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Fairy13 said:
Thank you! I dont know how many cockerels we may have at mo as we've 7 adult hens and the 5 chicks. So.. we are having to wait and see what we've got in the mix of chicks.. one cockerel would be handy but I dont think we will be that lucky!
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The older hens will teach the cockerels manners and the cockerels will follow their lead when young.
I've had 10 cockerels grow up under the leadership of my rooster and a large flock of mixed breed hens. I've never had a mean boy in the bunch.
My rooster has given me all kinds of crap in the past but he is an EXCELLENT bird for the flock and we've learned to work together. I can't remember the last time he tried to flog me.
Roosters can be excellent additions to the flock or nightmares. It depends on the bird, how they are raised and your interaction with them.
 
DobieLover said:
The older hens will teach the cockerels manners and the cockerels will follow their lead when young.
I've had 10 cockerels grow up under the leadership of my rooster and a large flock of mixed breed hens. I've never had a mean boy in the bunch.
My rooster has given me all kinds of crap in the past but he is an EXCELLENT bird for the flock and we've learned to work together. I can't remember the last time he tried to flog me.
Roosters can be excellent additions to the flock or nightmares. It depends on the bird, how they are raised and your interaction with them.
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@DobieLover, I agree with this post more that your previous one.

DobieLover said:
Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.
You will likely need to rehome all but one cockerel. That many boys with the number of girls you have usually leads to lots of screaming, feather pulling and some bare backs. And sometimes bloody boys.
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You are right, straight run can sometimes cause violence problems, but not usually to the extent you describe!
I go with straight run sometimes and, though there is the occasional fight, bloody boys is less of a problem than when you acquire roos later in life- brothers just don't hurt each other as much.

I've no doubt all of what you say is totally based on experience, but it just hasn't been that way for me.
How do you deal with the violent ones then, I'm curious to know?
 
Sulky Bantam said:
How do you deal with the violent ones then, I'm curious to know?
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They leave the property. I've only had this happen with my black Ameraucana rooster as I have rehomed the rest of the cockerels before they get brave enough to take on the senior rooster, Fabio. The Ameraucana wasn't aggressive. He just wanted to be top rooster so he kept attacking Fabio. I came out to a bloody mess one day and after several days to cool down with the junior rooster penned, the fighting started back up as soon as I released Jr back into the flock. I sold him and the woman who took him is using him for her breeder rooster in her Ameraucana flock.

All the cockerels here wreak havoc when they hit around 15 to 16 weeks old by constantly chasing the pullets and hens and yes, there is a LOT of screaming and feather pulling and worn out backs if they stay too long. They do learn a lot while here and have gone on to be flock leaders and I hear back regularly from the new owners how much they love them.

This is Matrix who went to his new home this summer.
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DobieLover said:
They leave the property. I've only had this happen with my black Ameraucana rooster as I have rehomed the rest of the cockerels before they get brave enough to take on the senior rooster, Fabio. The Ameraucana wasn't aggressive. He just wanted to be top rooster so he kept attacking Fabio. I came out to a bloody mess one day and after several days to cool down with the junior rooster penned, the fighting started back up as soon as I released Jr back into the flock. I sold him and the woman who took him is using him for her breeder rooster in her Ameraucana flock.

All the cockerels here wreak havoc when they hit around 15 to 16 weeks old by constantly chasing the pullets and hens and yes, there is a LOT of screaming and feather pulling and worn out backs if they stay too long. They do learn a lot while here and have gone on to be flock leaders and I hear back regularly from the new owners how much they love them.

This is Matrix who went to his new home this summer.View attachment 2413159
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I see. Nice to hear of someone who rehomes. Interesting, our cockerels bother the pullets when they are younger and then calm down. But we try not to have more the 3 at a time.

Sadly, our senior rooster died so his two cockerel sons haven't learnt to titbit. Then the hens peck them because their mating is not subtle enough!
 
Welcome to BYC from Arizona! This is the place to be for all your chicken news, connections to helpful poultry folks and more!

Wishing you the best with your potential roos and the rest of your flock. I've had to cull a roo raised from chick - who was sooo wonderful as a youngster but wouldn't stop trying to flog me when 3-4 months old. So I know it's hard to do that - it's also very difficult to rehome in my area. I've come to the realization that I have to manage my flock for the good of the whole flock & us human flock keepers. I was able to give another super nice roo a place in this flock and life is much more enjoyable for everyone.
 

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