Can I keep 3 roosters?

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nicolelynn1227

nicolelynn1227

Hatching
Sep 24, 2015
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The chicks were all hatched and grown together and now they're 5 months old. 3 happened to be roosters. Can I keep the 3 roosters in the same pen or will they fight?
 
They can be kept in the same pen they have there hierarchy already in place but id ur keeping with hens u will need 20 to 30 hens or over mating will occur which isnt good for the girls
 
Really, there's no way to know. If you do have some hens with them, I agree that over mating can happen. A few years ago, I had about as many cockerels as I did pullets, and those poor girls were constantly harassed (for a very brief time until I separated them). If you'd like to keep them all, you could take the one who has the most desirable traits and keep him with the hens for breeding (if that's something you'd like to do), or you could put them in a bachelor pen so they have nothing to fight over. Some will say to keep them out of sight and earshot of the hens if you do this, but I never had a problem with them being in a pen together with the females free ranging around their pen. You'll have to watch and see what happens. If your hens are getting run ragged, I would pull the boys and put them someplace else. Mine couldn't even eat or drink because the males were so busy trying to breed them.
 
bobbi-j said:
Really, there's no way to know. If you do have some hens with them, I agree that over mating can happen. A few years ago, I had about as many cockerels as I did pullets, and those poor girls were constantly harassed (for a very brief time until I separated them). If you'd like to keep them all, you could take the one who has the most desirable traits and keep him with the hens for breeding (if that's something you'd like to do), or you could put them in a bachelor pen so they have nothing to fight over. Some will say to keep them out of sight and earshot of the hens if you do this, but I never had a problem with them being in a pen together with the females free ranging around their pen. You'll have to watch and see what happens. If your hens are getting run ragged, I would pull the boys and put them someplace else. Mine couldn't even eat or drink because the males were so busy trying to breed them.
Click to expand...

pretty much my experience also.
 
I put my cockrels in a bachelor pad that was close to the main coop, and was visited daily by the flock when they were out ranging. There was some sparring and chasing, but no blood letting. A lot of crowing, though. IMO, keep the best roo after giving him a trial to see if he romances the ladies, and eat the rest. Occasionally, multiple roos will co-manage a flock, but I don't know how common it is.
 
We had two roosters in a large coop and run with eleven hens and had no problems. The boys were raised together with eight of the hens since they were chicks. I guess it depends on the breed. One of ours was a silkie and had a hard time getting close to the ladies, and when he did, he didn't have much luck. And the other one, a light brahma, was easy going, so none of the hens ever got stressed. Neither of the roosters ever fought with each other and they were never aggressive with people. The silkie loved to be held and the light brahma was a little skittish, but not mean. Had to give them away because we can't keep roosters in our city. Good luck keeping your three!
 

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