orpington Rooster for my girls. The problem is my son hasn't completed the coop for his EE Rooster, who btw is doing VERY well in fertilizing eggs for 15 hens. So far every egg I open is fertile and ds and I have collected 37 to hatch in our incubators. I plan to bring the BO Rooster home today and will put him "temporarily" in a dog cage in the coop. How long should I wait until I let him loose in the coop. Being that the EE rooster has been "King" of his castle for a few weeks now, will this be a problem bringing a new rooster in. Should I wait until ds finishes the EE Coop and transfers his cock there?

Also, for the eggs we have in the bator (of which ALL 37 seem to be developing nicely and due to hatch next week), how long do we have to wait until we introduce these chicks to the EE rooster and his hen. He only has one hen so far and I am scared he will destroy her (forgot to mention how much he likes to "prove" his fertility). I plan on giving him at least 4 more hens, maybe 5.

 

[Kansaseq]

Don't put the chicks in with the older birds until they are almost full grown (4 months or so), and before you do, house them where the old chickens can see them. Let them get used to each other while protected, for at least 2 weeks, before letting them out together.

If your rooster is tearing up the hens, you may need to get some hen saddles, or keep him penned up until you get him some more hens. If he still is really hard on them, you may need a new rooster.

 

[jlgoinggreen]

Thank you for responding. I don't think he is hard on them at all. Especially after reading some of the stories on here. It's just that he now has 15 hens to "play" with. What I was trying to say is that he is "playing" with my pure bred BO hens. We only have one EE hen, so when I separate them he will only have this one hen to "play" with after being used to 15 hens. KWIM I might just have to give him a few of my BO hens until the baby chicks are ready for him in about 4 months then. Thanks again. I was not aware I had to wait 4 months.

 

[Kansaseq]

The 4 months is just a ballpark number; the chickens all need to be roughly the same size so they can hold their own and not get too horribly picked on. Just keep an eye on your EE roo with his one hen. If he's wearing her out because he's used to having 15, then yea, get him some more to hang with, or pen him up until you can get him more.
Welcome, by the way

 

[DAFox]

Anytime you bring in a new chicken, it is wise to keep it isolated from your flock for at least a month to see if it has any diseases or pests. I keep new chickens in a rabbit cage with a rubbermaid tote attached inside a fence so there is no contact. If you follow this practice, your son has a month to finish his coop.
Dale-Ann

 

[teach1rusl]

Yes, it's recommended that you keep new birds apart for about a month. Personally, if I knew and trusted the person (and flock) I was getting my birds from, I probably wouldn't wait that long myself. I'm sure you'll closely inspect him for mites and such, but you can't really "inspect" for disease; you have to know that his old flock was very healthy.
If your son's EE rooster is use to having 12 hens, then a few hens, much less one, most likely won't do. I had five hens for my EE rooster, and ended up rehoming him because he was too hard on them; he ended up with a family who had 12 hens. As someone else mentioned, you can always buy saddles for them if he just has a few. But I would still keep a close eye on them.
Your chicks should be at least somewhat the size of your other chickens before being integrated. You could TRY them a little younger as long as you were there to keep a close eye out. It's not the rooster you'd have to worry about, it's the hens.

 

[jlgoinggreen]

Thanks everyone.

This is a lot of good info I did not know or think of.