Ok, heres the deal, I have two roosters they are the same age, (pretty obvious they are not the same breed, check them out below), I need to get them in their own coops. My questions are. My wife thinks that since they were raised together they will get along in the same 4x8 ft. coop, I say I don't think so? If I build one coop can i put a wire partition in it to keep them apart or does it need to be a solid board so they can't see one another? Would it be better to build seperate small coops for each? All help is appreciated.
Quote:Always better to have seperate coops/pens. Tight quarters is just asking for trouble, but if you can prevent them from seeing any hens, it will help. good luck........Pop
Too many variables involved to say for sure... If there are just a few birds (like maybe 4-5) in a 4 x 8...maybe. If one roo is already submissive...maybe. Some have several roos that do fine with one another (usually because there is more than ample space for each to have their own area and girls). Other folks can have all the room in the world and ample hens, and a certain rooster will not tolerate another male anywhere around. Some breeds appear to be pretty tolerant of other males, while other breeds are quite aggressive. IMO, your best bet, since your coop is smallish, is to have two separate housings & flocks, even if they freerange together. But your observations will let you know what would work best for your roosters.
When I first bought my flock, I bought them straight run. I ended up with 9 roosters and 8 hens. I have brought my population of roosters down to 2. Everyone is happy. They are all 9 months old now. I have even heard that having 2 will help them fight each other instead of me. My roosters are not aggressive in any way but I decided that its better to be safe than sorry. As long as you have enough space per chicken, there shouldn't be a problem.
I am one of the fortunate few who have multiple roosters and get along fine. I have 17 hens and 3 rooster in a large run. My light brown leghorn is the alpha and the two younger roos are his offspring but they are over a year old now. They don't like my freerange roosters getting too close to the pen but they tolerate each other very well. It doesn't always work but you won't know unless you try it for your situation. Good luck. Kenny
