2 roosters for 6 hens?

[mamatoes]

I know the answer I’m probably going to get but I want opinions.

I had 4 Icelandic chickens. 3 hens and a roo and I bought a trio of 3 more and the only way she’d sell is to sell with a rooster. Well I’ve taken a liking to this new rooster and I don’t want to cull or sell. Can I keep all happy?

I do have him up for sale but if I can keep I’d rather do that

thanks!

 

[SueT]

How long have you have the newcomers? How are they doing together so far? How old are the roosters and hens?

 

[mamatoes]

How long have you have the newcomers? How are they doing together so far? How old are the roosters and hens?

I’ve had them a week. The hen is with the old flock and doing ok but still gets pecked. The rooster was being bullied by the top hen quite bad so he’s in a brooder section. I’m scared to let them mingle. I don’t want a blood bath. They’re all under a year but all about the same age.

 

[DobieLover]

I know the answer I’m probably going to get but I want opinions.

I had 4 Icelandic chickens. 3 hens and a roo and I bought a trio of 3 more and the only way she’d sell is to sell with a rooster. Well I’ve taken a liking to this new rooster and I don’t want to cull or sell. Can I keep all happy?

I do have him up for sale but if I can keep I’d rather do that

thanks!

Given enough space it could work. It really depends on the birds.
If you are trying to keep them all in the same coop/run that could get tricky to deadly. It would be unusual for a sexually mature male to accept another sexually mature male into the flock. The best way to bring a second male into the flock is to raise them as day old chicks or allow the son of the senior cockerel/rooster to grow up in the flock.

 

[mamatoes]

Given enough space it could work. It really depends on the birds.
If you are trying to keep them all in the same coop/run that could get tricky to deadly. It would be unusual for a sexually mature male to accept another sexually mature male into the flock. The best way to bring a second male into the flock is to raise them as day old chicks or allow the son of the senior cockerel/rooster to grow up in the flock.

I free range. So after 7 days I let them all out and all three new ones hid under the shed/coop. My husband and I had to lift the floor boards and were able to save the new rooster and a hen but lost a new hen. No sight of her anywhere. So now I’ve locked the new rooster away in the coop and have the remaining new hen with my new flock so when I open the coop to let them free range she won’t run away.

this is my first time mixing new birds and it was terrifying. Did I let the new ones out too soon? I didn’t want to let them all mingle in the coop as I thought it may be a blood bath so I though letting them outside would be better but alas it was bad. Next time do I let them be together in the coop before I free range them?

still not sure what I will do with the roosters.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Can I keep all happy?


Maybe. maybe not. The only way to find out is to try it. Even if they are able to live together after you get through integration, the integration process can be really challenging,

What are the ages, basically are they all mature or are some still immature? That will affect their behaviors between the two males and between males and females. If some are immature that could lead to bullying, possibly male to male but more likely mature hens toward the immature male and females. (I see you posted while I was typing. They may be about the same age but it sounds like some are more mature than others, more pullets and cockerel rather than hens and rooster.)

If they are all mature, the males will determine which is the boss. That pretty much means a fight. It could be a fight to the death, it could be mostly running away and chasing. Roosters can die or be seriously injured or they can reach an accommodation on how to work together to take care of the flock. How much room they have is often critical. The loser of the fight needs enough room to run away and get away. While there can be exceptions, a typical accommodation is that once they determine who is boss they each set up a territory with their own harem. If these territories are out of line of sight of each other you have a much better chance of success than if they can see each other. as I said there can be exceptions, I have seen two males hang together with a flock of hens in a free ranging situation. They knew who was boss, occasionally there may be a short skirmish, but overall it was pretty peaceful. But that is rare and thy were not squeezed into a tiny space. I consider room critical.

Once that cockerel matures you can try, but be ready to intervene. Anther option is to permanently set up a separate coop/run and keep them separated forever, probably with their own females.

