I have 4 almost 4 month old roosters and 1 hen of the same age. I purchased them straight run from my local Tractor Supply, and this is my first time raising chickens. They are currently in a large dog crate within the chicken coop and I let them free range in shifts. I know I will not have enough hens to fix my rooster problem and I do not want to purchase any more , and I have contacted several rooster rescues groups in my area with no luck.
No one is able to take them. And honestly, I am very attached to them. They run up to me when they see me coming in the yard and are very tame. I am not comfortable listing them on Craigslist.
So, my question for you is, since my boys were raised together from Day 1, if I were to build a separate coop we live on 3 acres on another part of the property that is fenced in and would be separated from the hens, would the roosters coexist peacefully together? Or would they still be aware that there are females nearby? How would I round them up in the morning and force them into individual quarters?
That seems impossible and quite time consuming to round them up and separate each rooster every morning! Any suggestions would be immensely appreciated! I agree about the difficulty of trying to gather the boys into separate daytime enclosures. Your resource was probably thinking about the importance of having a communal roosting space in the winter cold… but I think having the roosters together in a separate area should be enough.
Just make sure their area has plenty of space for them, including plenty of space for roosting, and at feeders and waterers. Hey, I found this blog in an internet search.
We just began raising backyard hens again and a friend of ours gave us our current flock of two hens and two roos. They are about two months old now and were raised together. The other roo is grey. When we got them the grey Stormy was the head roo, but that has switched and the other roo Beau is now the head. For now they are kept in a large dog kennel at night and then I let them free range in our backyard during the day.
So far all of our birds tolerate being held. My eight year old rocks Emma and Lily to sleep or swings with them in her lap. The roos let us all hold them and pet them as well.
Thanks for the tips! We got 5 chickens in May and they were about 10 weeks old, so about 23 weeks old now. We thought we got 1 boy and 4 girls but definitely have 2 boys and one of the 2 silkies looks much larger than the other so now we are worried we have 3 boys and 2 girls.
We have had no problems until last weekend when the female bantam had her neck pecked bare and bloody in one day. We have used anti peck spray and she has not been pecked again but she feels very down.
We are now trying to figure out what the next best step is, either re home 2 of the boys, or have 2 separate pens, one with 2 boys and the other with a boy and 2 girls. Any help would be massively appreciated!! At that age, just coming into maturity, their hormones are running high, and their instincts are telling them to assert their dominance.
Some roosters can be quite gentle, but others are jerks. So carefully choose the rooster you want to keep with them.
As humans, we tend to want to choose the lowest on the pecking order—the underdog, the one who is getting picked on. Hi, thanks for all the great advice!
I have trouble, 1 golden Wyandotte rooster and 1 arucana rooster for 15 hens all raised as chicks together.
They are now 5 months old and I notice the arucana rooster is getting chased away with a bite on the back so he spends a lot of time roosting to stay out of the way. Thanks for the help! Hopefully, I can help. If you ave two roosters, one will always be the king… and one will always be scheming to overthrow him.
Chickens prefer kings to oligarchies, and hierarchies to egalite. Is there plenty of room at feeders and waterers? You also mention bloodshed… but has there actually been any, or are you just worried?
If no one is getting hurt, then you may have to just get past your discomfort at the way a pecking order works in a chicken flock. Good people value compassion and kindness. You may be able to breed them! I thank you soooo much!
Everyone is in good shape, getting enough food and water. No blood, just chasing and getting a mouthful of feathers. I know this is more of my issue than their issue so thank you for reassuring me that I can let them be. Very interesting about the breed Arucana? Makes me wonder what I have?
I got a Rhode Island Red rooster who is about 1 year old for my small flock of 6 hens. He is very aggressive! I honestly cannot imagine picking him up…. Michael, unfortunately Rhode Island Red roosters are notoriously aggressive. On our website, we have advice for rehoming roosters , as well as recommended breeds if you want a docile rooster.
Keep in mind that individuals in any breed can vary, the same way personalities vary with other pets. For instance, with canines, English Bulldogs are typically stubborn while Golden Retrievers are typically eager to please.
I have multiple roosters and multiple hens, and plan to breed them. I have separate coops and runs for hens and roos, with the intent to let out just the roo for his breed hens on alternating days.
Should this plan pose problems? So, keep that in mind! In any case, I wish you the best of luck! Hi Lissa — I have 3 silkie roosters — 1 that is 4 years old the father and 2 the sons that will be 1 year old the end of this month.
