Integrating Pullets and a cockerel to Existing Flock

[tviss711]

Hi there,

So, back in March I purchased 4 chicks to add to our existing flock. One turned out to be a cockerel, which we will be keeping. They are about 8 weeks old now, and we have them in a separate coop and run out in the yard with our older girls (4 two year old hens). We let them out for supervised interaction, and everything has gone very smoothly so far. One of the older girls will occasionally peck at the younger ones, but the younger ones just flee and at this point stay out of their way and give them space. We are waiting for the younger ones to get a bit bigger before moving everyone into the same coop, but right now it's working to have them free range together and we really haven't had any fights. I'm assuming this is a good sign.

My main question is about our cockerel. He is a Buff Orpington, and seems to have all the makings of a good rooster so far but only time will tell. When he finally reaches maturity, will our older hens accept him as flock leader? I'm assuming that once he gets past his baby phase he will naturally want to assume that role, and take it. Will they continue to see him as beneath them on the pecking order, since they were introduced while he was so young, or will he make sure that they know he's the boss? I'm not concerned so much with breeding as we aren't looking to grow our flock at this time, but I don't want my other 3 younger birds to be the only ones he ends up covering because I think that's just too much rooster for 3 girls, if my older ones refuse to accept him as well.

I've only had chickens for two years, so there are lots of things (like integrating birds) that I haven't experienced personally yet. I'm just wondering if there's anything I should be doing differently, or is this just one of those "wait and see" type of things?

I love him, and I want my older girls to enjoy him too, but they've never had a rooster in the flock before so I'm worried they may not appreciate his presence since they are so established as their own little flock. Any and all advice welcome! I just want this integration to go smoothly for all.

 

[Evadig]

Most likely he will take over with no problem. I added a rooster to my established flock of 4 two-year-olds and they accepted him fairly quickly. The former top hen was not happy about it and would not let him mate but she eventually got over it. She did get booted to the bottom of the pecking order of that flock because she still hates him. Granted, he was a full grown rooster.
I think that it'll take the hens a bit to get used to him, but if he's a good rooster then you shouldn't have any problems. Hope this helps!

 

[Ridgerunner]

right now it's working to have them free range together and we really haven't had any fights. I'm assuming this is a good sign.

How big is that coop you want to put them in? Mine stay in sub-flocks until the pullets start laying. The chicks avoid the adults during the day and sleep separately at night. As long as that coop has enough room for the chicks to safely sleep separately it should work.

When I put mine together I put the chicks in at night when it is too dark for the others to attack them. I am down there at daylight to see how it is going and let them out. With mine it had never been a problem so after a couple of days I feel comfortable sleeping in. Some people on here say they have problems when they try that. Each situation is different.

My main question is about our cockerel.

There are many things that might happen with that cockerel growing up in the flock. I've seen most of them.

He may be able to grow up with minimum disruption. Everything stays calm and peaceful until he matures enough to take over as flock master. At this point two things can happen.

He might peacefully take over. No fussing and fighting, just one day the head hen defers to him. Or, if the head hen wants to remain flock master she might fight him. Sometimes this can get really vicious and nasty with injury. If one gets injured I intervene but with no major injury he eventually wins and they reach an accommodation. He is flock master but she may be dominant hen.
There can be variations on this I really haven't seen all possible combinations.

Instead of staying calm and peaceful the older hens, especially the dominant hen, may go out of their way to beat him up. Sometimes it is a hen pretty low in the pecking order but usually the dominant hen. Sometimes viciously. Usually if he keeps his distance he is OK but occasionally one or more may hunt him down. Some people on this forum consider that teaching him manners. To me that is just brutality that you can see with chickens in many different circumstances. It doesn't have be a cockerel and hens for one to get beat up.

Sometimes instead of the hen going after him he will go after the hens. They will not mate with him willingly so he chases them down to force them to mate. They try to run away. Most of them will accept his mating if he can catch them and hold on. Often, if he tries this in front of the dominant hen she will chase him and knock him off if he gets on top.

I have over 2,000 square feet available outside. You say you free range. I think having a lot of room makes a huge difference in this. I change out roosters every year since one of my goals is to play with genetics so cockerels are taking over the flock almost every year. Most years that transition is pretty seamless, very little stress or dramatics. One year it involved two days of viciousness between the cockerel and the dominant hen. The other hens were not involved. Neither was seriously injured and eventually they worked it out.

I'd keep going as you are going. Base your reactions on what you see with your flock. It may go well, it may not. It works that way with living animals.

Good Luck!

 

[tviss711]

How big is that coop you want to put them in? Mine stay in sub-flocks until the pullets start laying. The chicks avoid the adults during the day and sleep separately at night. As long as that coop has enough room for the chicks to safely sleep separately it should work.

When I put mine together I put the chicks in at night when it is too dark for the others to attack them. I am down there at daylight to see how it is going and let them out. With mine it had never been a problem so after a couple of days I feel comfortable sleeping in. Some people on here say they have problems when they try that. Each situation is different.


There are many things that might happen with that cockerel growing up in the flock. I've seen most of them.

He may be able to grow up with minimum disruption. Everything stays calm and peaceful until he matures enough to take over as flock master. At this point two things can happen.

He might peacefully take over. No fussing and fighting, just one day the head hen defers to him. Or, if the head hen wants to remain flock master she might fight him. Sometimes this can get really vicious and nasty with injury. If one gets injured I intervene but with no major injury he eventually wins and they reach an accommodation. He is flock master but she may be dominant hen.
There can be variations on this I really haven't seen all possible combinations.

