Can you have more than 1 rooster.

[lablover]

I have 5 hens and a roo that are 1 year old. I also 5 EE chicks that are 8 weeks old. 2 of them are roos for sure, and I really hate to get rid of one of them. My first thought is that it would not be easy to have 2 roos. But then, what if I had 2 separate flocks? This wouldn't work well either because the 2 flocks would be relatively close to each other. Thoughts?

 

[sourland]

Although multiple roosters can coexist in a flock given enough space, 2 roosters with 8 hens almost assures overbreeding and excessive wear and tear on your hens.

 

[donrae]

8 hens total? One rooster is going to be plenty. Just get rid of the young roosters, that's the easiest thing to do.

If you're bent on keeping them, the young boys could live in a bachelor pad by themselves. But don't subject your hens to that much male attention.

 

[Phoenixxx]

Chicken dinners? I have too many roos for the amount of hens I have and so far no problems. But I will be picking out which ones are best for breeding and which ones are going in my tummy over the next month or so. If you don't like chicken dinners or just want to see your excess boys thrive you can always advertise them for trade or sell them.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Agree wholeheartedly with all of the above. Keep one rooster and rehome the others. Your hens will thank you.

 

[enola]

You can keep all the roosters your neighbors can stand.

But you have to have the extra facilities, either a large pen for a bachelor pen, or separate cages for each one.

I only put my roosters in with my hens when I am collecting eggs to hatch. My roosters are individually caged causing more work..... Extra work reminds me to keep from collecting all of the beautiful roosters I find.

 

[ChickenLegs13]

If your chickens are like my chickens, if you mix them together the old chickens will stick together and the young chickens will stick together as a sub-group until they mature. That also answers your question about 2 seperate flocks being close together. Be careful though, 2 month old chicks are kinda young & small to be mixing with full grown birds. There may be some bullying & aggression toward the young birds, especially at feeding and roosting time.