Quote: It totally depends on your roos. My son had show poultry 20 years ago. I don't remember there ever being a problem with housing multiple roosters together. A year ago, we got 12 assorted pullets from the feedstore, 2 ended up being roos. We went back out and rebought those two breeds, so we ended up with 2 boys and 12 girls in our flock. Everything was fine until they all matured. Those two boys were in bloody battles and were too aggressive with their ladies, so I had to sell one. The one I have left is still too rough with his favorite girls and I make sure I always know where he is when I enter their run. I don't trust him completely.
Of course, I instantly got the itch to add show birds and became addicted to incubating eggs. The reason we now have so many roosters. I have 15 breeds (like potato chips) and each breed lives in it's own coop/run. Since many of these are grow out pens, there can be 10 roos in a single pen. Many of them are mature, the pullets are just starting to lay and the cockerels are starting to pay attention to them. I haven't seen anyone be rough with the ladies, no bare patches, etc. The only aggression I've seen between the boys has been flared hackle feathers, the occasional chest bump, but mostly it ends with just a stare down. I do have many fairly placid breeds.
The only exception is a pen of serama (yes, the miniature chicken). I was given a group, a cock with two hens, a second cock with a hen, two pullets and his young son. These eight
tiny (about a half pound each) birds are in a 8x12 run with a 4x8 coop and they squabble constantly. I need to break the group up.
From my experience and from what I've read, you will be less likely to house multiple hatchery roos together. With birds from a breeder, they breed for temperament, not just egg production. The roos for the most part are gentler with each other, of course, results can vary. However, your plan of free-ranging 40 hens with 3 roos sounds completely workable. Enough room for eveyone to break up into their own groups and give each other a wide berth. I would not trust that arrangement around young children. If a rooster jumps up to flog you, they generally hit you around thigh height, a young child would take that attack at face height.
Good luck,
Deb
So far all of this is true!
The meanest so far for me were Hatchery Partridge Rocks. Oddly, the hatchery Red Star Roosters were the nicest. The SQ Marans, so far are in the middle. Of course the EO Basque, so far is the friendliest with both other roos and people. The Hatchery SG Dorking is very friendly with people, but went after one of the Marans Cockerels this morning. He is still scared of the big girls but at least they don attack him on site any more
I have to say, Roosters add quite a bit of spice to the chicken experience.
Ron
