Rooster Coop

not totally sure where to post this, but here i go. I have a coop that will be for roosters only, no hens. There will be 4-8 roosters living in it, and they will be of these breeds (possibly) if it matters:
Easter Egger
Polish
Jersey Giant
Brahma (gold laced blue and buff)
Cuckoo Marans (gold)
Leghorn
Dark Cornish
Salmon Fravolles

My question is, who has a rooster coop, and is there anything i should look out for? any tips? I have kept roosters before (i've had 23 overall at different times) and am no newbie when it comes to them, but i have never kept them together. Well, actually i did keep a group (6) of male Light brahmas together for about 6 months with no problems, but they never got to full maturity, i sold them.
They will be mostly pets, but we also plan to breed them to the girls when we want fertile eggs. I've read that i should only keep the boy apart during the day, not at night or the other guys will turn on him...is this true? what are your experiences? Thanks in advance to any answers

With regular roosters, if they grew up together and know each other it usually isn't a problem but if you mix bantams, game, or strange adult roosters that's usually a problem. I usually have 3-20 roosters in my rooster pen and they actually get along better than my hens do. When I remove a rooster from the rooster pen for a week or so for breeding the rest don't turn on him for staying gone overnight. When he returns they act like he never left. But by the time mine get full grown I've already culled the troublemakers early one, leaving only the best behaved roosters.

ChickenLegs13 said:

With regular roosters, if they grew up together and know each other it usually isn't a problem but if you mix bantams, game, or strange adult roosters that's usually a problem. I usually have 3-20 roosters in my rooster pen and they actually get along better than my hens do. When I remove a rooster from the rooster pen for a week or so for breeding the rest don't turn on him for staying gone overnight. When he returns they act like he never left. But by the time mine get full grown I've already culled the troublemakers early one, leaving only the best behaved roosters.

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thanks!! do you think the polish will get bullied? I already have him, and am not sure if its a girl or a boy (he's 3 weeks old right now). I also now know that the salmon is a girl, but i will most likely have the other breeds in there. I currently have a lot of them in a brooder, but i have 4 unsexed rare breed chicks coming sometime this month. I will mix them before they all reach maturity, but those won't be brooding with the rest...have you ever introduced new roosters to the mix?

Keep an eye on the Polish because the others might pick his topknot.

What I've done with roosters so far this year is, being short on pens as usual;
I have 3 full grown breeder roosters that hatched together, a Black Copper Marans, a Blue Copper Marans and a Blue Copper/Americuana living in a 14'x16' pen called the Rooster Pen, aka The Eatme Pen. The black one has always been nasty mean and dominate since a chick but none of them have ever fought with each other.
I tossed about 20 two month old roosters in with them when I culled the pullet grower pen.
Several of the two month olds turned nasty, pecky, & aggresssive so 5 went to the fryer early.
I tossed another 10 one month old roosters in with them a week later when I culled a brooder.
Several more of the two month olds turned nasty so 5 more went to the fryer.

I probably got about 15 roosters left in that pen and they get along peacefully. The younger ones are always scared & freaked out and stick to themselves the first week then they act normal after that. I'll add & cull more roosters all summer long as they hatch and keep a lucky few for next years breeders.

A little background on the 3 full grown roosters, I hatched them in an incubator from eggs from another farm, they were not kin, did not know or see my other chickens until 3-4 months old. Originally there were 8 but Mr. Hatchet got a few. The layer flock has a huge, ancient RIR as head chicken and they all got along well. When the 3 roosters reached maturity they overworked the hens and caused constant chaos & stress so I put them in a spare pen. When I needed some fertile eggs this spring I turned them back into the hen pen to do their thing. The black BCM decided he wanted to beat up the old RIR while the other 2 caused no problem. I removed the RIR until I had my fertile eggs then booted the 3 young roosters and returned the old RIR to his flock. It wasn't the mean young black one starting the problem, it was the old RIR, but the mean black BCM was happy to oblige.

Maybe this will give you some insight on how other people manage their roosters and help you some.

Thanks!! It is very helpful! I will keep an eye on the polish to make sure he doesn't get bullied It good to hear what others do...thanks!!

I am in the same situation as cityfarmer12. I have 2 ameraucana roosters that will be 2 years old in May. They are brothers and got them when they were one day old. They have been living together in their own pen for one year (no hens with them). I am getting a straight run of chicks some time this Spring and I am planning to move the cockerels to the roosters pen. I have read all I could find and asked questions in the forum and it looks so far that the integration of cockerels with roosters should be done when they are immature.
This is my roosters coop/run and foraging area. The coop is 4x6 with a 20x10 run and a 3500 sq feet fenced area to roam.
I am planning to put the cockerels in a dog cage inside the run for few days with their own feed and water, then I will turn them loose and watch them. They will have space to run and I will have areas where they can hide.
I have done integrations with females and it has always worked fine when I do the "you can see but don't touch" approach, however I have never done it with males and it is my understanding that in this cases, the younger the cockerels the better because they would be submissive and expect less fights. Although I am aware of the fact that males are unpredictable so anything could be expected.

Those are some beautiful boys aldarita!

cityfarmer12 said:

Those are some beautiful boys aldarita!

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Thank you!! I am very proud of my boys, they are gorgeous and worth all the trouble I am getting into. I believe that they will be in a better situation when I add more cockerels, if I happen to lose one of the two, there will be more to keep the one left company. Chickens are happier in flocks since they are social animals.

aldarita said:

Thank you!! I am very proud of my boys, they are gorgeous and worth all the trouble I am getting into. I believe that they will be in a better situation when I add more cockerels, if I happen to lose one of the two, there will be more to keep the one left company. Chickens are happier in flocks since they are social animals.

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your welcome yes, i try not to keep just two in case one dies...its really sad to see a single chicken mourn the loss of their friend