A little Rooster advice please...

[Mazza1150]

Hi Chicken People, wanting to ask some advice. I have an original Light Sussex flock of 5 hens and a rooster hatched in May. Then I ended up taking on 4 more chicks in July, and adding them in was a challenge as expected. They were 2 roos and 2 hens (Barred Rock and RIR - one Male and one female of each). Total 8 Hens and 2 Roosters. I am aware of the healthy ratios of roosters to hens, and did re-home one of the roosters, leaving Red, the OC Rooster, Light Sus, and so still

have one of the junior Roo's, Cinnabun. So 2 Roo's to 8 hen's. I have just been watching and seeing how he does, as I dont have another option of re-housing that I know of yet. He is 100% the lowest on the totem pole. He is a loaner, has to be quick to get food, always being chased away, last onto the roost at night, if they let him. So far, I'm not seeing too much evidence of him being pecked badly, or hurt or Red being aggressive with him. Mostly seems to ignore him. But I feel for him, and feel like he's not even part of the flock. Is it viable to have him stay with this flock, or is it a disaster waiting to happen? Is it fair on him? I imagine, he'd be happier after settling in with another flock with more hens, or at least no other Rooster. Wondering about what people think in this. Here's a picture of him. He's a cutie.

 

[M-H-Fielding]

I had that problem with a cockerel. We had no were else to separate him, and no one in my area needed a roo. I ended up keeping him, and when he was big enough, he was finally accepted into the flock. He had a few scuffles with the head roo, but because he was introduced at a young age they seemed to tolerate each other.

I have only had this experience once, and am not an expert on the matter. Since then, I have increased the number of hens in my flock, and have a much bigger coop.
I think my original ratio is close to the one you have, only I had seven hens.
My advise would be to keep him in with the flock.

 

[Mazza1150]

I had that problem with a cockerel. We had no were else to separate him, and no one in my area needed a roo. I ended up keeping him, and when he was big enough, he was finally accepted into the flock. He had a few scuffles with the head roo, but because he was introduced at a young age they seemed to tolerate each other.

I have only had this experience once, and am not an expert on the matter. Since then, I have increased the number of hens in my flock, and have a much bigger coop.
I think my original ratio is close to the one you have, only I had seven hens.
My advise would be to keep him in with the flock.

Oh thank you. This gives me hope for him. So glad to know it is possible. I will keep watch and hope that eventually he will be accepted. Thanks for taking the time to respond. I appreciate it.

 

[aart]

I am aware of the healthy ratios of roosters to hens

There are no magic numbers.
It all depends on the temperaments of the cock and hens and sometimes housing provided.

 

[halefamily_flock]

The boys should sort themselves out. If there's really a problem, you will see lots of blood so it will be unmistakable. Here is one example of a rooster disaster and how I handled it:
keeping-peace-in-the-chicken-yard-despite-too-many-roosters-and-interfering-with-pecking-order

With so few hens, I would say they are the ones most at risk of abuse/overuse. In my experience, young cockerels around 3-4 months old start trying to mate, but either the hens can fight them off, otherwise the other roosters keep them in line. Note: I have a free range flock that has been selected/bred to be hardy and predator savvy, so not all girls may be able to handle themselves with boys of this age.

During the day, the low ranked cockerels seem content to find a single loner hen during the day to hang out with and tidbit for, while the top 2 ranking roosters hang out with their little harems (at least 5-8 hens each). At dawn & dusk (aka frisky hour), the cockerels go after any hens they can find, while the roosters are distracted chasing tail themselves. As the cockerels approach 5 months old, it can get pretty bad for the girls. I just had to rehome my 2 extra cockerels last week because they were literally blocking the chicken door entrance to the coop at night, after the roosters went inside to roost. They would tag-team to terrorize and mate with hens trying to get in to roost, to the extent that several hens were finding alternative roosting spots outside. I was having to manually walk around with a flashlight, looking for stragglers and carry them into coop once it was too dark for the boys to find them.

Good luck with your roosters. One thing, for sure, is that every situation is different and the most important thing is to keep a close eye on the flock. Have a plan to separate and/or remove extra roosters quickly if there is a problem. But you don't have to do it in advance of an actual problem.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I agree with @aart. There are no magic numbers. I have 18 chickens with 2 roosters and still have one that is treated like your rooster. You seem a bit luckier though, as my rooster takes out his frustrations on me in the form of attempted flogging. I am his chosen outlet for feeling like his not the bottom on the pecking order.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Like said above, no magic numbers. I have a flock of about 18 hens, with 3 males. Obviously one is the boss at it took some time for the others to learn their positions. Now during the day they break up a bit, with one male by himself (ish), one male with 1 or 2 hens and the lead male with the rest. But these birds also have lotsof space to solve issues if they need

You'll know when the fighting gets too bad. Regular order squabbles usually are vert brief with little to no blood drawn

 

[Mya05]

We currently have 9 hens and 2 cockerels, so we have a similar situation. We plan on adding more hens once we get a larger coup. Our boys fought it out, but it never got too crazy. Our original cockerel is King of the roost, and is amazing with the ladies. He actually taught Romeo, our subordinate cockerel, how to behave and how to treat the hens. In two more months Omen, our lead cockerel will be a year old, and I'm not sure about Romeo. We are lucky that they get along, and that none of our girls are suffering from over mating, but I know that's not the case in every flock. Best to see how it goes, and hopefully they will sort themselves out.

 

[aart]

Have a plan to separate and/or remove extra roosters quickly if there is a problem.

Yes!
Always good to have some way to separate a 'trouble' bird(s).
Crates are good tools to have on hand.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...rates-a-good-tool-for-every-chickeneer.72619/

 

[Mrs. K]

It might work, it might not, it might work for a while, might work for years. Do have a plan B, have either a chicken hook or fishnet for pulling fighting birds apart. It is in my opinion, mostly the luck of the draw.