# Keeping rooster seperate from hens..good idea or not?



## obleo+6 (Jul 21, 2008)

We got a rooster with 4 hens added to our original 9. He hounded the 4 he came with and our original 9 didn't seem to mind him much. We put him in a seperate cage attached to the run with his own little rooster condo and door to give the 4 girls a break and we're not ready to have chicks...yet.

So my question is: was it a bad thing to seperate him? And if so, do I just let him back into the coop and pray for the best? He gets the run of the pen all day, unless we have to go somewhere and then we close his door to keep the hens in the run. It's all field fencing and chicken wire so they see each other all day long...he crows and dances and clucks and is friendly and I hope I haven't made a mistake by seperating him.

It's only been a few weeks and if I have to put him back in, then now is a good a time as any.

tia


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

You won't get chicks unless you let a hen go broody and sit on some eggs, or you put eggs in an incubator.
Having a rooster will not affect the eggs that you gather each day and put in your fridge. 

I would not keep any bird alone. Let him out to do what comes naturally. With 13 hens to choose from, they should all be fine. Although a rooster will often choose a favorite. If anything, I would take a couple of the hens that are bare backed away and let them have their own private quarters. 
You can buy chicken saddles to protect their backs. 

Hope this helps.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

I agree with OLF. Maybe pen the 4 hens and let him run with the other 9 until he starts showing them some attention, and then letting them all run together.


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

If he's got that many hens, it's unlikely any one hen will be over used. You may find that he picks on ONE all the time that is the most, er, cooperative. I agree with both OLF and Tinknal. It doesn't take long for the feathers to grow back and you'll have a very nice happy flock.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

If you don't want chicks right now, and he can see the rest of the birds, it won't hurt a thing to keep him separate from the hens. When you are ready for chicks, let him go with the hens.


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## obleo+6 (Jul 21, 2008)

Okey dokey then, we're just not ready to have chicks yet, so maybe I'll keep him separate for another few weeks when we should be set up for them. Don't have an incubator so they'll have to do this as God intended.

Thanks for the advice...I'm still working on being a "know it all" concerning poultry and this is the best place to come to to become the "Wizard of Poultry Oz"...LOL!


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## Truckinguy (Mar 8, 2008)

> If he's got that many hens, it's unlikely any one hen will be over used. You may find that he picks on ONE all the time that is the most, er, cooperative.


I"m on the verge of getting a few hens and a rooster. Would this mean that some hens might not even get mated if he has a favourite or three? It would be a bit of a waste if only half the hens are being serviced and I put some of the eggs in an incubator and only half were fertilized.

This might be the beginning of an onslaught of dumb questions on my part...


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Welcome to poultry!
If the rooster is playing favorites too much you can either have two pens of hens and rotate him every two or three days or let him and some of the hens out on a rotating basis if you want to range them.


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## PrincessFerf (Apr 25, 2008)

We have 26 hens and 2 roosters. If I wanted to separate the roosters, could they be housed together? Or would they fight each other? They would have about 7sq ft of space each in the separate coop - plus an outdoor run separate from the hens.


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## Truckinguy (Mar 8, 2008)

Thank you, Cyngbaeld. I plan on having three or four hens to start off with so it might not be an issue but I would like to eventually expand a bit so I will keep that in mind.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

PrincessFerf said:


> We have 26 hens and 2 roosters. If I wanted to separate the roosters, could they be housed together? Or would they fight each other? They would have about 7sq ft of space each in the separate coop - plus an outdoor run separate from the hens.


Hard to say, but I'd put them in there together and keep an eye on them. Some roosters will fight and some won't.


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