What is your favorite way to keep multiple roosters?

[Starbawk]

I know that this is an often discussed topic and I have read the pertinent threads but I'd love some advice specific to my situation, or sounding boards to bounce off of people. I have a 'main' chicken coop *without* a run and free range my chickens from that. I have room in it for about 30 chickens, give or take. I have a separate coop with room for about 10. I have a few grow-out coops that are very small, room for 1-2 adults, but I don't use it for that. I have a little turkey pen that could hold about 15. However, at any given time I have a batch of turkeys in the turkey coop, or Cornish crosses growing out in the second coop, and grow outs in the grow out coop... so I'm continuously juggling the space. For example right now I have separated out the legbar rooster with legbar hens (and some others) in one coop and the Black Copper Marans rooster with the BCM hens (and some others), for about a month now, and every other day I've been free ranging one group. The roos can see each other through the runs. As soon as the resulting eggs to in the incubator, I'm recombining the flocks (and hoping it goes well) so that the cornish cross can go in one of those coops. Meanwhile the grow outs are going outside this weekend. The turkey coop is available for another month or so until poults will be in it. And then a month after that I'll have the second coop available again... you get the idea.

The issue is that I'm going to run into a too many rooster problem soonish probably. I have a BCM roo, and a legbar roo and I use them to breed those two breeds, as well as make olive eggers. I am hatching out some tolbunt polish and I would love to keep a rooster from that set in order to breed them. In a few years I'd like to keep an olive egger roo from my breeding project, one that has two coppies of blue-egg gene(s) and pea comb, with dark overlay, because I'm working towards true breeding olive eggers... and that's four roosters. I will sometimes have room to keep everyone separated but sometimes I will just have the one coop. This means four roosters and room only for about 7 hens per roo. In the short term it would be more like 10 hens per roo... but that is a LOT of eggs and I don't know that I have that much of a customer base to sell them and pay for feed.. though I could do it if I needed to most likely. But it also means a lot of separating then reintegrating flocks/roosters and that sounds like it may end up being trouble?

What would you do in my situation? I could raise new roosters together each year so that I can sell/cull the older roos? I could build a bachelor pad and rotate the roosters through with the flock to breed or but wherever it is, the hens (and free ranging roo) would have access through free ranging to waltz right up to the bachelors and I imagine that would defeat the purpose. I could just try to separate then reintegrate like I am currently, and put any roo in solitary confinement if fighting happens, keep him separate until I can breed him, cull (sell) him, and keep a roo from the next batch to raise up? I don't want to not free range. That part is a deal breaker. I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. I reallllly want to keep multiple roos and breed, and I REALLY don't want to not free range. What would you do?

Also any tips that may be related but not direct answers would be great. For example the best way to reintegrate the roos. I thought maybe letting just the boys out and giving them a bunch of scratch and meal worms to eat for a couple days so they can bro out together for a bit, before adding hens to the equation.

 

[MysteryChicken]

What I do, since I haven't been able to set up a bachelor pad, is have a couple flocks that have multiple roosters to multiple hens. The flock consists of an Alpha, Beta, & Omega roosters. My roosters go through an Alpha swap every spring, each year there's a new Alpha created with the usual 1-1 Duels, winner gets the hens.


Introductions of stranger roosters usually end up in a fight, but they usually figure out who's boss. Recently I moved in a rooster into an established flock, & he had to fight for his place. He didn't take over the flock, but is apart of the flock now, but as a lower ranking rooster.

 

[Starbawk]

Thanks for the response. I'm glad you are able to keep three roos in each flock. How many hens do you have in each of your flocks, on average? Have you had any problems when you swap the 'alpha' roos and they squabble?

 

[Starbawk]

It's not clear to me if you mean you yourself are swapping roosters between flocks? If so, any issues with that?

 

[Tre3hugger]

(This is my first year breeding with intention, so tke that into consideration. I have 4 roosters and about 22 hens. 10x12 coop and huge run is the hub. Everyone lives their all winter and when they are not breeding. I then have another small coop with an electric net around it. This has been my breeding coop. Within the electric net I have a chicken tractor to further divide breeding groups. This is how I have wored things so far. When the snow melted I decided on my first breeding groups. I put a few New Hampshire and Delaware pullets in the breeding coop with my New Hamposhire cock. I was going for some pure bred NHs, and some sex links to eat/sell. I Let them comingle in the breeding area for 3 weeks to ensure the hens were clear and then collected eggs and incubated. As soon as the eggs were collected I put the rooster back into the main group so the girls could start the 3 weeks sperm clearing process. Cool. 3 weeks later
Next group I wanted to have to different roos, so i put a group in the breeding pen (all delawares) and a group in the tractor (all NHs). I left them there for 3 days and then pout all the girls back in the breeding pen and the roos back in the big group. This was the girls would start sperm clearing while I was collecting eggs. That worked great and I am currently incubating that batch.

I'd be lying if I said there wasn't mild fighting between the boys at times. The worse that has happened is a bloody comb. Looked WAY worse than it was. All my breeding girls will likely be in the breeder coop for the remainder of the spring and summer.

TL"DR: I have a big coop with huge natural run where everyone lives in the winter and when they are not breeding. I then have a smaller breeding coop, with a chicken tractor next to it, within an electric net that I use to make all my breeding groups happen. I then return whoever isn't needed into the big group. Rinse, wash repeat. I also have\ a grow out coop, which only seems necessary because I want to hatch a batch every 3-4 weeks for as long as the weather allows.

