Adult roosters

[Sandeewhispers]

Help! I have two roosters that are about 9 months old. They grew up together and seem to get along. I have 16 hens total. I am finding that one of my roosters (a black copper Maran) is pretty decent to my hens, for the most part and the other (a silver laced Wyandotte) can be a complete jerk. My girls are pretty torn up from them mating. Sometimes they double team. I have noticed that they each have their favorites. My question is, is this normal for roosters? Should I be worried for my hens? They have 3 hens that they were raised with that dont seem to be bothered by them. They free range for several hours in the late afternoon but are kept in my coop/pen during the rest of the day. Its pretty good size and has room for al of them.

 

[HappyClucker7]

I think it may be best to separate your roosters in this case. I had two roosters together for a time, and I noticed that they were constantly mating the hens because they wanted to compete with each other. The hens were getting really beat up, and were really miserable. As soon as I separated the boys into two different coops, they calmed down.

 

[FeatheredFriends&Horses2]

Unfortunately with roosters, it’s not necessarily about room, but about roo to hen ratio. The general rule of thumb is 1:10. This can be less or more depending on the aggressiveness of a particular rooster, but in your scenario with them tearing up the hens and both trying to mate one hen at the same time, it’s a definite sign that you either need several more hens or you need to remove one rooster. My personal opinion is that it’d be best for you and your hens to remove the more aggressive one, it can be either to a separate enclosure or a new home.

 

[Mrs. K]

The big problem with roosters is you really can't use past behavior to predict future behavior. Being raised up together has little influence on behavior, like wise having more space for part of the day, really does nothing for social behavior.

I would imagine that there is a lot of tension in your flock. I would start by removing the rooster you think is the problem, and watch the girls for several day. I know a lot of people quote the 1:10 ratio, but truthfully, I would not keep a second rooster until my flock was approaching 20-30.

Tension in the flock, increases physical damage, even hens can get ugly, increases the chance of a disease, and decreases eggs. I think you will be amazed at the difference in your flock if you remove one or both of the roosters. You obviously have one rooster that is not a great rooster, but there is a strong possibility that your second rooster is not either.

The difference between a good rooster and a not good rooster is rather amazing, once you see it. By 9 months old, I am expecting much better behavior, than what you are appear to be getting.

Mrs K

 

[gimmie birdies]

You can actually tell which roosters the hens like at this point.
I have 4 currently, and I know I want to keep 2.
9 months should be an adult rooster not teenage.

 

[Sandeewhispers]

The big problem with roosters is you really can't use past behavior to predict future behavior. Being raised up together has little influence on behavior, like wise having more space for part of the day, really does nothing for social behavior.

I would imagine that there is a lot of tension in your flock. I would start by removing the rooster you think is the problem, and watch the girls for several day. I know a lot of people quote the 1:10 ratio, but truthfully, I would not keep a second rooster until my flock was approaching 20-30.

Tension in the flock, increases physical damage, even hens can get ugly, increases the chance of a disease, and decreases eggs. I think you will be amazed at the difference in your flock if you remove one or both of the roosters. You obviously have one rooster that is not a great rooster, but there is a strong possibility that your second rooster is not either.

The difference between a good rooster and a not good rooster is rather amazing, once you see it. By 9 months old, I am expecting much better behavior, than what you are appear to be getting.

Mrs K

Thank you. I have contacted the farm I purchased him from when he was just an egg and they agreed to take him off my hands. I am sure they will breed him since he is a gorgeous roo and plus I will know he is in good hands.