Bachelor pad - is it a lost cause?

[scsuburban]

We ended up with four beautiful 15 week old cockerels of different breeds (Orpington, ameraucana, Copper Maran, and white faced Spanish) unintentionally, and were hoping we could find a way to keep them as a “bachelor pad” with crow collars, since we’re in a neighborhood. they’ve been together with us since the day they hatched, but have recently started pecking a bit more at each other. I built a 10x4 a frame run for them, and are transitioning them to full time outside right now. Are we investing in a lost cause by hoping they’ll all get along? Also, if we get any hens, how far away would we have to keep their coop/run to keep from inciting the boys to get rowdy? Thanks so much for your help!!! It’s our first time with chickens. Pics below!

 

[Mrs. K]

Probably not what you want to hear - but I think this is a lost cause if you have neighbors, if you are in a real back yard. I would expect the pecking to get worse, and real fighting to commence. They don't call it cock fighting for nothing.

Roosters take a great deal of space. For an out door run, 10 x 4 is enough for one rooster. If that is your coop area - it will need some wind protection, depending where you are from? Do know that occasionally letting them outside for a couple of hours will not make up for overcrowding them the rest of the time.

Roosters together can create crowing contests. The no crow collars have their own issues. If you have neighbors - I think this is not going to work.

Do you have any females? If so, I applaud you for keeping them separate.

Roosters are where romance meets reality. You can try to at least thin them out by rehoming. Try posting in the feed store, or on media sites. Don't ask questions, once the birds are not yours, they are someone else's decisions.

Mrs K

 

[scsuburban]

Probably not what you want to hear - but I think this is a lost cause if you have neighbors, if you are in a real back yard. I would expect the pecking to get worse, and real fighting to commence. They don't call it cock fighting for nothing.

Roosters take a great deal of space. For an out door run, 10 x 4 is enough for one rooster. If that is your coop area - it will need some wind protection, depending where you are from? Do know that occasionally letting them outside for a couple of hours will not make up for overcrowding them the rest of the time.

Roosters together can create crowing contests. The no crow collars have their own issues. If you have neighbors - I think this is not going to work.

Do you have any females? If so, I applaud you for keeping them separate.

Roosters are where romance meets reality. You can try to at least thin them out by rehoming. Try posting in the feed store, or on media sites. Don't ask questions, once the birds are not yours, they are someone else's decisions.

Mrs K

Thanks so much for the detailed response! I appreciate the dose of reality.
I have half of the run covered with tarp and half open, they just were in the open region when I took the pictures. We don’t have any hens at this point, all four had supposedly been sexed and were sold as pullets.

we are on a 1/2 acre wooded lot in a neighborhood, there are other families with a rooster but I don’t know of anyone else with more than 1

 

[cmom]

I hatch out a lot of chicks every year of which around half will be males. When the males start to aggravate the females, I separate them and put them in bachelor coops and pens. I have had very few issues as long as there are no females in the mix.

 

[The Moonshiner]

I hatch out a lot of chicks every year of which around half will be males. When the males start to aggravate the females, I separate them and put them in bachelor coops and pens. I have had very few issues as long as there are no females in the mix.
View attachment 2816431View attachment 2816432

Same
Bachelor pads work.
No crow collars don't.
Multi roosters in neighborhoods most often don't.

 

[Alaskan]

When I do a bachelor pad they do fine, especially if they grow up together... BUT there is a large amount of crowing.

My neighbors actually like listening to the crowing.

 

[ElizaMay]

We ended up with four beautiful 15 week old cockerels of different breeds (Orpington, ameraucana, Copper Maran, and white faced Spanish) unintentionally, and were hoping we could find a way to keep them as a “bachelor pad” with crow collars, since we’re in a neighborhood. they’ve been together with us since the day they hatched, but have recently started pecking a bit more at each other. I built a 10x4 a frame run for them, and are transitioning them to full time outside right now. Are we investing in a lost cause by hoping they’ll all get along? Also, if we get any hens, how far away would we have to keep their coop/run to keep from inciting the boys to get rowdy? Thanks so much for your help!!! It’s our first time with chickens. Pics below!

The more toom they have, and obstacles to run behind, the better. Also what about pinless peepers?

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

I also moved our 3 cockerels into their own pad yesterday, because they started to annoy hens all day long. They grow up togethe and about 20 weeks old now. Similar as what I read here, they already had their own positions along the way.

There is one thing that draw my attention: The cockerel in the right hand side is originally the alpha male. He is also the only one who crowed all the time and always stand on the highest place to watch his (in his mind he believes so) flock and the surroundings.

After moving to the bachelor's pad, he was in an extremly bad and blue mood. He didn't crow, didn't want any food (he used to eat a lot of food) the entire day and kept standing in corners, watching girls behind the fence.

Compared with him, the other two young boys are as energetic as they were, nothing different. I already ordered something to block their view so they won't see any pretty ladies. However, it seems to me that he is very upset about the situation.