The 2 sons are from different mothers. Up till now they seem to be getting along fine — we do have the minor sparring between the 2 young ones and then dad breaks it up by chasing one of them and then everything settles down. The 2 young ones were also crowing a lot more today than normal. Do I need to separate them or just let them work it out as long as no one gets seriously injured?
I have 1 buff orpington hen and 4 silkie hens. I do socialize them all together during the day with my supervision. I would rather not separate the 2 roosters and re-homing them is not an option. If they need to be separated for awhile from the rest of the flock we will work something out. Any advice would be appreciated. A few things concern me. That they drew blood is concerning, too. And that Dad stayed back suggests he may have sensed more tension than normal. What might be influencing them is the presence of the new chicks.
It might be creating a bit of tension. For myself, I might adopt a wait and see attitude, but use your best judgement. But if you can wait until the entire space is opened up again, you might see things cool down again. I wish I could give you a hard answer, but without being able to really observe the behavior, I can only suggest a few things to bear in mind as you make your decision.
Fingers crossed that everyone will get along in the end! I recently got chooks, bantams, I got 2 roosters, to about 9 hens, now when I put them in the pen, the tinniest rooster was fine, and then something happen to it at, he is still eating and drinking, but he is very still, quite, and not making his funny little noise he used to when he saw me….
Our 7 roosters were being pretty aggressive with our ladies and each other also…so we have them together in a pen now, and they are actually getting along now…. When I come home from work I let them free roam in the backyard and also in the weekends. The silkie rooster is attacking my 6 months old rooster. The silkie rooster got injured on his comb and bled a bit but I cleaned him and locked him in his coop by himself. What do you suggest I do?
I want thinking of just locking the silkie rooster up in his pen from now on but I just feel bad since he used to roam the backyard for 2 years…. You may not be able to keep this sort of fighting from happening in your current set-up. The main problem is that you have two different flocks that you let mingle from time to time. They see themselves as two different hostile clans forced to share territory.
So… every time the roosters come into contact in the backyard, there is the danger of competition and fighting. Your silkie rooster in particular, because he only has six hens in his flock, will want to attract some of the other girls. Unless you change your set-up to one coop, fix the rooster-hen ratio, and carefully spend weeks with proper flock integration , the best alternative in your current set up will probably be let the two flocks roam freely in the backyard at different times, rather than at the same time.
I have a bantam frizzled rooster that I took in for a friend after my lavender orp rooster died because he was getting beat up on her property. I ordered another lavender orp rooster and received him at approx 12 weeks of age. I have 15 hens, some are lavender orp and some or a mixture of other full sized breeds.
Everything is peachy right now, but I am wondering how this is going to go when my orp rooster reaches maturity. They are known for being docile BUT I am assuming because of his size that he will become the top dog so to speak I am hatching more chickens and will be keeping approx 20 hens total and rehoming any young roosters…but I kind of like my frizzle Dobby the house elf…. Having 20 hens with two roosters who were raised together can work well. It depends on personalities, of course.
Make sure there is plenty of space in the coop, run, and at feeders and waterers. You can be optimistic here! Hi, Chasity. However, you can write our experts with all your details, and we can try to help! Email your details and questions to info mypetchicken. Great article!!! I have a few questions though. I am going to start my flock by ordering a few dozen straight run chicks, both bantams and standards. I do plan on having a cockpit for them. My questions are: 1 how far should the cockpit be from the main flock?
I love both sizes of Phoenixes, but my main concern is overall flock health and well being. Thanks so much! Hi, Kira! Plus, you could conceivably get a worse ratio. On the other hand, if you order three roosters and 33 hens, you will be set, and everyone can be housed and run together.
A rooster will normally peck a hen to let her know they will be mating; then he mounts her, and holds onto her head or neck with his beak while he does.
I would go with large fowl roosters that are of moderate size. Phoenixes are a nice size, but would not be the best choice of rooster for a beginner, mostly because the long tails of that breed require special care, including special housing. My personal favorites are Faverolles roosters, which tend to grow to be about 7 pounds or so. You want a rooster that will be 8-ish pounds or less. If you are keeping bantam hens, I would stay away from roosters like Jersey Giants, Brahmas and so forth.
