Keeping 2 cockerels...trouble?

[Katejc]

Hello, I have 4 chickens so far. All are the same age at 13 weeks. They have been raised together since 4 weeks. 2 are silkies (a bonded boy & girl) and 2 are easter egger mutts (also boy & girl) that look like some sort of maran/wyandotte combo. I am hoping to keep all of my chickens but I know that is maybe not realistic with 2 roosters. Everyone gets along at the moment. Should I anticipate more problems as maturity hits and what should I look for? When should I expect these behaviours? The easter egger cockerel is twice the size of the silkie cockerel. Should I introduce some more females? I am perfectly happy to pick up some adult hens that have stopped laying to fix up my ratios. Any advice would be much appreciated!

Edited to add we have a 6x4x5 coop with a 10x10 run.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

Get more hens

 

[ValerieJ]

Definitely get more pullets or hens. I'm not clear on 6x4x5. Is the floor space 6x4 or 4x5? When adding new chickens make sure you have 4 sf per bird of coop space and 10 sf per bird run space. Also, quarantine the new pullets/hens for a few weeks to make sure you aren't introducing a disease to your current flock.

 

[Folly's place]

More hens would be a good idea.
Cockerels raised together may get along fine, as long as there is plenty of space, more than one feeder and waterer, and a larger group of hens.
Then a gain, one day they might decide to have it out, and your little Silkie won't be able to cope with a larger cockerel.
Have a Plan B ready, because things can fall apart fast!
Often people house Silkies separately, because they may not manage with the big birds.
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

I missed the part about your coop size. You really don't have room for more right now.
Mary

 

[so lucky]

Maybe two more pullets would fit into your coop. No need to get old girls; you may as well get some young ones that will lay for years.
I have 8 pullets in a coop that is 4 by 8 by 5 and they are crowded. Now that they are all laying, they are a little bit calmer, but still are chomping at the bit to get out every morning, and also to get out to "free range" for an hour every evening.

 

[Chicka_deee]

The best ratio of roosters to hens is 1 rooster to 10 hens.
You shouldn’t really have 1 rooster with only 2 hens either (if you were to get rid of one of the cockerels)
So if you were going to keep those cockerels with those 2 pullets you have right now I would defiantly get some more hens.
Yet it is best to have 1:10 (roosters : hen) ratio in your flock but often people have 2 rooster with 10 hens but it might cause problems like over breeding, lose of feathers and fighting between the roosters
I would definitely get more hens and probably get rid of one rooster to even the flock out.

 

[Chicka_deee]

I missed the part about your coop size. You really don't have room for more right now.
Mary

Yes I did to miss that you might not have enough room for so many new hens..

 

[chrissynemetz]

I agree with everyone, you definitely need more females if you have two cockerels. But you really don't have room to add any...

 

[Katejc]

Definitely get more pullets or hens. I'm not clear on 6x4x5. Is the floor space 6x4 or 4x5? When adding new chickens make sure you have 4 sf per bird of coop space and 10 sf per bird run space. Also, quarantine the new pullets/hens for a few weeks to make sure you aren't introducing a disease to your current flock.

Is this cubic feet for indoor coop size? Its 6 feet wide, 4 feet deep and 5 feet high. The run is 100 square feet because there is run space underneath the coop as well.