How can I add another rooster in my flock?

[chicken farmer]

I have a easter egg rooster thats almost a year old and has 4 hens of his own right now,he is very territorial. They have a big pen but I let them free range every now and again and when I do he wont really attack a cat,or dog or anything except when im around sometime he likes to attack my foot/leg. Of course he runs over furious when a hen gives out the danger call.but I want him to be really protected(even no he is) I would feel REALLY good if I had 2 rooster in the flock, then the whole flock would feel real safe and secure................I really need help on if I can add another rooster to the flock,but wouldnt the 2 roosters fight to the death since my rooster is already 1 year old???? My only idea is since im putting more hens in the flock this spring is to throw a cockrel in with the pullets and my rooster wouldnt really no at first then the cockrel would grow up a little bit and they can figure out the pecking order from then on. Any ideas????? THANKS!!!!

 

[Eggcessive]

He is likely to attack another rooster. He sounds as though he is getting mean if he is attacking your leg. If you get more chickens I would get a baby rooster and some pullets and let the rooster grow up in the flock. That way he would be accepted. With 4 hens you don't need any more roosters, but you would need about 20 hens total to justify another roo. To add an adult roo to your flock, you would need to remove your present roo from the flock, and try putting him in a pen with another young roo for a long period to let them establish who's boss, then put them both into the flock at the same time. Separate them if they fight really bad so no one gets hurt.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You might read my post in this thread. It might help you.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/747258/ss-roo-out-of-quaranteen-and-into-brood-pen

My advice is to keep as few roosters as you can and still meet your goals. It’s not that multiple roosters are guaranteed to give you problems, just that the more roosters you have the more likely you are to have a problem. You are dealing with living animals. No one can guarantee you anything, but we can tell you what our experiences are and what could happen. There is value in that.

I also don’t believe in magic numbers when it comes to hen to rooster ratio. My worst problems with hens losing feathers have been when I had just one rooster with several hens. I have had what some people would think are horrible hen to rooster ratios without any kinds of problems. No behavior problems, no barebacked hens, no serious fighting, no problems whatsoever.

I agree you are less likely to have problems if you have plenty of hens for them to share but really low hen to rooster ratios is not a guarantee of problems. And frankly, I consider the few times I’ve seen any problem had more to do with the hen than the rooster. When I removed the hen the problem went away and did not return.

I also agree you are a lot less likely to have a serious problem if the second rooster is raised in the flock with the older rooster. When the young one matures they will determine which is dominant, but a lot of times they do that and you don’t even see it happening.

I also don’t think a second rooster will give you that much more protection. Part of the dominant rooster’s job is to watch out for problems. Non-dominant roosters are not always real good about doing that. And more often than not, I see my dominant roosters leading the hens to safety when danger approaches instead of putting himself between the hens and danger. Some roosters will sacrifice themselves in trying to protect their flock but a lot won’t.

 

[MsChickenMomma]

Having a rooster grow up in the flock from a young age doesn't always help. I was told that it would work if I added another rooster to the flock when he was young, that way he can grow up to learn that the older rooster is alpha. Didn't work... My younger rooster that I added to the flock this summer was added to the flock at 4 weeks of age. He is now 8 months old and I have to keep him in the front of my barn with the cats because my older rooster is trying to kill him. My older rooster was 10 months old when I added a second rooster to the flock, and he has never showed any sign of aggression to the other animals or people. That was what made me think it would be fine to add another rooster to the flock, because my current rooster was so sweet.

Once my younger rooster Rodney started crowing and started to become interested in the hens, my oldest rooster Randy started chasing him none stop, and when he would catch Rodney, he would attack him and leave him with bloody combs and waddles. Randy still has never attacked me or any members of my family, and he is still as sweet as can be, but as soon as I stick Rodney in the coop, it's like he goes insane with anger. He won't stop until he catches Rodney. Even when they are out free ranging, he chases Rodney until they both can't run anymore from exhaustion.

Because I have grown so attached to both of my roosters, and re-homing one isnt an option, I ordered 10 chicks and we will be making Rodney his own coop and give him his own hens.

So lesson learned, I probably won't try and add more roosters to the flock unless they are both the exact same age. That way they grow up together and establish the pecking order early on (most of the time).

Maybe you will have better luck than I did, but be prepared that it may not go as well as people say it will. It especially won't go well if your current rooster is already so aggressive. Good luck!

 

[missnu01]

I have 3 adult roosters and no fighting.
You have to have enough space, and enough hens...
You have to introduce them slowly, and some roosters will not tolerate another rooster. Luckily my big guy is the friendliest rooster ever. Lol. He isn't very good at watching the hens, but he does fertilize the eggs and keeps anyone else from fighting amongst themselves.
I introduced one new rooster by putting him in a dog crate in the coop...so the other chickens could see him, but not get to him...Then after a week I let him out...My big roo flew at him and the new roo ran away, and that was that. That was all the fighting they needed to decide who was on top...then again one of the roosters if huge while the other 2 are tiny..so there really can't be a whole lot of fighting between them...
The youngest cockerel has just started to crow, but he grew up with all the rest of the chickens...so the roosters get in crowing contests, and they will side step each other from time to time as the new little guy tries to take his place in the flock, but no big deal.
Sometimes all the roosters wander off together and leave the hens all alone in the yard...they have made it the boys club. Only the large roo gets to breed the hens though. There are a couple of smaller hens that the youngest roo gets, and the middle roo gets nothing at all...poor little silkie guy..he's the best rooster of them all when it comes to keeping the hens safe, but he gets no satisfaction. The younger roo is getting with the younger pullets, and won't let the silkie share, and the big alpha roo gets the mature hens, and also wont' share with the silkie.
I am ordering a few silkies so the silkie roo can get a little action...Lol.

 

[chicken farmer]

Thanks everyone. I think im gonna try the cockrel with pullets and see how it goes.But i have in another pen a silkie rooster and 2 silkie hens and I would LOVE to have them all together but im shure my americauna rooster would kill my silkie rooster......any help please tell,thanks