Although they are usually calm and gentle, they are just too large. Brahma roosters can be 9 or 10 pounds, and Giants might be 10 or 11!
The red one is very protectivr, but the other rooster is just a scaredy cat and only wants to mate the hen????. The only time they ever fought is when the scaredy rooster tried to mate the hen, and he ran away. Hi, I love the advice on this site. I live in England and have been keeping hens for a while now. I have a 6 year old light Sussex, 2 Marans bantams, and a buff Sussex bantam who is sitting on 6 Dutch bantam eggs at the moment.
Now here to my question. How many roosters in a separate pen works best? Should it be even or odd numbers? We will be able to build a run and coop for them behind our log cabin at the bottom of the garden so they wont be able to see the hens but they will be able to hear them. They will also be able to hear about 8 roosters that our neighbour keeps each with their own pen and ladies on the land at the rear of our property.
Will this affect them even though they wont be able to see them? If you do end up with a very aggressive rooster, it can help to have at least three birds—and that goes for hens, too. Having three means that the aggression is spread out a little, instead of directed at just one target. But in most cases, if the roosters are kept away from the hens, they should be able to get along. Unless one of your roosters is a real jerk—that does happen sometimes! Chickens, not so much.
So hearing another, larger group of roosters crowing—announcing their territory—off in the distance might make your roosters less inclined to squabble amongst themselves. That would make for an interesting behavioral study!
Hi, Elizabeth! However, this Help topic outlining what symptoms to look out for with your chicken may help you decide whether your boy needs a visit to the vet or not. What about 2 white leg horn roosters? Together all the time with the hens. They are about 5 months old. We also have 19 hens. How do white leghorn Roosters behave together? We have a really big yard that they all hang out in during the day.
They are def free range. The ratio is just about right, and the free ranging should keep them occupied. Just make sure there is plenty of space at feeders and waterers, and that there is plenty of space for roosting. We managed to rehome one of the roosters when he was still young and kept the other young rooster. Our older rooster is a really lovely boy and has always been really good with him — we have never seen him do anything towards the younger one who is just about 12 months old now.
When he recovered and returned to the flock the young rooster has started attacking him and will not let him get anywhere near the hens. Nothing too serious but distressing to watch him get chased around. Is our only option to rehome the younger boy? When a chicken who is high in the pecking order has a setback and then comes back to the flock recovered, the dynamics may have changed.
Now you have to make a decision as to whether to rehome a rooster or not. Or you could also house one separately.
If you keep them together, though, there WILL be some scuffling. Keep in mind that this is not necessarily the end to peace in your flock. Others will want to fight to the death! Roosters will not generally be scuffling with the girls, but they WILL try to mate in front of each other… in essence trying to claim the hens for their own harem. We recommend 10 or 12 per to keep competition at manageable levels.
Best wishes to you and your flock! Please let us know here how it turns out. I am new to having chickens and roosters,I have a black rooster and a black hen that were given to me about 2 months ago, the rooster is BIG,he and the hen were always together and get along great.
I am known to take in any furbabies, feathered babies, any babies that need a home. About 9 last night a man came to my home with 2 beautiful hens and a beautiful rooster that his neighbors moved and left behind.
I put the 2 hens that are quite a bit smaller than my rooster in the pen with my rooster and hen, I put the new rooster in a small pen by himself, I am not sure if my big rooster will get along with the smaller rooster, how handle putting them together? Suggestions please. Thank you, Lauren. Take it extra slow, though, because roosters are far more likely to be territorial, and more likely to fight for longer than hens are.
And as I mention above, what you have is not an ideal ratio of hens to roosters which will ass to the tension. To have two roosters, you really want closer to 20 hens. I raised two full brothers my friend gave me they were silverduckwings but had blue legs and a tassels on its head. Then he started getting ultra aggressive with my other male roosters at about 10 months he cornered I assume and killed all 3 remaining roosters.
What do I do?? Oh, gosh! You must be heartbroken. That can work in some circumstances as I outline above, but they often need to have lots of room to roam, and plenty of space at feeders and waterers.
I have a Rhode Island Red, and 1 Americana that are roosters. I have a Rhode Island Red, and a Polish hen. All were raised together, until I find a home for the roosters should I keep the seperated? I have an existing flock of 12 hens. Anyways I will be going to get a rooster totally new to my flock …. Do I stay with the one?
