Introducing a new cockerel to the ladies

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maggiem

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Introducing a new cockerel to the ladies
« on: October 11, 2011, 15:20 »
Hi folks, how do I go about this?  Five of my girls have been without a cockerel for over a month now and they have just gone through moulting too.
I have a 7 month old cockerel that I would like to put in with them but I'm not sure if they will accept him straight away or if I should put him in a seperate area where they can see him in the daytime. Are they likely to attack him?
At the moment he is in another part of the garden with 3 other cockerels and 13 hens but is very definately at the bottom of the male pecking order! I thought it would be nice for him to have some girlfriends of his own :), Maggie

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Helenaj

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Re: Introducing a new cockerel to the ladies
« Reply #1 on: October 11, 2011, 19:58 »
I'm assuming he's free from any illness since you've had him for a while, so just put him in with your girls. The usual rules still apply - he will need to be put in his place by the hens before they will accept him, so just keep an eye out to make sure he does not have too rough a time of it and keep the purple spray handy in case of injury.

He'll soon settle down and cherish his new little harem!

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maggiem

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Re: Introducing a new cockerel to the ladies
« Reply #2 on: October 12, 2011, 19:36 »
Thanks for replying Helenaj, Yes he is free from any illness. We hatched him at the start of the year from some of our other hens who are not related to his prospective girlfriends. 3 of the girls he'll be going in beside are about 16 months old and are very friendly hens but the other 2 are about 2 1/2 years old and rule the roost completely. Should I just leave them all to get on with it?

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Helenaj

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Re: Introducing a new cockerel to the ladies
« Reply #3 on: October 13, 2011, 07:45 »
It's exactly like introducing new hens - the fact he is a male should make little difference. They will still have to sort their pecking order out and as he is a cockerel he will have a slightly different role in the order - slightly to one side so to speak. When he's a little older he will rule the roost, but expect him to get the usual treatment when you first introduce him. My hens accepted a cockerel very quickly and it is lovely to watch him call them over to little treats he has found for them - it's a good idea when feeding anything that could be classed as a treat to feed him first, so he can call them in and they can see how good a provider he is. Gets to a hen's heart every time!


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