Instead of staying calm and peaceful the older hens, especially the dominant hen, may go out of their way to beat him up. Sometimes it is a hen pretty low in the pecking order but usually the dominant hen. Sometimes viciously. Usually if he keeps his distance he is OK but occasionally one or more may hunt him down. Some people on this forum consider that teaching him manners. To me that is just brutality that you can see with chickens in many different circumstances. It doesn't have be a cockerel and hens for one to get beat up.

Sometimes instead of the hen going after him he will go after the hens. They will not mate with him willingly so he chases them down to force them to mate. They try to run away. Most of them will accept his mating if he can catch them and hold on. Often, if he tries this in front of the dominant hen she will chase him and knock him off if he gets on top.

I have over 2,000 square feet available outside. You say you free range. I think having a lot of room makes a huge difference in this. I change out roosters every year since one of my goals is to play with genetics so cockerels are taking over the flock almost every year. Most years that transition is pretty seamless, very little stress or dramatics. One year it involved two days of viciousness between the cockerel and the dominant hen. The other hens were not involved. Neither was seriously injured and eventually they worked it out.

I'd keep going as you are going. Base your reactions on what you see with your flock. It may go well, it may not. It works that way with living animals.

Good Luck!

Thank you, this is helpful. Our dominate hen right now is a RIR who is kind of rude in my opinion, but compared to what I've read on here of others' dominant hens, she's really not that bad. Our girls are really quite peaceful and barely squabble among themselves, and if there is squabbling, its because of Penny being bossy (the RIR). I'm hoping the sheer size of my Buff Orpington rooster would be enough to coax her into submission, as she is actually one of our smaller hens, and he will end up being a very large bird. My biggest hen is my barred rock, Mosey, and she is fairly aloof and unbothered by most happenings.

I'd have to measure our backyard to be certain, but it's basically two yards attached by a small gate, that we leave open for them to go between yards at their leisure. It is more than enough space for all our birds and has lots of clutter, as we allow our patches of weeds and wildflowers to grow nice and tall in the spring as it provides great cover for the birds from aerial predators, and in this case, from each other. We are adding more spots to roost and have kept an old dog house for the birds to use to take space from each other and take cover in heavy rain.

When it comes to the final coop, we will be making modifications to it to provide more roosting space for the new birds when it comes time to fully integrate. We have converted a lifetime Costco shed to be our chicken coop, with a 2x4 running lengthwise as the roost bar. We have plans to add more roosting space in a couple of weeks, its just a matter of taking the time to install them as we have all the hardware and lumber.

I have no problem waiting until they are 16 weeks to try and move them all into the same coop, if they don't end up integrating themselves by that time. I did read that it can be easiest to just do this under the cover of night. The coop is pitch black once the sun goes down, so hopefully there would not be any fighting.

Their coops are close to each other and in the same yard currently, and the coop for the younger birds is large enough to house them all until adulthood if necessary. It was our coop for the original 4 hens and served them fine for the first year and half. Both coops are just for sleeping and laying, as their door opens first thing in the morning and they spend their whole day foraging and wandering in the yard. I guess we will just play this all by ear and keep monitoring and hoping for the best!

 

[SourRoses]

Will they continue to see him as beneath them on the pecking order, since they were introduced while he was so young, or will he make sure that they know he's the boss?

They will never know he's the boss. Nor will any other hens, including those raised with him.
There's a boss hen. If she's not the cranky sort you won't be able to tell her apart from the others, but when it comes down to it what she says, goes. If she is no longer in the flock there will be a dramatic, prolonged reshuffle of the entire social hierarchy.
It's the same with horses. Everyone thinks that because it's a harem situation the stallion is in charge. But the boss mare leads the herd. She enforces order. The stallion usually doesn't spend time "in" the herd. He is always a little apart from it. He watches for danger from good vantage points. He fights with other stallions and kicks out maturing colts. If the boss mare doesn't like the stallion or thinks he's gotten too weak she will lead the herd away and frustrate all his efforts.

All that is to say, I've watched the young cockerel dynamic play out many times, and am watching it finishing up in the main flock right now. It took him months to be able to cover the adult hens. When they still think he's a baby the gals see him mating as a bad behavior in need of correction, so they come knock him off the pullets as well. It's actually a good dynamic for the cockerel to go through, because it makes sure he learns the polite version of chicken mating.
What does he have to do to earn their affection?
It's the tibitting... finding treats, calling girls over, and letting them have it all. Some boys get the idea young. Most take a while. Some get half the idea, making the call but hoovering up the goodies. Hens notice these things. A study showed that hens remember the liars and hold a grudge against them... and yes, it showed that some roosters lie on purpose about treats to get hens to come over and try to mate with them. In nature these roosters would simply lose the whole flock as the boss hen led them away to another calling rooster. But since we keep them in confinement, hens often have to put up with rude cockerel behavior. That's why I'm a firm advocate of putting a cockerel in "jail" if he becomes a problem. Usually a few weeks separated by wire but in sight of the hens is enough to cool his jets and encourage him to start thinking, because if he wants them to come say hi at the fence he's gotta be charming, not a jerk.

 

[tviss711]

They will never know he's the boss. Nor will any other hens, including those raised with him.
There's a boss hen.

If I knew it all, I wouldn’t be here asking for advice!

I just want my flock to be integrated smoothly with minimal spats. So far, I’ve always read that if there is a rooster present, he leads the flock. I knew there is always a dominant hen but my prior understanding was that she is still “outranked” by him. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me.

He seems to be a gentleman even at his young age, so I have high hopes for him as he matures. He always lets his “sisters” eat first and gives them dibs on the small amount of soldier worm treats we sometimes offer them. I hope that demeanor doesn’t change too much as he ages, as I’ve grown rather fond of him, but I want him to treat my girls well.

 

[SourRoses]

Don't worry, I wasn't laughing at you, just at the idea. You're right that it's common.
It's good that he's already tidbitting! Is his comb reddened up yet?