Any experience keeping a small flock and two roosters?

[la dee da]

Hey everyone!

I love roosters. I love them so much, they’re half the reason I own chickens. The trouble is I don’t want a huge flock; 15 hens and 2 roosters would be perfect for me to balance costs (both coop and feed) and number of eggs and chickens to eat ticks.

My idea is to have two flocks in a large coop, separated inside by chicken wire and perhaps also space, and give each rooster 7-8 girls (this way the boys have separate space). I know that 10 girls per rooster is more ideal, but I honestly don’t want more than 15. Do you think a setup like I described would work? I would be letting both flocks out to free range on 12 acres daily, and they would have separate pop doors, feeders, water dishes, etc. I don’t want two smaller coops because that would increase cost significantly.

I know it partially depends on breed and the individual birds, but in your experience/knowledge, do you think my idea has enough merit to try?

Edited because my first attempt came out weird

 

[talkinboutchickens]

Hi!
I have only 11 hens and two roos.
I think it's fine if you only give each roo 5-7 girls
I think the run setup would work, but if they are both gonna sleep in the same coop they might get mixed up in the runs and go in each other's runs. Maybe you could split the coop in half as well??

 

[Evadig]

I have 15 hens and 2 roosters. They live in separate coops, but it would work just as well if they were in one coop, but separated. My one roo lives with 3 hens, the other lives with 2, and the remaining hens live by themselves.
My roosters do not free range together. Hope this helps!

 

[Shadrach]

I've kept nine at one point and in the link below are six.
A coop per rooster has worked for me. Trying to keep more than one adult male in a confined setting is likely to be problematical.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/account/th-attachment-manager/3838597/view

 

[la dee da]

Thank you so much, everyone! This gives me a great relief, as I was so worried I was pushing too hard for small flocks with two roosters! I have confidence now in moving forward with my idea once we save for the larger coop .

Hi!
I have only 11 hens and two roos.
I think it's fine if you only give each roo 5-7 girls
I think the run setup would work, but if they are both gonna sleep in the same coop they might get mixed up in the runs and go in each other's runs. Maybe you could split the coop in half as well??

Sorry I wasn’t more clear. The flocks would be separated inside the coop and would also have separate runs, though I plan to free-range them on 12 acres most days.

I have 15 hens and 2 roosters. They live in separate coops, but it would work just as well if they were in one coop, but separated. My one roo lives with 3 hens, the other lives with 2, and the remaining hens live by themselves.
My roosters do not free range together. Hope this helps!

That’s awesome that your birds do so well with such small flocks! What breed(s) do you keep?

 

[Logar]

It sounds like the coop and run will work well. But do you think you could do an every other day free ranging schedule? That would help keep the roosters from fighting as well as making sure everyone goes to the proper run/coop side.

 

[janiedoe]

I am a rooster lover. Its the reason my flock is so large.
I have 3 adult roosters and one 10 month old in a coop and pen with 4 hens. They get along well and none of the females have feather loss. However, they are bantams and the head rooster helped raise the younger three. I think it works because he is a tough little dude.
In another pen, I have one 3yo xl standard (brahma mix) rooster, 21 standard hens, one 2yo cochin bantam, and his son a 1yo cochin, along with 8 bantam hens. They have an xl coop and two smaller coops but share a run.
I also have two bachelor pens. Those bachelor roosters get along well too.
Okay- here is my very big however. It depends on the roosters.
My last standard rooster, who is my current standard roosters father, could not get along with any of his brothers or his male offsprings. He was a great rooster and a beautiful boy otherwise. But he would fight through the fence with other roosters and even broke his beak and a couple of toes that way. So again, it depends on the roosters.
Have a plan ready and be prepared to seperate them.

 

[janiedoe]

Another thing I'd like to point out is that a lot of people have multiple "roosters". Often what they have are multiple cockerels who have not matured yet. This makes a big difference. You never know how they will get along until they mature. For some that may be 7mo, for others 18mo. Good luck, whatever you decide!

 

[paradisepentacoop]

I have a small flock, 6 hens and 2 roosters. My flock is a mix of bantams and full size; one bantam hen, two bantam roosters, five full size hens. My flock is relatively young, with the oldest being 25 weeks and the youngest being 12 weeks. The head rooster is still learning how to be a rooster, but is becoming more noticably pleasant to the Australorp hens when mating and generally ignores the pullets and Sebright hen. The other roo dotes on the Sebright hen and I have never observed any mating from him.
The only time there seems to be conflict amongst my roos is when there is a general hubub or when the sub-roo gets jealous of the head roo mating with the Australorps. They have only ever sized each other up and kicked at each other once, with ample space that they never touched.
All the 25 week old chickens were raised together, so I think that helps them cohabitate some. I think it also helps that the head rooster doesn't care for the banty lady, which lets the sub-roo feel like he is in charge in enough of a way to mostly make him happy.
I am still on the fence if I keep the two, let alone one. The head rooster has been getting aggressive with me when I wear pants instead of shorts, which is unacceptable in his eyes. The sub crows at any and everything. I love how they look and they are pets, but they are toeing the line of pest lately.

Just my experience! My aviary style run/coop is approximately 110sqft, but that doesn't account for all the space on roosts and in the air, which the bantams love.

 

[ChicNmom]

At one point I had 3 roosters. They all grew up together and were small medium and large. There were no problems as they all knew their rank in the group. I had 20 hens with the 3 roos all together in one coop and run.

I think it just depends on their temperament. I don't think I could bring in 3 different roosters and expect it to work. and I was prepared to rehome if needed.