How can you have two or more roosters in a flock?

[donrae]

WoS, I'm glad you've had the same thing, with the old alpha being dethroned easily like that. I thought it was really weird this last spring, my previous alpha got knocked down and I didn't even really notice! There didn't seem to be any fighting, nothing like that. One day Rocky was king, just as he had been for the last 4 years. The next day, Oops was king....it just seemed really out of the blue! I knew Rocky was getting up there, but it was so sudden and easy it kind of freaked me out. Like Rocky didn't fight at all, he just knew his time was over. Now, Rocky is beta and the two youngsters are under him, I though that was kind of weird, since Rocky had been de throned I though he would always be omega, but not so. Chicken society is sure fun to watch!

 

[Folly's place]

Breed type also matters; very mellow birds may be harassed too much (think Favorelles) while game bird cock may kill each other. I had two bantam Cochin cocks who wanted to fight to the death one year, so they both left, to different other homes. Mary

 

[shmccarthy]

I have not had many problems with keeping multiple roosters. I had an EE rooster, which was my first rooster, with two bantam roosters. The bantam roosters would occasionally squabble between themselves but the EE never tried fighting the smaller ones. Once I got my barred rock rooster, they fought a lot and I rehomed the Easter egger because I wanted to breed the barred rock. The barred rock was not raised with my flock and he gets along just fine with my 6 bantam roosters. He did try to flog me one time, and I kicked his little butt and he hasn't raised a feather at me since. He gets along great with all the other chickens and will stop small fights in the flock. He's young and becoming a very great rooster. I had one of my bantam roosters get into a different breeding pen on accident and there was a little chest bumping, but no one was hurt before I could get him back out. I am giving away a few bantam roosters because they were surplus birds and I do not need them. My rooster to hen ration for one flock is about 1:15 right now. The bantam flock is 2:7, but they aren't overmated, if that changes, I will fix it. I am hopefully picking up a silkie rooster for a new 3rd flock and for breeding purposes. There are a lot of different variables I think that comes into play with having multiple roosters, it's definitely possible though.

 

[dandrews1971]

We currently have 5 roos but only 14 girls. No issues at all so far. Fred, the dominant roo takes care of the 6 oldest girls. Nyx, one of the younger roos takes care of the other 8. Bourbon gets in some sneak mating here & there. Cogburn, a BSL boy doesn't seem to harass the girls at all. & then there's Napoleon, my rescued bantam roo, he tries, but he doesn't really get anywhere with any of the big girls. Just kind of slides off..lol
Nyx & Bourbon will probably be going away soon as they're just not all that friendly. Not aggressive by any means but they're both only about 4 months old. I'm keeping Cogburn, as hes just so mild mannered. Hes not one who likes to be held or anything but hes just laid back.

 

[micah O]

You can but it is ideal to have one but depends on how many hens you have.

 

[Phoenixxx]

I have six young roos and fifteen hens. No problems so far, though occasionally dominant #1 will chase dominant #2. They all share the same coop but 4 of the boys and a few of the girls escape it first thing every morning. Later on in the day everyone else gets set loose, too. I only have an acre of which they maybe use about half. Note that 4 of the boys are brothers and practically inseperable (except for the quiet one that can't be bothered to fly and stays in the coop with 2 ornery old women and a bunch of tiny phoenixes!) They're only about 90% mature, though, so that may change.

 

[ChickenLegs13]

This is my own experience, not something I read on the internet. I have no set roo/hen ratio, other than when my belly is empty, my rooster population decreases. I've had multiple roosters in small flocks and *some times* it goes smoothly, *some times* it doesn't. When it goes smoothly the lesser roosters act as assistant managers, so to speak, scratching for the hens, escorting them to the nest box and standing guard while they lay, and helping raise the chicks. When it doesn't go smoothly, the lesser roosters are constantly being chased off by the top rooster and while this is taking place the other lesser roosters are sneaking in trying to rape the hens and causing stress & drama in the flock all day. These roosters will run 5 males a day chasing each other creating a constant commotion knocking the hens over, bouncing off the house, truck, trees, etc and I have to remove these trouble makers to preserve peace & harmony in the flock.
I've swapped roosters between flocks and certian lesser roosters are accepted & liked by all the hens & roosters, then there's some lesser roosters that all the chickens on my property simply hate & despise.
I have a lesser rooster right now that functions well in any of my flocks, his main purpose is broody rooster to which ever hen has chicks. When I have no broody hens he lives on Death Row with 16 other roosters that serve no useful purpose.

