Any experience keeping a small flock and two roosters?

[Synthlady]

I think you have a good plan. I learned the hard way that keeping more than one rooster per coop can be dangerous. My rooster survival rate has improved since I was able to separate them.
As far as hen ratio per rooster, I think 7-8 hens is enough. The roosters will always find they're best two or three hens. If they're good roosters, they won't mistreat the hens much.

 

[Mrs. K]

It might work fine, and it might not. I think there is some thought that father son works better than brothers or flockmates.

Also, I don’t think they will follow your plan if you let them out all together I think they will mix up. You might very well have both roosters in the same coop.

Have a plan B set and ready to separate them if needed.

Can this work? Maybe, but a lot of variables- are the good with people, are they good with hen, are they good with each other? Cockerels are a crap shoot.

Ps. Do you have young children, roosters have ruined the whole chicken hobby for a lot of kids.

Mrs K

 

[la dee da]

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.

That wouldn’t be ideal, since it wouldn’t do much to help with the tick population. I am aware that it might be necessary though, if the roosters don’t get along and I don’t want to replace them.

Also, I don’t think they will follow your plan if you let them out all together I think they will mix up. You might very well have both roosters in the same coop.

Have a plan B set and ready to separate them if needed.

Can this work? Maybe, but a lot of variables- are the good with people, are they good with hen, are they good with each other? Cockerels are a crap shoot.

Ps. Do you have young children, roosters have ruined the whole chicken hobby for a lot of kids.

I’m aware that they might mix a bit. I’m hoping they’ll find a balance they like, and the roosters will go home to their respective coops at night.

I know roosters are a crap shoot. I’ve had enough bad ones to almost give up on them . No issues with children and roosters here.

 

[la dee da]

Thank you for the info and tips, everyone! I’ll keep it in mind when we get the bigger coop!

 

[talkinboutchickens]

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.

No problemo
I think it will work

 

[Tristeli]

Well, I currently have a flock of 8. 6 hens and 2 Roos. Mix of bantam and standard, 5 different breeds, and 4 different age groups. To make it interesting, 2 no longer lay-reproductive disease (on implants). The boys used to be housed together-separate from the girls as they were youngest and transitioning outside. They all moved into one coop over the summer-it has air conditioning. I never lock anyone in the run, they have free access to my fenced yard after breakfast.

I just moved everyone to a new state and coop. Barn is 4x bigger, run 2x bigger and they stay in it rn as we haven’t gotten the yard fenced yet. Then they will have free access to their side approx 1/4 ac. Frankly my biggest issue is with the young hen that was spayed-she seems kicked out of the flock and gets picked on. The established beta roo sometimes stays with her. Once the boys worked out their ranking there’s been no issues.

Idk where these “established ratios” come from. But the metric means nothing in my personal experience. Maybe it’s based on more hostile aggressive breeds or overcrowded conditions. I think you will be fine

 

[PrettyCoolChicks]

Very interesting to read everyone's experiences!

I started with 4 cockerells and 3 pullets (all siblings hatched together). I kept 2 roos and 3 hens in the end. I was going to cull them down to one roo, but the last 2 got along well. They all share the same run and coop. I think it helps that it is oversized for the number of birds. They never fight. Occasionnally, there is a bit of chasing if head roo feels challenged, mostly if the feeders are low so that's easy to manage - I just keep them topped up.

Head Roo has 2 favorite hens, and the other is content with the company of the third hen. When free ranging, Head Roo gives direction and the other watches the rear. With the number of predators in my area I'm happy to have 2 Roos watching out for the ladies.

But the 2 favorite hens do have feather damage and wear chicken saddles. I've got more chicks this year to improve my hen to roo ratio. I ended up with 3 pullets and a cockerell (), and intend to keep 2 roos (unsure which ones yet).

I think the set-up in the initial post would work. I'd expect each Roo to pick a coop, and imagine the hens would decide for themselves which Roo they want to move in with if the flocks mix during free ranging. And that's probably fine if you're not worried about breeding specific individuals. With the amount of space available, if the birds can see but not touch each other while in the runs, I think the mixed free ranging could work fine.

But I as others pointed out, it depends on the specific roos temperament. I think I lucked out with mine getting along, and think it's a lot to do with them growing up together and knowing their place as soon as they were mature.

When you've tried your set-up for a bit, I'd love to hear how it goes!