Help, please.

[FranklinAdams]

Thanks! Do you think adding another hen or two would help or hinder?

It's always better to have more hens. They won't all choose the same rooster necessarily. After a while the quarrels settle down and they just give each other a polite but wide birth. When ours go into the henhouse to roost for the night they do that in a certain order and even a rejected rooster will be able to sneak in at the last. There's a lot of bloody battle in nature but nobody gets killed!(That's human behaviour!) As long as there's enough space! But for the sake of the extra roosters, I'm glad to be able to give them away to anyone with a lonely hen! Then everyone's happy.

 

[FranklinAdams]

Well I am going to be the bad news (haha, not and enabler) A lot depends on where you are, and how lucky you are. What you need is a couple of plans, at least A and B.

If you live away from the equator, in the northern hemisphere, the advantages of free ranging will not compensate for too small of a coop. In the north, the dark hours of night will artificially confine your birds somewhere between 14 -16 hours a night. Mine in SD are roosted by 4:15 in December, and not coming off the roost until 7:30 ... in good weather. Bad weather can really compound it.

The thing is, roosters can get along just wonderfully... until they don't, and then they can fight terrible. Sometimes they fight once, and get over it, and sometimes they will fight continuously, even to death.

They can be darling pets... until they turn into demons attacking children first, then women, then men as they get braver and meaner.

The plan B is how to separate them, and where to put the fighting birds, and plan B needs to be previously set up, so you can do it immediately. A dog crate and a 5 foot fish net can work well.

Maybe I will be an enabler, if you get rid of two roosters, you can get more hens! and still have everything thing fit in your set up. The thing with chicken math, is it has to work both ways, additions and subtractions. I work at enjoying keeping a flock, the individual birds come and go!

Mrs K

There's no getting around the advantages of at least one extra coop, preferably with an extra closed yard! One coop is never large enough to stop fighting. There may also be behavioural differences among different races of fowl.

 

[Dona Worry]

Well I am going to be the bad news (haha, not and enabler) A lot depends on where you are, and how lucky you are. What you need is a couple of plans, at least A and B.

If you live away from the equator, in the northern hemisphere, the advantages of free ranging will not compensate for too small of a coop. In the north, the dark hours of night will artificially confine your birds somewhere between 14 -16 hours a night. Mine in SD are roosted by 4:15 in December, and not coming off the roost until 7:30 ... in good weather. Bad weather can really compound it.

The thing is, roosters can get along just wonderfully... until they don't, and then they can fight terrible. Sometimes they fight once, and get over it, and sometimes they will fight continuously, even to death.

They can be darling pets... until they turn into demons attacking children first, then women, then men as they get braver and meaner.

The plan B is how to separate them, and where to put the fighting birds, and plan B needs to be previously set up, so you can do it immediately. A dog crate and a 5 foot fish net can work well.

Maybe I will be an enabler, if you get rid of two roosters, you can get more hens! and still have everything thing fit in your set up. The thing with chicken math, is it has to work both ways, additions and subtractions. I work at enjoying keeping a flock, the individual birds come and go!

Mrs K

There will be a zero tolerance policy of aggressive birds. They won't be confined (and possibly escape) and I won't pass an aggressive bird onto someone else. I have a cousin who raises meat birds and would happily process an aggressive roo for me, or if the timing is bad, the local raptor rescue group takes donations of unwanted birds.
I think I will aim to accommodate them if I can. I do want to keep them both. I may be able to rig up something...

 

[bobbi-j]

There will be a zero tolerance policy of aggressive birds. They won't be confined (and possibly escape) and I won't pass an aggressive bird onto someone else. I have a cousin who raises meat birds and would happily process an aggressive roo for me, or if the timing is bad, the local raptor rescue group takes donations of unwanted birds.
I think I will aim to accommodate them if I can. I do want to keep them both. I may be able to rig up something...

I agree with Mrs. K - have a plan ready to separate immediately if (when) needed.

 

[bobbi-j]

well, I have 2 roosters and only two hens and they all get along except one of my hens get a little over mated then the other because she is also in the bottom of the pecking order, but i would suggest getting more hens instead of kills an innocent life.

Please edit and remove your age from your post. It's just not a good idea to put that out there (internet safety and all that).

 

[Dona Worry]

I agree with Mrs. K - have a plan ready to separate immediately if (when) needed.

I will focus my attention on giving them more roosting space and a second feeder to cut down on competition, and getting a winter setup that allows for them to spread out more. If there is anything beyond a normal scuffle, the more aggressive one will be placed in a calf hutch and culled immediately.

 

[aart]

Welcome to BYC!

My vote was not on the poll....that would be...cull both males.
Unless you need fertile eggs there's no real reason to have a male at all.

That coop is minimal for 8 birds...I'm guessing it's about 6x6'.
....and I see no ventilation?

Where in this world are you located?
Climate is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, then it's always there!

 

[Dona Worry]

Welcome to BYC!

My vote was not on the poll....that would be...cull both males.
Unless you need fertile eggs there's no real reason to have a male at all.

That coop is minimal for 8 birds...I'm guessing it's about 6x6'.
....and I see no ventilation?

Where in this world are you located?
Climate is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, then it's always there!
View attachment 1458629

The roof is ventilated, and unless the roosters turn mean, I have no reason to cull them. I like seeing them.

 

[Dona Worry]

I am in New England. Cold winters are a real risk, which is why my coop is almost a greenhouse. I asked for advice from the My Pet Chicken chat people, and they gave some great input. And yes, it is big enough for 8 hens in the winter.

 

[Dona Worry]

A guy makes these little coops fairly cheap, I might get one this fall.

Just attach the run to the big coop, so the 2 coops share a run and have access to both coops on all but the coldest nights, free ranging during the day!