Does anyone know how to keep my Rooster from dominating the food

[chickenw12]

I have two Roosters together They get along great but when both of them are eating they wont let the hens eat how can this be stoped

 

[jak2002003]

Put in another feeder away form the first one...

I don't think the hens will mind waiting until the roosters are finished eating anyway.

 

[islandgirl82]

I'm guessing they're fairly young?

Yes, adding a second feeder will give the girls a chance at getting some food without having to wait and if your boys are young, they just haven't learned to be chivalrous yet. I had the same issue with my own cockerel who's 7 months now and finally stopped muscling his way to the dishes first. It took a while even with my older hens chasing him off but now he patrols while they eat and cleans up when they start dwindling off to forage.

 

[chickenw12]

yes they are young they just started crowing

 

[islandgirl82]

They should outgrow this behavior but definitely add more feeding stations.

How many girls do you have?

 

[chickenw12]

well alot i have 2 black star hen,1 cornish hen,1 buff orphington hen, 1 easter egger, 1 bantom hen, 1 black sexlink,and 1 barrred rock hen so 9 hens all together

 

[islandgirl82]

You may find you have one too many boys for the number of girls you have. Although they may get along now they'll fight over the girls once their hormones get kicked into high gear and your hens could be caught in the crossfire. I'd be worried about your bantam in particular unless you keep her separate from the boys.

 

[donrae]

They're greedy adolescents right now, they're bigger and bolder so they can hog the food. Once the ladies start looking like ladies to them, they'll be more than happy to share

.

Agree you may have a management decision to make shortly as they mature. You may not have enough hens, or your males may not get along. It's good to start a contingency plan now.

 

[sourland]

Good advice from islandgirl and donrae.