 

[themenagerie]

I have a lesser rooster right now that functions well in any of my flocks, his main purpose is broody rooster to which ever hen has chicks. When I have no broody hens he lives on Death Row with 16 other roosters that serve no useful purpose.

I didn't know they did this..until I hatched my first homegrown chicks a few weeks ago. My lesser rooster, who normally spends his time being chased by the alpha and hiding under the coop, now is playing "proud papa" to the broody & chicks, hanging out with them, showing them all the tasty morsels, and dust bathing together. The chaos in the flock has toned down too..it seems as though the alpha rooster approves of the lesser one's new "job".

 

[aart]

This is a great thread....found it by advanced search for 'multiple roosters in flock'.

My first flock, all mutts/mixes acquired a month ago, consists of 1 Rooster (very mellow guy) and 5 layers (all between 1-2 years old) and 4 pullets (now about 5 months old).
Coop is 6' x 12' with an 8' and a 4' roost set perpendicular but same height. Run is 8' x 30' with a 4' x 7' annex under the edge of the coop, can't free range...so kinda tight quarters, but enough I think. Everyone gets along pretty good with a bit of rank pulling by the older birds (mostly the hens) but no real fighting. 2 feeders and 2 waterers.

One of the pullets is now obviously a rooster, looks to definitely be the adult roosters progeny with the same hackle, saddle and tail feathers. His comb and waddles have gotten much larger and redder in just the last few days. The pullets are just starting to get squirrelly, lots of flapping around and Jr rooster is starting to chase the pullet girls tho they are not ready.

It will be very interesting to see if Jr rooster will be able to stay. Reading this thread, I'd say it's a maybe and probably dependent on Sr Roosters acceptance of his son.

Like donrae sez: Chicken Society sure is fun to watch!

 

[Phoenixxx]

This is a great thread....found it by advanced search for 'multiple roosters in flock'.

My first flock, all mutts/mixes acquired a month ago, consists of 1 Rooster (very mellow guy) and 5 layers (all between 1-2 years old) and 4 pullets (now about 5 months old).
Coop is 6' x 12' with an 8' and a 4' roost set perpendicular but same height. Run is 8' x 30' with a 4' x 7' annex under the edge of the coop, can't free range...so kinda tight quarters, but enough I think.  Everyone gets along pretty good with a bit of rank pulling by the older birds (mostly the hens) but no real fighting. 2 feeders and 2 waterers.

One of the pullets is now obviously a rooster, looks to definitely be the adult roosters progeny with the same hackle, saddle and tail feathers. His comb and waddles have gotten much larger and redder in just the last few days. The pullets are just starting to get squirrelly, lots of flapping around and Jr rooster is starting to chase the pullet girls tho they are not ready.

It will be very interesting to see if Jr rooster will be able to stay. Reading this thread, I'd say it's a maybe and probably dependent on Sr Roosters acceptance of his son.

Like donrae sez: Chicken Society sure is fun to watch!

That's a pretty big coop for the amount of birds you have! Let me guess, the run is the biggest you could make it from a 50' roll of chicken wire? I have a total of 21 birds right now, 6 of them (possibly 7?) are roosters. My coop is 6'x8', run about the same as yours, but anyone who doesn't feel like hanging out there simply flies out when they feel like it. I think - if they didn't have that option available - I might have a LOT more issues than I do at the moment! The biggest 4 compete for women with THE biggest playing "knight in shining armour" to those too young and not yet willing. I do have one that is not allowed to/afraid to eat breakfast with the others so I feed him seperately. Once in a while there will be a fight or a chase but, because they have the space, these don't get serious. At the same time, during afternoon siesta all the boys will be hanging out together in the same dust pit without complaint! Keep watching, you may find you'll either need to enlarge your run or build a second run (they'll be able to still share the coop, I'm sure!) or better yet, "chicken society" will sort itself out in a civilized manner and you won't have to do anything!