From the time they are day old chicks.
There is no reason why they should be separate but many to keep them together.
They will establish a pecking order very early, before they can do much damage to each other, the roosters do not usually get too involved in this and will let the hens work it out. The roosters will "bond" until mating becomes an issue then some culling may be needed. Culling does not always mean killing the excess rooster population. Selling the un-needed roosters at auction or local 4H club is always a good option. If you have purchased sexed chicks (all hens) and are adding to the mix late then 4 months is a good benchmark, it gives the hens time to get to know the newcomer.
When should I move my young chicks in with my older hens.
if the majority is on the roosters,the rooster will fertilize the hen. and in some conditions, the rooster will peck the hens feathers of. the roosters wood constantly be guarding it from coyotes, minks, (ect..)the hens wood constantly try to get away. if the number of hens is less than five or in that area,the hen wood have a hard time laying eggs. more eggs will be layed if influenced by other hens. its tradition to put wooden eggs in the nesting boxes to influence them. on the other hand, if theres more hens then roosters, they will spend time with each one, and fertilizing the hens. its best to have only two roosters, along with two emergency roosters.
They can be, but the mortality rate would be an abomination.
According to Wikipedia's distrobution map, there are chickens (hens and roosters) in several African communities (mostly coastal) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:2004chicken.PNG Hens and roosters are kept primarily for agricultural purposes, and roosters (male chickens) are required to maintain a breeding population. Roosters can be aggressive and territorial, and so are usually kept in much lower quantities than hens since they do not produce eggs. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societiesis a 1997 book by Jared Diamond, and it includes an in-depth look at the spread of domesticated animals throughout the world. It describes why domesticated animals have a broader geographic range than wild animals, and provides some historical evidence as to when various animals, including chickens first appeared in Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Most roosters do not see the new chicks as a threat and will not bother them, the biggest threat to newly introduced chicks are the older hens who will try to impose a "pecking order" right away on chicks who may not be able to get away. Make sure the chicks have a way to escape and hide. I use 6 square hay bales with narrow openings and a "room" in the center.
Roosters can easily get into their teens and even into their 20's, if they are not killed first. Most roosters may live around 5-20 years. That's right in fact, it is known that roosters live slightly longer than hens. Like my rooster who lived 10 years while my hens only lived 7.
There shouldn't be a problem as long as the number roosters is not to large. The average ratio is one rooster for every four to six hens. If there are any more roosters than this they can cause damage to the hens.
No. Hens will lay more when there is less stress put on them, and having roosters - especially too many per hen, too large of a rooster, aggressive roosters, etc - will cause the hens a lot of stress.
if the majority is on the roosters,the rooster will fertilize the hen. and in some conditions, the rooster will peck the hens feathers of. the roosters wood constantly be guarding it from coyotes, minks, (ect..)the hens wood constantly try to get away. if the number of hens is less than five or in that area,the hen wood have a hard time laying eggs. more eggs will be layed if influenced by other hens. its tradition to put wooden eggs in the nesting boxes to influence them. on the other hand, if theres more hens then roosters, they will spend time with each one, and fertilizing the hens. its best to have only two roosters, along with two emergency roosters.
I would only use one. Roosters can be very aggressive towards hens and can do a lot of feather, wing, neck, and back of head damage to a hen. The more hens the rooster has, the less he will be on each one in any given period of time. Give the girls some time to recover! lol
Depends on their personality. Very rarely can you keep two rooster together by them self. Saying that i have 4 roosters for my 17 hens and they all have a pretty good personality so it's ok. If your rooster fight though and you don't want to kill them (i wouldn't want to kill mine either) try to find somebody who doesn't have a rooster or someone who will take one more. Even if you put an ad in the paper or on the internet. I have had luck on the internet with my roosters. hope this helps a little
A rooster in the hen house is not going to make the hens lay more eggs. If a farmer is wanting to have more chickens, then a select few hens can be put with a rooster for awhile to produce eggs that will actually hatch into baby chicks.
They live together 24/7
Roosters- or cockerels, as we call them in Britain- are essential to mate with hens in order to enable the hens to produce eggs. They also serve to protect the female brood from intruders, be these other cockerels or different animals altogether.
Within a few days he should begin doing his job. Give him a little time to adjust to the changes.
They can be sometimes. Mine don't fight because they grew up together. But someone I know has had problems. My number one rule is don't separate them and then put them back together. Also try to make sure there are at least four hens for each rooster. The reaction of some roosters are different then some others. Good luck!
The roosters job is to mate with and protect the hens from harm. Roosters are the first defense when a predator attacks and he will put himself in harms way to give the hens time to take shelter and escape an attack. Without the rooster all the eggs will be non fertile and therefore produce no new birds for next season.
They can be, but the mortality rate would be an abomination.