Can we keep 2 cockerels/roosters?

[HenOnAJuneBug]

I once had 3 roosters and one hen, and they got along fine. Whenever one roo would try to mate the hen another roo would run and knock him off. They were raised from chicks together and free ranged.

 

[HAPPYCHICKENLADY17]

Good for the girls!

IM THINKING OF REHOMING HIM, SUCH A SHAME HE IS SO GORGEOUS...BUT ID RATHER PROTECT MY HENS FROM STRESS THEY WENT ALMOST A YEAR AND A HALF WITH NO ROOS, AND I THINK THEY LIKE IT THAT WAY

 

[KikiDeAnime]

Usually roos raised together will not fight beyond the occasionally scuffle. This only works because when more than one male share a flock there is one that becomes the alpha and flock leader and the rest take their places further down the pecking order.

However you mentioned you have two flocks of girls. Do you keep them totally separate or do they free range together or share a run? If you end up giving one cockerel to each group of girls, and the groups interact sometimes, the boys will be far more likely to fight. This is because they will become separate flocks with the cockerels as the heads of each flock and they will view each other as rivals.

To keep the peace the flocks will have to be totally separate, or integrated together as one large flock.

Over mating is also always a possibility, but this really depends on the personalities and behaviour of the cockerels, plus the living environment (I. E. How much space the hens have to escape the cockerels' advances) . Some cockerels can be fine with one or two hens whilst others will cause problems like baldness and stress to a dozen hens.

The 2 flocks are only temporary. I was merely saying that I have 2 flocks right now.
Right now, Mouse & her chicks don't free range with the older hens as Mouse is a bantam hen so she'll most likely won't be able to protect her chicks from them since all the hens are standard size.

So if they fight constantly where blood starts getting shed, I should separate them or re-home one?
I already plan on re-homing one if we end up with 3 cockerels.

 

[Mrs. K]

Having a plan B ready to go, to me, means that you have a way to separate fighting birds, and a place to put them apart immediately. If it goes south, you need to have a plan.

Mrs K

 

[Roo5]

Lots of times males raised within the flock or together can do ok,however it truly depends on the boys.Ive had a father and son fight and the father killed the son(without us kwnoing it was even coming).All I found was the young cockerel on the run ground with a sprained neck.Ive also had 2 brothers try to kill each other but was there to resolve the issue and gave one away.Just be praised for the worse,anything could happen.Most brother raised together are a bigger issue because they often take turns raping/breeding hens and it’s just stressful.

 

[Roo5]

Roosters will always view one another as rivals weather separate and woe together, their also always in competition.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

I already had a plan B but thank you to those suggested it. If they end up fighting to the point of blood being shed, I will separate them with their own flocks or re-home one. I was hoping to keep 2 cockerels for breeding. I know we probably don't have enough hens for each boy but I will work on getting more to give to each.

 

[Fancychooklady]

I find that most cockerels will get along as long as they have been reared together. Of course once the hormones kick in there is always the potential for sparring but 9/10 one will submit and happily take on the roll of 2ic.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

Just a small question. Do Polish cockerels sometimes show early protective behavior? one of our Gold Laced likes to stand tall and watch.