Taking in a male chick from sons school...

[franktheskank]

My sons class have eggs in their classroom and they said any one who wants a chick can have one. They only had one left and it's a boy so we said we'd take him when he's ready in a couple of weeks.

We have a large chicken coop that was here when we moved in already and have been thinking of getting chickens for a while, I've set about painting it and preparing it for chickens.

What I'm asking is what is the best way to do this? Do I have him on his own for a while then get some females to join him? Or should I get some females first ( I have space for about 6-8 chickens) before he gets here.

Any advice is appreciated

Totally agree purple. It makes them seem so disposable.

Cross-posting. OP, you would normally buy point-of-lay pullets which will be about 18wo, so way ahead of your male chick. They take a while to settle in and start to lay. Chickens can be real bullies (hence the phrase 'pecking order') so caution re introducing any newbies. But of course it can be done and the more space you have, the better. If I were thinking of hens I'd like to look around the agricultural shows this summer and pick up some really unusual stylish birds.

I've looked and have seen some hens that are at point of lay, would it be dangerous to get some of those this week and then in a couple of weeks bring in the boy? Or will he be too small and they'll pick on him? If it's a bad idea I can always change my mind.

They may well pick on him. If you introduce them slowly it might be ok. Could you separate a little area off? Maybe with a low fence that he can duck under to get away if necessary? Only problem with that is chickens are ridiculously stupid and will often stay in a place where they’re being bullied rather than run away.

He’ll definitely need some company pretty much immediately though. We had one chick that we got at 4 weeks old. We got two but one died almost immediately so we took the survivor inside. She is 7 now, sleeps in the washing machine and thinks she’s a cat. She even uses the cat flap. So they can survive alone but they go a bit weird.

He will be too small yes, they might kill him. You want hens who are not quite at point of lay, you need to aim for something roughly the same size as him. Breed growth rates vary, so if you know what he is, you might be able to guess when he will be half to three quarters grown, and pre book the hens. The pecking order doesn’t apply in the same way with a cockerel, but if he is a lot younger and smaller then he might be in trouble.

What sort of size is he now op ? Is he a bantam or a normal chicken ?

As an indicator of size, these are my girls that I got from dc’s school. They are the breed that you can sex from hatching so probably the same as your boy will be. If you got a little breed then they might be ok from POL.

Just realised that picture is completely useless as you can’t see what size they are

Get them all at the same time and chuck them all in together, of a very similar age, a week or two either side won’t matter.

This is them when I picked them up from school when they were 3 weeks old. So still really tiny! It would be really vulnerable if a chick that size was put with a POL hen.

He's just a normal chicken and they're the ones you can see the sex from the colour so yes probably the same as yours

I will look for some chicks that are a couple of weeks older than him. So can they all just go in the coop at that age or do they need to be inside at first?

Oh brilliant. You’ll have to update with photos, I’ve always wondered what a cockerel version of my chickens would look like!

I kept mine in a rabbit hutch in the garage for the first few weeks - they were too small to climb the ladder into their bedroom bit and their feet were too small to hold onto the perches.

They might need to be indoors or in a shed initially, make sure they are somewhere rat proof as they will be so small. I’ve never had tinies, mine were not quite point of lay though, still pink combs, about three quarters grown , so I am not up on the care and feeding of very young birds. I expect they will need special chick food. You can get food for when they are still growing.

It would be best to get a few sexed chicks to join him so he is not lonely. This would also avoid issues with introducing him to older chickens. You can keep them together in a brooder for a few weeks (he will need to be warm) before transferring to coop when feathered.

See www.the-chicken-chick.com/how-to-build-better-brooder-for-raising/. You will need a heat lamp or pad. They will need chick feed for around 16 weeks. You can use medicated feed (to prevent coccidiosis) or unmedicated. Loads of good advice on that website.

The school ended up sending all the boy ones back on instruction from the farm, they didn't seem to know why.

It's worked out for the best anyway we got 6 hens from our local farm and they came yesterday, I'm in love and I can feel the start of an obsession