New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

how many roosters?

post #1 of 10
6/29/12 at 11:43am
Thread Starter 

I am wondering how many roosters you can keep?  We will have a flock of 17 (including 2 roo's if we kept them).  We got 7 chicks this spring and three of them are roosters- 2 SLW and 1 silver spangled hamburg.  I would really like to keep just the hamburg but my son is already in love with one of the SLW roosters and has already named him.  Are 2 too many for a flock of this size and who would you keep?

Reply
Reply

Featured Stories on BackYard Chickens

Why Join BackYard Chickens?
Join Our 4th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-A-Long
The Basics Of Raising Chickens - Raising Chickens 101
post #2 of 10
6/29/12 at 12:06pm

hi,that sounds perfectly fine.

have got four older chicks,and two of them are definite roos;have started to suspect a hen is actualy a roo so that means only one hen to neutralise the group.

however,they all get along fine without any territorial infighting,they do the typical chicken pecking order stuff but thats it,we had more problems with our coop of hens only-very dramatic and bitchy <waits for comparison to stereotypical human females> pop.gif

 

an uncle of mine keeps a lot of roos with his hens and he says he rarely ever has had problems,he says just to monitor their interaction to make sure there isnt anything beyond typical behavior.

 

there are some breeds which by default the roos cannot be kept together because they will tear each other apart,but have forgotten the names,do not think they were the more common varieites.

other than that; like mine,shoud only need putting in a new home if there are actual issues.

.::willing slave to hand reared maran,light sussex and cochin flocks....exbat henny and a gaggle of cats::.

please have patience if do not understand something have said;ask for it to be said differently- am severely autistic & learning/intelectualy disabled.

incubation project: http://fairfieldresidential.co.uk/index.php?pageId=69

an autistic chickeny sort of blog: http://theresidentialautist....

Reply

.::willing slave to hand reared maran,light sussex and cochin flocks....exbat henny and a gaggle of cats::.

please have patience if do not understand something have said;ask for it to be said differently- am severely autistic & learning/intelectualy disabled.

incubation project: http://fairfieldresidential.co.uk/index.php?pageId=69

an autistic chickeny sort of blog: http://theresidentialautist....

Reply
post #3 of 10
6/29/12 at 12:48pm
Thread Starter 

so you think that 3 roosters for 15 hens is ok?  Or should I still get rid of one of them?  

Reply
Reply
post #4 of 10
6/29/12 at 12:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chickenbythesea View Post

I am wondering how many roosters you can keep?  We will have a flock of 17 (including 2 roo's if we kept them).  We got 7 chicks this spring and three of them are roosters- 2 SLW and 1 silver spangled hamburg.  I would really like to keep just the hamburg but my son is already in love with one of the SLW roosters and has already named him.  Are 2 too many for a flock of this size and who would you keep?


I have too many roosters, but I want to keep my pure bred birds for breeding purposes. The boys don't fight much (not at this point anyway) The only trouble I am having is they are too much for the hens, so I do have to keep a few boys separated from the girls, just by a fence, so they all seem to still belong to the same flock. They still usually sleep in the same coop together.

 

To answer your question: I would keep both your roos if you have good reasons for doing so, and to me it seems you do! :)

Stephanie in VA  3 kids, 2 dogs, 3 cats, and 14 chickens- hens: 2 leghorns, 2 golden comets,         2 australorps, 2 barred rocks, 1 NH Red, 1 LF buff brahma. Roosters: LF light brahma, 2 bantam cochins (1 black/multi colored frizzle, and one buff/red colored) blue orpington. My neighbors RIR rooster has recently moved in. I guess he is staying too 

Reply

Stephanie in VA  3 kids, 2 dogs, 3 cats, and 14 chickens- hens: 2 leghorns, 2 golden comets,         2 australorps, 2 barred rocks, 1 NH Red, 1 LF buff brahma. Roosters: LF light brahma, 2 bantam cochins (1 black/multi colored frizzle, and one buff/red colored) blue orpington. My neighbors RIR rooster has recently moved in. I guess he is staying too 

Reply
post #5 of 10
6/29/12 at 12:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fur & Feathers View Post


 

there are some breeds which by default the roos cannot be kept together because they will tear each other apart,but have forgotten the names,do not think they were the more common varieites.

other than that; like mine,shoud only need putting in a new home if there are actual issues.

Yes...the game birds, the fighting chickens  :)

My roos (brahma, orpington, cochins, and a stray/homeless add on RIR) are pretty tame and laid back.

Stephanie in VA  3 kids, 2 dogs, 3 cats, and 14 chickens- hens: 2 leghorns, 2 golden comets,         2 australorps, 2 barred rocks, 1 NH Red, 1 LF buff brahma. Roosters: LF light brahma, 2 bantam cochins (1 black/multi colored frizzle, and one buff/red colored) blue orpington. My neighbors RIR rooster has recently moved in. I guess he is staying too 

Reply

Stephanie in VA  3 kids, 2 dogs, 3 cats, and 14 chickens- hens: 2 leghorns, 2 golden comets,         2 australorps, 2 barred rocks, 1 NH Red, 1 LF buff brahma. Roosters: LF light brahma, 2 bantam cochins (1 black/multi colored frizzle, and one buff/red colored) blue orpington. My neighbors RIR rooster has recently moved in. I guess he is staying too 

Reply
post #6 of 10
6/29/12 at 3:15pm
Thread Starter 

so if I don't want to keep them separate (they already have access to 2 runs so I'm not interested in creating a third) I should just keep the one right?

Reply
Reply
post #7 of 10
6/29/12 at 6:38pm

I think you should keep them both until/if a problem arises. You might not ever have any problems. 

Stephanie in VA  3 kids, 2 dogs, 3 cats, and 14 chickens- hens: 2 leghorns, 2 golden comets,         2 australorps, 2 barred rocks, 1 NH Red, 1 LF buff brahma. Roosters: LF light brahma, 2 bantam cochins (1 black/multi colored frizzle, and one buff/red colored) blue orpington. My neighbors RIR rooster has recently moved in. I guess he is staying too 

Reply

Stephanie in VA  3 kids, 2 dogs, 3 cats, and 14 chickens- hens: 2 leghorns, 2 golden comets,         2 australorps, 2 barred rocks, 1 NH Red, 1 LF buff brahma. Roosters: LF light brahma, 2 bantam cochins (1 black/multi colored frizzle, and one buff/red colored) blue orpington. My neighbors RIR rooster has recently moved in. I guess he is staying too 

Reply
post #8 of 10
6/30/12 at 2:28am
Thread Starter 

ok... thanks.  No one around her seems to be wanting any roosters and my hubby doesn't think he can cull them and I know I can't do it.

Reply
Reply
post #9 of 10
7/1/12 at 11:50am

I got 20 chicks this Feb. and culled it down to 8 (5 hens 3 roos). I wanted to keep 1 Rooster of each (RIR, SLW, and Barred Rock) for possible breeding. They all get along together fine in a fairly small coop (8'X12) with no outside run. I would keep them until you see a problem. Just noticed your location, not sure where you are in NS, if you don't want to cull them there are several places around that will do it for a small fee.

Reply
Reply
post #10 of 10
7/1/12 at 12:36pm
Thread Starter 

my hubby says that if they don't get along he'll build them a rooster house.... I know some people around her who'll do them in, it's just that they're all so pretty

Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Chicken Behaviors and Egglaying

Featured Stories on BackYard Chickens

Why Join BackYard Chickens?
Join Our 4th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-A-Long
The Basics Of Raising Chickens - Raising Chickens 101