How many roosters to start with?

[GirlsHuntToo]

Getting two roosters probably wouldn't hurt but you would have to have the plan to get rid of one. Definitely not three though because too many roosters can really stress the hens out, to the point where they wouldn't lay and may not even come out of the coop.

 

[DarkAngel77]

Start with one rooster with a good temperament toward the hens and humans.

I just hope maybe I'll get lucky and the first will be the perfect one.

 

[NatJ]

Oh, I didn't mean keep all 2-3 roosters, I just meant get 2-3 and determine which one fits better with the flock/has the best temperament, etc.

Are you planning to get them as adults, or start with young chicks? If you start with adults, I would suggest getting what you think is the right number, and see how it goes.

But if you raise them from chicks, and if you are willing to eat chickens you have raised, I would suggest getting several, and plan on eating most of them as they grow.

Having extras makes it easy to decide that you don't need the runt, the one with a crooked beak, the one that always had pasty butt or bumblefoot or some other problem, the one that attacks you at a young age, or whatever other traits you see that you do not like. Each time one has a problem, eat him, and then continue to think about the others. I feel that people put up with too many problems in roosters when they only have one, because they don't want to part with their only rooster. (I've seen myself do it, and I've seen other people do it too.)

It also seems to me that raising several cockerels at once makes them less likely to attack people. Because they have other males to "fight" with, they recognize that people and chickens are not the same. (Some will attack people anyway, it just seems that fewer of them do: maybe 1 in 3 or 4 will attack people if they were raised together, with a higher rate for ones raised singly.) I haven't raised enough cockerels in enough different conditions to be positive about this, so it might just be an oddity of the particular ones I have dealt with.

I said they "fight" (with quotation marks) because it doesn't seem to be actual fights most of the time, more like practice or playing. They ruffle their feathers and jump around, and no-one gets hurt. I've seen some cockerels do this every few minutes, all day long, for weeks on end-- they are clearly working off a lot of energy on each other, that might otherwise cause problems for the people or the pullets.

 

[DarkAngel77]

Getting your plans figured out before you get your flock started is a smart move.
Your gonna get the good/bad boys in any breed so don't get into the mindset that "I want a Barred Rock (BR) because I remember them being nice"... Sure fire way to set yourself up for failure.
Their are some docile, friendly breeds out there and BR's are one of them. But it's more dependent on luck and how you raise/treat/respect your rooster for what he is/will become that factors more. Even then you may end up with a devil roo and need to re-evaluate his role in your flock.
Building a separation pen/coop for injury or timeouts is a must have in my eyes. Cockerels mature much faster than pullets and things can go sideways in a heartbeat. They wanna mate and the girls get stressed too early.

Think about your future plans for your flock. Just eating/giving away eggs? Selling eggs? Hatching and selling different breeds? Breeding one variety with potential hybrids?
Things to think about...

Research and research some more, but take others opinions at face value.

Oh no, I'm not dead set on having only a barred rock rooster, because I know that not all are the same, just because I remember the ones we had being good (20-30 years ago), doesn't necessarily mean that the one I get will have the exact same temperament. So I'm not dead set that a barred rock is the only rooster I will have.

How big should the separation coop/pen be? Should it only be used for 1 chicken at a time?

With the cockerels maturing faster then the hens, should I put him in the separation coop and give the girls time to fully mature before reintroducing them or will that cause stress on the flock? Would it be best to let the hens grow and mature before getting a rooster at all? The main reason(s) for really wanting a rooster is because they warn/protect the flock from predators, as well as hatching chicks when I plan to expand the flock.

 

[DarkAngel77]

Forgot to add... One of my darkest laying growouts is named Dark Angel (Shortened to just Angel) so there's that
Pics are from fall.
View attachment 3732619
View attachment 3732620

She is absolutely beautiful ♥ what breed is she? I love the dark eggs, I told ny husband I want a couple hens that lay dark brown eggs (I personally think they are prettier then the blue eggs that everyone goes crazy for, that's just my opinion and don't mean to offend anyone who likes the blues better).

 

[DarkAngel77]

Getting two roosters probably wouldn't hurt but you would have to have the plan to get rid of one. Definitely not three though because too many roosters can really stress the hens out, to the point where they wouldn't lay and may not even come out of the coop.

I have a plan in place for any that wouldn't work out. Yes, 3 sounded a bit excessive in my head but wanted to throw it out there to see what others opinions were.

 

[NatJ]

With the cockerels maturing faster then the hens, should I put him in the separation coop and give the girls time to fully mature before reintroducing them or will that cause stress on the flock? Would it be best to let the hens grow and mature before getting a rooster at all? The main reason(s) for really wanting a rooster is because they warn/protect the flock from predators, as well as hatching chicks when I plan to expand the flock.

Letting a cockerel grow up with pullets can work sometimes, and other times it does not work so well. You have to figure that one out by watching as it happens.

Letting the hens grow up first and then adding a rooster is definitely one option that can work well.

As regards warning about predators, some hens will do that too. You do not always need a rooster for that. As regards protecting the flock, some roosters will and some will not. The ones that do protect will sometimes get killed. A good fence is far better than a rooster for protecting the flock.

For siring chicks, yes you really do need a rooster, not any kind of substitute But in that case, since he will be the father of every chick you raise, you definitely want to think about the traits you want in the chicks, and make sure the rooster has the right traits. Egg color, laying ability, size, growth rate, temperament, and appearance are details that people often care about, although I don't know which ones will matter to you personally.

