2 rooster problem

[William Koehler]

Hello I'm new to this and just had a question i find myself with 2 Roosters and i'm woundering how much space they will need to live peacefully, they are recuses, i do have chickens but never two roosters before thanks for any advice.

 

[Kiki]

Hello I'm new to this and just had a question i find myself with 2 Roosters and i'm woundering how much space they will need to live peacefully, they are recuses, i do have chickens but never two roosters before thanks for any advice.

As much as you can give them.
How many hens do you have?

 

[Spartan22]

If they grew up together they should be fine, otherwise you have to either separate them or free range for enough space

 

[William Koehler]

I have 3 chickens one is with Elvis and two are with the Colonel i have about a 1/4 acre of property and have fenceing in place. i far as i can tell they know about each other but have not seen each other. i was hoping to give them acceess to a area of the yard and was woundering how much space between i would need t keep them from fighting

 

[Kiki]

I have 3 chickens one is with Elvis and two are with the Colonel i have about a 1/4 acre of property and have fenceing in place. i far as i can tell they know about each other but have not seen each other. i was hoping to give them acceess to a area of the yard and was woundering how much space between i would need t keep them from fighting

Unfortunately there is no set amount of shared space to keep them from fighting.
They are either going to get along or they're not. You'll just have to try it and see.

 

[Roo5]

Growing up together means nothing, their going to either live peacefully, or try to kill one another.A few squabbles is one thing But some legit cannot live together without killing the other oen.Keeping about 8-10 hens for each rooster may help the situation, your going to just have to shoot for it and be prepared for what may come.

 

[wild chick]

I'm not an expert on roosters, but you say they are rescues. Coming from a farm that just had too many roosters and they were going to put them in the stew pot kind of rescue? Or confiscated from cockfighting and put up for adoption? If the later, I would venture to say it's best to just have one rooster on your property. Actually with only 3 hens, it's still a good idea to just have one. Or they could have their own pen with alternated turn-out time.

 

[Ilovechickens119]

Hello I'm new to this and just had a question i find myself with 2 Roosters and i'm woundering how much space they will need to live peacefully, they are recuses, i do have chickens but never two roosters before thanks for any advice.

When the roosters were in the rescue centre, were they in a pen together?

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

This article might answer some of your questions: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/rooster-flocks.72998/

 

[Mrs. K]

This might just be a wreck, and sometimes I think that the most generous and kindest people should not have chickens, cause chickens really do not get the "let's all be nice" idea. There are multiple plans you can try, some or none might work. Roosters can ruin the whole chicken experience. And if you are nice to them, does not make them nice to you.

With only having 3 hens, a lot is going to depend on the age of the roosters. If these are young roosters, more than likely they are going to wear your hens out. However, you don't mention that, so perhaps these are old roosters or very laid back roosters.

To me, to successfully have 2 roosters, you need a flock of 20-30 hens and the space to accommodate them, more of a farm situation, not a backyard situation. Professional breeders often times put trios of birds together, but not for 24/7/365 days of the year. And professionals have a great deal of space, multiple pens, and experience to recognize trouble before it gets established.

The way you currently have it set up is not working if your hens start staying on the roost, hiding in corners, loosing lots of feathers, egg production goes down...those are signs that is too much rooster. Your hens will are showing considerable stress, not a good life.

In that case, you need to put your hens together in one set up, and a bachelor pad of roosters in another set up. Separate your roosters in that set up for a day or two with one boy in a dog crate, where they can see or not touch. If they are birds that have been used for cock fighting, I don't see this plan working. Two strange roosters to each other are very difficult sometimes to get together, cock fighting is based on this natural reaction. Sometimes it will work, and sometimes it won't. Wishing won't help. However, several people have had success with an all rooster flock. It could be a few fights and then settle, or continuous fighting till one is dead or injured.

Do be aware of the rooster's behavior towards you, or if you have younger than 5 year old children, some people underestimate how violent a rooster attack can be, especially to a child, whereas the bird is attacking at face level.

Roosters are where, as AART say, the romance of keeping chickens meets reality. Some birds will work in your set up, but be aware some birds will not, you may have to return one or both of them if it is not working for you.

Mrs K