My sis in law gave me two roosters this past weekend. One is very timid and the other is rather proud of himself. They are both mixes of breeds of hens that I have-well I have full blood hens and they each have half of the same breed. I am wondering how would be the safest method of introducing them to my itty bitty Seabright rooster who suddenly thinks he is five times the size he is?

Right now I have the two new roosters who grew up together in one yard with a few hens and my Seabright is in the other yard with the majority of my hens. The yards are right next to each other and the Seabright was fronting the proud rooster (Romeo) and suffered some comb damage yesterday. Thanks for any ideas!

-- Doreen (bisquit@here.com), November 30, 2001

Answers

Doreen, I have never been able to successfully pen my Seabright rooster with the other roosters. They don't seem to ever have the sense to back down, even when they are so outweighted. I think they might just fight to the finish. Maybe someone else has had better luck. When I free ranged they seemed to work out territories and be o.k.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), November 30, 2001.

Figure out which one (that is 1) that you want to keep, and eat the other two, before they just outright kill each other.

It is not really about having sense. They don't have any when it comes to instincts.

-- Ed Copp (OH) (edcopp@yahoo.com), December 01, 2001.

At the beginning of the spring I had two full sized roosters and the Seabright. Then the full sized ones had a go at each other and I tried valiently to save the one...tried being the operative word. Then I lost the Victor to heatstroke. Now these two full size roosters have been raised together.

I see folks have tons of roosters and have no troubles, and I just want to find out what the secret is to that. I do not want to have my hens brooding Seabright Wyandotte or Seabright Australorp eggs as I have no need for itty hens that won't set:}. If it comes to it I will let the Seabright have one hen and pen them seperately, or I can try the free range bit again. I was just keeping them all in to make sure I get all the eggs as they aren't laying too much right now. Thanks folks!

-- Doreen (bisquit@here.com), December 01, 2001.

Doreen, I have had three or four roosters together that were raised together and they were fine. I have just never been able to introduce new roosters to each other without monster fights and damage. Then there is the Seabright.............remember the saying "he struts around like a banty rooster??? :>) Your idea of just giving him a hen and penning them separately is probably you best choice.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), December 02, 2001.

Well I played Midnight Rooster Swapping last night and put the Banty (Jacques) in with the three hens in the smaller coop, and Romeo and Liberace. The hens will be surprised to see their rooster turned into a miniature!

-- Doreen (bisquit@here.com), December 03, 2001.

I have a golden seabright rooster who I can take from one pen to any of the other 2 and he'll co-exist with the other roosters, including the Rhode Island Red and the Dominique, with no problem. But if there is a new bird anywhere near his size, he'll attack and kill them. And the hen is the same way. I currently have them in my silky pen, hoping the mrs will lay some eggs that the silkies'll hatch out for me, since they have a better track record than me and my incubator.

-- Eric in TN (eric_m_stone@yahoo.com), December 03, 2001.

I have been able to integrate young roosters with old. I raise the chicks in a room of the chicken house next to the roost area and nest box of my older chickens. They watch them grow up. When they're old enough not to fall prey to a rodent, I construct a little run in the main run where they can scratch about (their room has a separate door). About the time that the hens start laying (6 months), I put them together watching very closely. I have a hose with a water spout on it so I can blast them with water if they get too rowdy. It can take hours watching them, so be patient. I found that even if they fight, spraying them with water is too annoying and eventually they decide to get along. Remember that separating one of the roosters (such as or medical treatment) even for a day can cause horrible fights. It's best to keep them in a large cage right in the chicken coop, if possible, so it's like they never left. I use large dog crates for this. If it's a communicable disease, you can't keep them in the chicken house, however. My roosters are New Hampshire, Americauna, Brown Leghorn, Light Brahma/New Hampshire mix, and New Hampshire/Brown Leghorn mix. The latter rooster is the top guy now, even though he's the youngest. If you have too many roosters, your hens could be injured. Some roosters are mean to hens. They don't deserve a place with the hens and should be kept separately, such as with other roosters only in a large area where they can get away from each other.

Good Luck, Cheryl

-- Cheryl (me@example.com), September 03, 2004.