Well, not entirely sure how to answer your question. I walked out with 6 baby chicks. And 2 Bantams which are…idk…rooster, hens, I have no idea and then another something. I went to the Amish builders today and purchased them a house. So it is being built and will be delivered next week. They are soooooo adorable, I go talk to them and hold them.
I have read the stories on here, and I am almost in tears. They were spoiled to death, but not difficult. I may have to stop in and ask a few questions…. Thank you for this article. I noticed the amerucana rooster started crowing 3 weeks ago and tried mating one of his girls. I noticed the americauna this evening not allowing any of his girls to eat. As soon as he would notice them eating hed run over and peck them then maybe take a little food for himself but i could tell it was to stop them from eating not so he could eat…why is he doing this and should i be worried about the little silkies?
It may be that your girls are not ready to be bred quite, yet, while your rooster is. Sometimes you can help relieve the tension by putting another feeder in a different area. I have read so many different opinions about this, and this is my first flock and my first roo. In the spring I will be using 2 coops and can split them up then, but they need each other for warmth in the winter. Will this work out ok? Yes, they will usually try to mate with any hen, no matter their size.
But generally they will not try to mate with young birds until the girls are mature. Give the Fayoumi extra care, if possible. In our article below we will give you some ideas on perfect numbers, what to do with spare roosters and how to maintain flock harmony with roosters…. However the exact ratio for your flock will depend on the particular breeds you have and the number of hens you have.
Breeds that are lightweight and active such as Leghorns and Fayoumis can have a higher hen to rooster ratio The reasoning behind this is that these roosters are more active and will be able to service more hens because of their higher energy. Certain breeds that are more mellow such as Silkies or Orpingtons should have a lower ratio This gives the rooster a better opportunity to cover the hens in his flock adequately.
If they start avoiding the rooster or their feathers are looking battered and torn then it is time for him to have a break in solitary. Putting the rooster in a separate area from the hens for a few days works really well.
This will give the hens a nice little break from him and he also has a chance to recharge his batteries. Also remember that young roosters cockerels are more likely to be rough with the hens whilst mating.
So regardless of the breed keep more than 6 hens for a youngster, as keeping less is likely to create some treading injuries with your hens. This is all to do with the pecking order. Whilst it can be quite complex we have created a simplified version to help you understand where the rooster fits into the system.
The smartest and most able hens will be at the top of the hen group, while the younger, older and shyer birds will be at the bottom.
If the head rooster becomes sick or starts to fail he will be challenged by a younger bird. The winner of the contest will become or stay leader of the group. The hen to rooster relationship is much the same except that the rooster rules over all with the head hen as second in command.
In the wild the young roosters would be driven away from the flock to preserve food and other resources.
The exact number of roosters you keep will depend on the breed and the number of hens you have. Some roosters are mellow enough to tolerate another male in the area but only if there are enough hens. You will notice the dominant male will do everything he can to prevent the secondary rooster from mating with his ladies.
The subordinate rooster can be quite devious in trying to mate with the hens and often manages to mate with a couple of the hens. Rhode Island Reds are a good example of this. They have a reputation for being aggressive at mating times especially if there is another rooster around. Also Easter Eggers and Ameraucanas generally do not play nicely with other males. My bantam has to be separated from the standard rooster because he will fight and win against the larger bird.
This allows them to more or less live in relative peace without poking at one another more than every now and then. A general rule of thumb is to provide an 8 x 8 foot space outside the coop for each chicken you own.
This is not a hard and fast rule however and I have found chickens to thrive in smaller areas if provided for properly. But, if you are keeping more than one rooster in an enclosed area it is best to give them this much room or more, and also provide them areas from which they can be out of site from one another- or keep a healthy distance from one another.
I also have found that keeping more than one rooster at a time is best done if you have raised the roosters together, or in the same environment from a chick, to have some basic respect. This way their squirmishes are more likely to look like fistfights rather than a battle to the death. At best, you end up with a bruised and battered newcomer, at worst, a blood bath.
Hopefully, this article has explained not only the number of roosters you can have, but also a few questions you may not have considered.
Keeping a rooster takes a bit of foresight and preparation overall to make sure you are one, abiding by the laws of where you live; and two, providing a healthy environment for your entire flock.
If you already have a coop or are planning on building a hen house and want to include a rooster, think ahead about the breed you prefer and how you will both raise and socialize it. We are reader supported. External links may earn us a commission.
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