 

[Starbawk]

That's SO similar to my situation! AWESOME! Have you had issues when bringing roos back into the main flock, other than minor scuffling? Do you do anything that helps to ease tensions when you reintegrate?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Thanks for the response. I'm glad you are able to keep three roos in each flock. How many hens do you have in each of your flocks, on average? Have you had any problems when you swap the 'alpha' roos and they squabble?

I don't swap Alphas, the roosters do it themselves.

Coop #1. I usually have 2 Roosters to 11-12 hens.

Coop #2. 8, roosters to 13 hens.

Coop #3. 11, roosters to 9 hens.

I keep odd numbers, & will be adding more ladies this year, especially to coop #3.

I had to do some chicken math.

 

[Tre3hugger]

That's SO similar to my situation! AWESOME! Have you had issues when bringing roos back into the main flock, other than minor scuffling? Do you do anything that helps to ease tensions when you reintegrate?

I proactively ease the tension by providing a very large run area with lots of natural and artificial hiding places. They always fight a bit when I am reintegrating, but I would call it all minor scuffling. The 4 roosters have been coexisting together for about 8 months. There are bloody combs every once in a while, but I am yet to have to intervene.

 

[ShantyBuilder]

I know that this is an often discussed topic and I have read the pertinent threads but I'd love some advice specific to my situation, or sounding boards to bounce off of people. I have a 'main' chicken coop *without* a run and free range my chickens from that. I have room in it for about 30 chickens, give or take. I have a separate coop with room for about 10. I have a few grow-out coops that are very small, room for 1-2 adults, but I don't use it for that. I have a little turkey pen that could hold about 15. However, at any given time I have a batch of turkeys in the turkey coop, or Cornish crosses growing out in the second coop, and grow outs in the grow out coop... so I'm continuously juggling the space. For example right now I have separated out the legbar rooster with legbar hens (and some others) in one coop and the Black Copper Marans rooster with the BCM hens (and some others), for about a month now, and every other day I've been free ranging one group. The roos can see each other through the runs. As soon as the resulting eggs to in the incubator, I'm recombining the flocks (and hoping it goes well) so that the cornish cross can go in one of those coops. Meanwhile the grow outs are going outside this weekend. The turkey coop is available for another month or so until poults will be in it. And then a month after that I'll have the second coop available again... you get the idea.

The issue is that I'm going to run into a too many rooster problem soonish probably. I have a BCM roo, and a legbar roo and I use them to breed those two breeds, as well as make olive eggers. I am hatching out some tolbunt polish and I would love to keep a rooster from that set in order to breed them. In a few years I'd like to keep an olive egger roo from my breeding project, one that has two coppies of blue-egg gene(s) and pea comb, with dark overlay, because I'm working towards true breeding olive eggers... and that's four roosters. I will sometimes have room to keep everyone separated but sometimes I will just have the one coop. This means four roosters and room only for about 7 hens per roo. In the short term it would be more like 10 hens per roo... but that is a LOT of eggs and I don't know that I have that much of a customer base to sell them and pay for feed.. though I could do it if I needed to most likely. But it also means a lot of separating then reintegrating flocks/roosters and that sounds like it may end up being trouble?

What would you do in my situation? I could raise new roosters together each year so that I can sell/cull the older roos? I could build a bachelor pad and rotate the roosters through with the flock to breed or but wherever it is, the hens (and free ranging roo) would have access through free ranging to waltz right up to the bachelors and I imagine that would defeat the purpose. I could just try to separate then reintegrate like I am currently, and put any roo in solitary confinement if fighting happens, keep him separate until I can breed him, cull (sell) him, and keep a roo from the next batch to raise up? I don't want to not free range. That part is a deal breaker. I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. I reallllly want to keep multiple roos and breed, and I REALLY don't want to not free range. What would you do?

Also any tips that may be related but not direct answers would be great. For example the best way to reintegrate the roos. I thought maybe letting just the boys out and giving them a bunch of scratch and meal worms to eat for a couple days so they can bro out together for a bit, before adding hens to the equation.

I've had multiple roosters form cohesive partnerships quite frequently, in every case it was brothers raised under a dominant roo, then as adults they displace him by fighting together. Usually there is one very alert and attentive alpha brother, with a larger more docile brother who accepts #2 position. Despite this he often gets to mount hens as the alpha is truly a solid bro.

These partnerships seem to persist just fine across transitions: separation, union within a flock, union within a bachelor flock. Once united is back to bros again. The fighting rarely goes beyond sparring, and only at the beginning of each reset.

The best bachelor group dynamic has far and away been when I paired 4 brothers from one flock with 4 from another, all similar age. Tbh they seemed very nearly as content Auth that at up as with any. Often spending the day dust bathing in turns, groups of 4. What upset the balance to this was removing one roo to head a flock and simultaneously replacing him with two additional younger roos. After that, bottom of the pecking order became a truly brutal place to be and I had to disband it.

(Seems to me the balance was in the 2 clans of equal number, once the numbers in each clan was no longer equal, that ended the cease fire and things got very ghetto very quickly, and persisted as such)

I will say that free ranging with multiple roos seems the way to go. I've even had the alpha get injured so he couldn't walk, his brother didn't take (full) advantage, Clausen luring the girls toward wherever his brother was hunkered down to hide, or subsequently bringing the flock to hangout outside his rehabilitation kennel. There was no fight for authority once thr alpha got enough health to hobble around free back with the flock. True blood bro reciprocity in action.

However, be prepared to see them double team your hens. Free ranging mitigates this, but broos will be broos regardless.

 

[Mattl12]

They will sort out their own pecking order regardless of what I do so I leave them to it but spread them between two coops. That said the aggression level seems to ramp up significantly when they are out of the coop. I've been keeping chickens for A year so temper my observation/experience as you see fit.