Have you ever introduced a new rooster, and a fight has broken out? Unfortuntely it’s a common occurence and can sometimes be fatal, but it doesn’t have to be. There are certain steps you can take to make this a smoother transition!
- Have a seperate portable enclosure handy, whether it’s a dog crate or a handmade enclosure. Be sure there is plenty of room for the rooster to move around and that you can still fit both a waterer and feeder inside the enclosure for him. Keep the closure inside of the coop with the rest of the flock. When your flock is outside free ranging or in the run, bring the enclosure outside to wherever they are.
- Scatter feed around the enclosure that new rooster is kept in. This helps the rest of the flock and your roo get used to eachother. They’ll notice eachother, and get used to being in eachothers presence.
- I recommend keeping the new rooster in this enclosure for at least a week, possibly longer if it is showing signs of aggression. It is not cruel as long as the enclosure is big enough and humane. When you feel the situation is calm, remove the rooster from the enclosure and hold him until his heart rate has lowered.Then set the rooster down with the rest of the flock. If there is aggression or fighting, then put the rooster back in the enclosure. Keep repeating the process several times a day of taking him out and holding him until he is calm, and then letting him join the others. Keep putting him back into the enclosure each time he gets aggresive or a fight breaks out.
- Repeat this process over and over again, there will eventually be more time inbetween fights. Eventually the fighting should stop all together!
We have 5 roosters in our flock. I notice that the silkie roosters are alot more calm and docile, there was no separation period needed. Keep in mind they all do have their own personalities though. I have 3 polish roosters. When introducing the third, a massive fight broke out. The instigator was the new rooster. We ourselves, have followed these steps to introduce him into the flock and to make sure no one gets injured.
Some roosters will never get along with other roosters, even if repeating the steps. Be sure to have a back up plan if this is the case. I recommend at least giving it a good try first, especially if you want that rooster to be part of the flock!
