Young Roos, Old Hens - 8 Weeks Too Young for an Intro?

[Vadard]

Greetings, dear chicken people.

I have a set of 39 chicks hatched Dec. 9, and thankfully they're all coming along fine. I included a few roos in my order (3 australorps & 2 NH), in hopes that at least one of them might be chill enough to keep around for guarding the ladies on pasture.

One of the little aussies is already getting aggressive, and I'm thinking of moving him into my larger coop that contains (14) 3-year-old hens (aussies, barred rock, sussex, delaware). I'm thinking that the older ladies might teach junior some manners. Would it be too harsh to move him in with them at 8 weeks? I would pen him up next to them for a few days, so they could get used to each other first.

Just curious if anyone has tried this. I don't want to harm the roo, but I don't want him beating up on everyone else, either.

I'd appreciate any experience or advice you can share.

Thanks!

Obligatory rooster meme for your enjoyment:

 

[Ridgerunner]

Personally, I'd have had all of them integrated into the flock by now, not to teach them manners but for my convenience and to help them become one big happy flock eventually. I brood in the coop and have a lot of room so integration is generally easy.

By integrated I mean they don't try to kill each other. Nothing more than that. I typically have two different flocks that share a common space. The younger stay separated away from the older ones until the pullets start to lay, then they become one flock. Until then, if a young one (male or female) invades her personal space a mature hen may attack. I have separate feeding and watering stations, lots of room so they can stay apart during the day, and enough room that they can sleep separately. I don't care where any of them sleep as long as it is not in my nests and is predator safe. They will start eating, drinking, and sleeping together when the young ones mature enough.

I've gone through this for a reason. You are talking about putting a single chick in with the adults. They are social animals, they want to be together. If you put one chick in there he will be alone. If he tries to join the hens for comfort and company they may attack him, sometimes seriously. If you try that I strongly suggest you try it with three or four. That could keep him alive. If you don't have enough room for them to stay separated day and night it could still be bad.

I understand you want to put him with the adult hens in the hope that they will beat the crap out of him and teach him manners. You get that by reading comments by some on this forum. Many people strongly believe that.

I've raised a lot of cockerels with the flock, usually with several other cockerels and pullets the same age. Each flock is different and each chicken has its own personality. I start eating the boys when they hit about 16 weeks as I gradually get down to the one I'm keeping as flock master at 23 weeks. Different things have happened.

Sometimes things are extremely peaceful. No real aggression from the cockerels or the hens. When the chosen one matures enough he peacefully takes over as flock master.

Probably my most common, the cockerels fight some for flock mastery but none get injured. They forcefully mate the pullets but none get injured.

You can get different things from the mature hens with this scenario. The boys may try to mate with them and the hens run away. The boys may force them or let them go. No real violence. Or the girls, especially the head hen, fights back and beats up the cockerel until he matures enough to win that fight. She may knock him off if he tries to mate a lower ranked hen, even if that lower ranked hen squats willingly.

Sometimes one (or more) hens may actively seek out the boys to do them damage, even if the boys do not try to mate them. Usually this is the head hen or a hen that is pretty low in the pecking order.

I have no idea which scenario you will see with yours. Most of the time it is not violent between the cockerels and the hens but sometimes it is. I don't see any evidence that a hen beating up a cockerel makes him a better rooster but some people on here seem to think it is necessary.

Good luck! Your plan could work but I strongly suggest you do not try it with a single chick. Three or four would be much better.

 

[Mrs. K]

If you try that I strongly suggest you try it with three or four. That could keep him alive. If you don't have enough room for them to stay separated day and night it could still be bad.

A lot depends on your space. I too am not in favor of adding a single smaller bird to an established flock. It can be done, but it is hard and a lot of fiddling. I have done it. If you want directions, I can give them.

And I too would have them into the flock at this age.

If you have a large coop for the old girls, I too would add all of the chicks in there. Chicks are much smaller, and can run like lightening, and with some good clutter in the run, and escapes, they should be fine.

However, adding 39 birds anywhere - is going to be a short term fix, as they grow, they will need a lot of space. You are basically quadrupling your flock. 14 + 39 = 53 birds? So they would need a 20 x 10 foot coop, and a huge run. Do not get mislead into thinking that birds that free range can make up for too small of coop/run.

If you plan to run multiple coops, I still would put a fair amount of chicks in with the old girls. I do think they grow up in a chicken society, and do better. If you add a lot of chicks to the old girls, there will be a lot of chicks to chase...which will wear the old girls out. So the chicks will learn to respect their elders, by giving them space, and the old girls probably won't kill a chick, as they have so many to chase. It is always easy to pull birds out of a coop, than try and get birds into a coop, so later, you could divide the flocks up to fit different coops.

And I would keep an eye on that cockerel, might be he just does not work out. It happens. Not all cockerels make great roosters, the longer I am in the game, the more I think it is genetic. HUGE amounts of space can help. Might be with 39 chicks, in whatever you have as a brooder, is rapidly becoming too small.

Mrs K