If you hatch chicks, about half of them will be males (Murphy's Law says more than half), so you need plans for dealing with quite a few extra males.

 

[DarkAngel77]

Are you planning to get them as adults, or start with young chicks? If you start with adults, I would suggest getting what you think is the right number, and see how it goes.

But if you raise them from chicks, and if you are willing to eat chickens you have raised, I would suggest getting several, and plan on eating most of them as they grow.

Having extras makes it easy to decide that you don't need the runt, the one with a crooked beak, the one that always had pasty butt or bumblefoot or some other problem, the one that attacks you at a young age, or whatever other traits you see that you do not like. Each time one has a problem, eat him, and then continue to think about the others. I feel that people put up with too many problems in roosters when they only have one, because they don't want to part with their only rooster. (I've seen myself do it, and I've seen other people do it too.)

It also seems to me that raising several cockerels at once makes them less likely to attack people. Because they have other males to "fight" with, they recognize that people and chickens are not the same. (Some will attack people anyway, it just seems that fewer of them do: maybe 1 in 3 or 4 will attack people if they were raised together, with a higher rate for ones raised singly.) I haven't raised enough cockerels in enough different conditions to be positive about this, so it might just be an oddity of the particular ones I have dealt with.

I said they "fight" (with quotation marks) because it doesn't seem to be actual fights most of the time, more like practice or playing. They ruffle their feathers and jump around, and no-one gets hurt. I've seen some cockerels do this every few minutes, all day long, for weeks on end-- they are clearly working off a lot of energy on each other, that might otherwise cause problems for the people or the pullets.

I'm planning to get as chicks, if I can I'd prefer to avoid getting any as adults.

I'm still not 100% sure if I could eat something I raised, like it's a plan and honestly something I'd like to do in the future (raise my own meat birds) but if for some reason any roosters that dont make the cut or is to aggressive etc, if I'm not able to eat them I have a friend who would take those ones and either give them a shot on her farm or put in her freezer.

If having several cockerels, they are to busy fighting each other to attack a human, when it gets narrowed down to 1 roo, how likely is it that he will then start attacking humans?
Being aggressive at all, whether towards humans or hens is absolutely 1 thing I won't put up with, I have small kids and definitely won't risk them being attacked, that's why the breeds that I plan to get is all calm/docile, I know that they may not all be like that just because of their breed and that some may be an odd ball out and could be evil, so I'm not deadset that my chickens is going to be all lovey dovey lap chickens but still trying to stay towards breeds that are commonly sweet.

 

[DarkAngel77]

Letting a cockerel grow up with pullets can work sometimes, and other times it does not work so well. You have to figure that one out by watching as it happens.

Letting the hens grow up first and then adding a rooster is definitely one option that can work well.

As regards warning about predators, some hens will do that too. You do not always need a rooster for that. As regards protecting the flock, some roosters will and some will not. The ones that do protect will sometimes get killed. A good fence is far better than a rooster for protecting the flock.

For siring chicks, yes you really do need a rooster, not any kind of substitute But in that case, since he will be the father of every chick you raise, you definitely want to think about the traits you want in the chicks, and make sure the rooster has the right traits. Egg color, laying ability, size, growth rate, temperament, and appearance are details that people often care about, although I don't know which ones will matter to you personally.

If you hatch chicks, about half of them will be males (Murphy's Law says more than half), so you need plans for dealing with quite a few extra males.

They will definitely be in a good fence, we're planning to build a covered run/fence, digging hardware cloth along the fence, etc.

My 2 biggest traits is personality and laying ability, maybe size too because I really don't want any small breeds if I can avoid it, I'm sure they are good and all but I just think the bigger chickens would just be a better fit.

Oh I have seen all of the ones who hatch eggs and their overabundance of roosters there would be a plan in place for the extra males.

 

[NatJ]

If having several cockerels, they are to busy fighting each other to attack a human, when it gets narrowed down to 1 roo, how likely is it that he will then start attacking humans?

I've seen mixed results on that one. I think it is still a bit better than males raised alone, because they had a better chance to get straight the distinction between humans and chickens.

There is also the option of keeping the best two males, if they are not causing problems for each other or for the hens. Or keeping none, if they all cause trouble.

Being aggressive at all, whether towards humans or hens is absolutely 1 thing I won't put up with, I have small kids and definitely won't risk them being attacked, that's why the breeds that I plan to get is all calm/docile, I know that they may not all be like that just because of their breed and that some may be an odd ball out and could be evil, so I'm not deadset that my chickens is going to be all lovey dovey lap chickens but still trying to stay towards breeds that are commonly sweet.

They will definitely be in a good fence, we're planning to build a covered run/fence, digging hardware cloth along the fence, etc.

My 2 biggest traits is personality and laying ability, maybe size too because I really don't want any small breeds if I can avoid it, I'm sure they are good and all but I just think the bigger chickens would just be a better fit.

Oh I have seen all of the ones who hatch eggs and their overabundance of roosters there would be a plan in place for the extra males.

It sounds like you have this pretty well planned out, with expectations that are reasonable. Good!

As regards keeping children safe, I definitely agree that is important! Keep an eye on the hens too, because not every hen is completely nice either. Broody hens tend to be the worst, but some others are just determined to eat fingers or freckles, or fly in someone's face as they try to get out the open gate, and so forth (they may not intend to be aggressive, but can still cause trouble.)