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Very young rooster with an established flock

 
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Can a 10 week old roo be successfully incorporated into a flock of 9 month old hens?
 
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Welcome to Permies, Teresa Bell
1. How many hens?
2. How many square feet (approximately) per bird in your daytime area?
3. Do you have a way to introduce Roo slowly - meet and greet with fencing in between for a few days?
4. Do you feel you have a strongly dominant top hen? If so, she'd be the one to try to get to decide that Roo is an OK addition to *her* flock. If the hens 'henpeck' him too much, he may never learn to be a "kindly dominant" Roo.
5. What do you know about this roo?  Was he raised by a real mom - incubator raised with a gaggle of birds all the same age with no adult chickens to model civilized behavior can be a deal breaker, particularly if the Roo in question was either the only male or the biggest male. I've been given birds like that and had to cull them. A "civilized" Roo will court the women - uncivilized will force themselves on them. Hens don't like that behavior any more than humans do! However, even if incubator raised, if the Roo has a nice temperament, he may do just fine. I don't judge strictly on history, but give them the chance to show that they can figure it out.
6. Are you prepared to have to cull the boy, or can you give him back to wherever he came from, if you can't integrate him, or if he turns out to be a nasty troublemaker?

There is not guarantee with this sort of thing. I recently introduced a young, but more like 7 mnths, rooster to a group of about 14 hens that are over 2 years old and had never met a rooster before and they're all getting along fine.
I then introduced a second one to a group of just 2 girls, but they live with Noisy Ducks, including a drake, and the rooster was a little freaked out at first! However, he's figured it out and no one got hurt in the process.
However, my friend tried to introduce a young rooster to her flock of banties and one of the dominant hens ripped his butt area open and he never recovered. He was the nicest little guy, but the damage was done before my friend realized it.

There isn't a single answer here. At some point, all you can do is try it but watch carefully for trouble and have a back-up plan!
 
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Location: Hartville, Wyoming
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Along with the previously asked questions (which were great, so definitely answer those), how big is he in comparison? Roosters can be pretty feisty, so he'll most likely be fine. Hens and roosters seem to work off of slightly different pecking orders, specifically if he's the only rooster. So while he'll be picked on for being small, and may not be respected enough to have breeding rights for a while, he'll work it out. I would make sure he has a safe place to hide, or at least monitor them fairly closely for a couple days. He will probably get fairly beat up in the process though, so be prepared for him to be a bit bloody. Do you already own him, or is it a purchase you're thinking about? If you already have him, is there a reason he can't stay where he currently is?
If you do introduce him, do it at night and in the dark. When chickens wake up together it tends to ease the introduction. Running them side by side for a while might help, but then you'd probably end up with fence fighting which can be even worse because they can hurt themselves on it. I'd say to put him in at night once everyone else is in bed, and try to do it without everyone getting off the roosts if you can. In the morning, (I don't know your feeding schedule, but here's what I'd suggest) let them out and feed them something unusual and really tasty i.e.  lettuce, food-scraps, scratch grains, mealworms, etc, etc. That way it distracts them, and can let the integration happen in a more relaxed manner. If you do have a bossy hen, she would be the one to be concerned about. Maybe try introducing her to him first, and on his home turf, or at least on unclaimed ground.
 
Teresa Bell
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Thank you for your responses!!! I’m so glad I found this forum.     I believe he has been raised by a very attentive lady.    She says he is quite gentle ( he’s a buff Orpington )

I’ve read before about putting him in the coop once they are settled for the night but was concerned about what happens in the morning when they awaken to find him .    Would I then put him in a nearby area while they forage during the day( they are in a large tractor)?
Thanks again!!!


 
Elena Sparks
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Teresa Bell wrote:Thank you for your responses!!! I’m so glad I found this forum. I believe he has been raised by a very attentive lady. She says he is quite gentle ( he’s a buff Orpington ) I’ve read before about putting him in the coop once they are settled for the night but was concerned about what happens in the morning when they awaken to find him .    Would I then put him in a nearby area while they forage during the day( they are in a large tractor)?
Thanks again!!!


I totally agree, permies is great!
If he's a Buff Orpington, then he will definitely be gentle! Great choice! I've only had a few roosters in my chicken raising years that have earned the right to live on the farm until the day they die (naturally, not being butchered), and my Buff Orpington was one of them! The other is still around, and he's a seven year old Easter Egger.
Are they in a fully enclosed pen, as in is it completely dark until you let them out? If that's the case, it really shouldn't be an issue because they can't see. If not, it's still probably fine. Introducing at night is really helpful, though I totally get your concern. Buff Orpingtons are pretty big, so that's another bonus. I've used this every time I introduce new chickens, and it really helps the fighting. Besides that, it also means that they learn from day one where the coop is, so you don't have to catch him EVERY night to put him in. I always like to introduce more than one at a time to spread the pecking, but that's obviously not an option for you. If push comes to shove, you could always pull him out again, but chances are that he'll just learn to get along with them. Being smaller, he will have the added benefit of agility, so he can outrun them. In my experience, putting them together at night helps them adjust quicker than anything else you could do. Be prepared for it to take at least a week for them to completely settle in.
 
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I have 6 hens with one rooster they’ve been together for about 5 years I did have an alpha rooster but a fox got him when they were free ranging. The rooster I have was the better and he is wimpy. I want to let them be together the black male walks around coop all day at night I put him I the playpen. I’ve developed affection for him he eats out of my hand with the hens too. What should I do?
 
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