How Many Roos Do You Have??

[MelissaA]

And how do you manage them? I have heard of people keeping a roo pen and others free ranging roos together, are there any ways to keep them in the same coop with the girls and keep everyone happy?

 

[kindir]

I have 3 roosters, but they each have a separate coop area. I have no idea how you could put more than one roo in the same area without a battle occurring at some point. I recently built an outdoor run right next to an existing one and the 2 roos were fence fighting for a little while until they figured out that they couldn't get at each other. Now they are fine, but if I put them together it wouldn't be pretty.

I have heard that free-ranging them can work but I would think it would require some pretty mellow roosters. Being the lunatic that I am, I just keep building more coops

 

[sandy sea]

I have two roosters with my flock of 16 Standard hens. Of the two roosters only one is a standard size the other is a banty . The banty has no breeding rights to the standard hens, the girls just laugh at him. My brother has coops where he has more than one rooster to his group of hens. The biggest rooster seems to run the gang.

 

[darkmatter]

I keep about 1 Roo to 10 hens, so I have 4 Roos now in the Coop/run all together. However the dominant Roo is the oldest and the younger ones are "installed spares" ready to replace the "Cock of the Walk" when he retires/expires. My surplus Roos get sent to freezer camp when they get big enough. I've been hatching my own eggs and have over the years sent the aggressive Roos to freezer camp in the proper time-----so my flock is descended from Roos that were selected for gentle behavior.

 

[MelissaA]

I am wondering if you raise them together if that will help? I currently have a batch of chicks that have two or three roos I might want to keep. I keep adding on to my coop with smaller runs and small coops. My husband thinks I am crazy!

 

[darkmatter]

Quote:
Yes, raise them together. The ones I hatch in the incubator and brooder, I put in an "introductory cage" inside the coop for a couple weeks before I start letting them physically mix. Also, when I have broody hens hatch out eggs of my choice, the hen protects them and integrates them into the flock from hatchlings.

 

[mamabigbird]

Zero roos here. I don't want anybody challenging me for the girls affections and I don't like the crowing. My biggest hen Growler acts as the warning system for any overhead threats. She lets out a long low growl to warn the others and they all run for cover. Funny 'cuz she's the youngest in the group.

 

[Frannabelle]

I posted this in the behavior thread too.....

I have a 10 mo old bantam roo and a 3 mo old bantam roo...both roos had their own "girls". The older one has his girls that are the same age, the younger one has his girls from his hatching. Everything has been fine until 2 days ago when my older one started seeking the younger out to attack. And I mean going for the kill. They have plenty of room and free range and I thought at first they would work it out, but realized quickly I was going to have a dead boy. Luckily he had a home to go to. My sisters friend has several roos over 2 years old and she's never had one issue with them. I guess it just depends on the rooster. But this older guy was not going to give it up until he killed him

 

[common coop]

Oh I miss some of the roosters I have given away - esp. Henry the Barred Rock!!

But Olaf is such a giant Americauna -- I never wanted to sanction what he might do to another roo. But then last year - I took on 7 bantams as a rescue - 2 of which were roos . I kept them in the same coop - separated by wire fence - for about a month -- before letting them out all together. And by that time they were all complete cool with each other. They are now my three tenors -- and Olaf just has to look at them when they try to ride his hens -- and they know not to mess with him.

So of course -- now I'm about to add a fourth -- a Russian Orloff -- just to keep things interesting --

 

[MelissaA]

It really must be depending on the roos! (and girls)