HELP! - Need help with new Roosters

[AustinRhea]

This may not belong here, but I couldn't find another area that sounded right either.

Last night I took in 2 roosters and a hen from a friend that is about to move and can't have more than 1 rooster where he is moving. I only have hens and have only had them 10 months. So here are my questions I need help with. I know one of these belongs in another area and if need be I can ask just that question separately later.

1) What do I feed the roosters? Do they just eat the layer feed with the girls or do they get a different feed?

2) Can I give them a continuous feeder like I do the girls or do I have to feed them daily?

3) Should I keep them separate from each other and the girls? My plan was to build a separate coop and run for each of them so that they are separate from each other and the girls. Then when I want to breed I can move a hen to his coop and run. That way I also keep straight breeds and no mixed breeds.

4) How much space does a rooster need? I know each of my hens need 10 sq. ft.

Any other information you can give me on roosters would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Instead of building each rooster his own pen, you could build a bachelor pen and put whichever rooster you want to breed with your girls when its time. Just a thought.

My rooster eats gamebird, meatbird maker or some other high protein feed. I have Silkies though, and they don't require as much calcium as production breed. They get oyster shell on the side. My rooster eats out of a gravity feeder (continuous feeder) just like the girls. I've heard lots of folks say nit to feed layer bc it could damage your roos kidneys, but I've never noticed any ill effects when I do/did feed it. Space requirements are the same for either gender

I really like my roosters, I find them funny and endearing. I hope you enjoy yours just as much!

 

[AustinRhea]

So do you mean a separate building and run for ALL the roosters together? I thought they would fight and kill each other. That would be much easier and faster if I can do that.

 

[redstar14]

They eat the same stuff and the roosters will fight know this from experience and if you have the hens for laying you dont want the roosters in a pen with them

 

[bobbi-j]

A bachelor pen for all of the roosters will work just fine. Yes, there will be some scuffles as they sort out their pecking order, but if they don't have access to the hens, there will not be the serious fights you'd see otherwise. If you want certain roosters breeding certain hens, you may want to build breeding pens for them.

 

[donrae]

I agree, roosters seem to do well in bachelor pads, with males only. I guess this is somewhat breed dependent, if you have some types of game birds or jungle fowl types they won't house together from my understanding. But your common hatchery breeds will do fine. They'll squabble a little, but that's about it.

Why do you not want to house them with the hens? Depending on how many hens you have, that would be ideal.

 

[AustinRhea]

Right now the only roosters I have are Easter Eggers. One had to be helped out of his shell when he was born, so I was told not to breed him. I was told the other one should do really well.

I have 13 hens. Not all of them are to laying age yet. I know all of you that have done this forever will think it stupid, but I don't want my roosters with my hens because I don't want my eggs fertilized. Period. It may sound stupid and silly, but I want to control which hen is with which rooster and I don't want them surprising me. I know the eggs can't hatch if I collect them and refrigerate them, but that doesn't change how I feel about these guys. I am a prepper. I am trying to look at the future picture. If TEOTWAWKI happens, we won't be refrigerating eggs any longer. I want to have that control now so I don't have to try and build a separate housing environment AFTER something cataclysmic happens. I hope that makes sense.

 

[donrae]

So, sounds like a bachelor pad!

I fully understand where you're coming from, but you might also want to think of the fact that folks have eaten fertile eggs for thousands of years before electricity. Also, I don't know if you ever read that cool Mother Earth News article about storing eggs, but I believe the fertilized ones lasted longer overall. Now, it doesn't matter to me at all if your eggs are fertile or not, just trying to give some different points of view/information.

Good on the previous owner for not wanting the "helped" bird to breed! That shows a pretty good maturity level not often seen--weak genes shouldn't be passed on!

 

[AustinRhea]

Well the "helped" rooster is more docile and he is in with my hens at the moment. The EE rooster I was given to breed was set up in his temporary home today. He has a 11'x16' space to roam. Part of it is under our deck next to our house so he is protected from the elements. When it cools off we will build the bachelor pad for the boys.

Question about that: How far away does the bachelor pad need to be from the hens so that the roosters don't fight?