I don't know your goals for having chickens and especially for having roosters. The only reason you need even one rooster is if you want fertile eggs. Everything else is personal preference. Personal preference can be very strong, you need to go with yours and not mine. I suggest people keep the minimum number of roosters they can and still meet their goals. That's not because you are guaranteed more problems wit more roosters, but that problems are more likely. Many people keep spare roosters for a breeding program, for example, but they have to find a way to keep them that works for them.

I see you posted again. Good, more information. It sounds more and more like different levels of maturity between the two groups. I strongly believe it is better to let them mingle when they have plenty of room instead of where space is tight. Often that's all you have to do, give them room and time to work it out. But it is often a good idea to house them side by side for a while to let them get used to each other, a week or two is usually enough for that. It can be a good idea for them to sleep in separate locations even after they are roaming together during the day, mine are most brutal to each other as they are settling in for the night. Don't rush them. They are free ranging. I don't know if there are limits to that but most of the benefits of adding clutter to a run should not apply. Still, separate feeding and watering stations may be beneficial.

As I said, your goals, desires, and decision. But the more I read the stronger I'd suggest you sell him if you can and wait to add another rooster if you really want one.

 

[Mrs. K]

Roosters are "where the romance meets the reality."

My advice, is have a plan B. It might work, it might work...kind of, and it might not work at all. It might work for some time, and then change. Some fight, settle it. Some fight, rest and fight again, some fight, settle it, then fight again. All that fighting can be very upsetting to the rest of the flock. Often times they are also very hard and aggressive with the hens.

Roosters take experience, you really need some. Always solve for peace in the flock, wishing they will all get along, will not work.

With just a few birds, if you really like the new rooster, cull the original rooster. No need to make you and your flock unhappy. Personally, I would only keep 2 roosters if I had more than 25 hens.

Mrs K

 

[Shadrach]

I know the answer I’m probably going to get but I want opinions.

I had 4 Icelandic chickens. 3 hens and a roo and I bought a trio of 3 more and the only way she’d sell is to sell with a rooster. Well I’ve taken a liking to this new rooster and I don’t want to cull or sell. Can I keep all happy?

I do have him up for sale but if I can keep I’d rather do that

thanks!

Firstly if you contact the women who sold you the trio congratulate her from me.
You can keep them all but you may have to make some adjustments.
Ideally each group should have their own coop. If you free range and you have space that should do it. They will sort themselves out.
I keep trios, quads, father and sons, all free range but with their own coops. It's the coops that tend to limit the feasibility ime.
The various tribes/groups here (I've had up to five tribes here with roosters) tend to use about an acre of land each. You can make do with half of that.

 

[cmom]

I agree with @Mrs. K and the other. You can give both males some females and separate them or if you keep them together one is going to be dominant over the other, or you can sell one. I hatch out all of my chicks which are around 50/50 male/female. When they start feeling their oats, I put them in bachelor coops and pens. As long as there are no females they are ok. I do sell the males I don't intend on keeping for breeding. Good luck with whatever you plan to do...

 

[mamatoes]

Thanks for so many responses!

he’s still separated from the rest of the group. We’ve had some drama with the new hens hiding under the coop so we’ve got the new ones separated again. I know the right thing for me is to sell/cull one rooster.

my intention in chickens, specifically this breed (Icelandic) is a bit of all things. Eggs. Fun. Selling. I do have the space for multiple clans and I like this idea especially as I hope to do a breeding plan with 3 groups in the future but currently with only one coop we’re not set up for that.

so now which roo to keep? I have 3 hens and a roo bro’s and sis and then 2 hens and a roo Bro’s and sis. I want to keep genetics open so we don’t have issues with inbreeding, does it matter which I keep? My current rooster is a bit of a pansy, but leaves my children alone, the new guy is just so handsome! lol

thank you all for your advice and wisdom! Not looking for a blood bath and they’re all mature hens/roos so I’m not sure it’d end up a happy ending.