Multiple rooster problem!

[Austinbh19]

I have 1 coop 12x12 with “The best nestbox”.
Up u til 2 weeks ago I had 2 roosters that got along fine. My farm flooded in the tropical storm and I lost 1 of them.
I now have 7 hens and 1 rooster.
Today I added a Game Mix rooster. The current rooster (silky mix) chased him until he flew away Smh.
Tomorrow I have 3 adult Light Brahma I’m introducing.
SHOULD I HAVE A SEPARATE COOP?
HOW CAN I KEEP THEM IN THE SAME AREA (1acre) WITHOUT FIGHTING?

Any info would be helpful I thank you all in advance!

 

[DobieLover]

I have 1 coop 12x12 with “The best nestbox”.
Up u til 2 weeks ago I had 2 roosters that got along fine. My farm flooded in the tropical storm and I lost 1 of them.
I now have 7 hens and 1 rooster.
Today I added a Game Mix rooster. The current rooster (silky mix) chased him until he flew away ☹ Smh.
Tomorrow I have 3 adult Light Brahma I’m introducing.
SHOULD I HAVE A SEPARATE COOP?
HOW CAN I KEEP THEM IN THE SAME AREA (1acre) WITHOUT FIGHTING?

Any info would be helpful I thank you all in advance!

A resident rooster will nearly always attack and chase off an interloper rooster or sexually mature cockerel. The easiest way to introduce a new male into the flock is to raise him under a broody hen within the flock.

 

[aart]

Today I added a Game Mix rooster. The current rooster (silky mix) chased him until he flew away ☹ Smh.

Why are you adding more males?

Tomorrow I have 3 adult Light Brahma I’m introducing.

Females or males?

First:
Consider biological/medical quarantine:
BYC Medical Quarantine Article


Then here's some tips about.....
Integration Basics:

It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.
Good ideas for hiding places:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

 

[Mrs. K]

Multiple coops are sweet, without a doubt. But you can add birds to a current flock, but it is a bit tricky. Personally if I wanted more than one rooster, I would be wanting a flock of hens more than 25. Otherwise it really is not worth it.

The more roosters you have, the greater the chance of things not working out.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Hatched 1st youngsters this past spring, 10 chicks, ended up with 5 Hens & 5 Roos. 3 of the Roos, sweet Ameraucana boy, a Tough Buff Orpington & a flippy RIR, are still together in their bachelor pad, away from hens. The RIR will spar at times, he is the trouble maker out of the 3 & usually picks on sweet natured Dooley Ameraucana, simply because he can, but I see no major injuries, just occasional tiny speck of scab on RIR comb or wattle when Buff steps in & stops all arguments. Buff & Ameraucana get along cuz Buff is boss & Ameraucana is cool with that. If it gets worse, "someone" (RIR) will need to be moved. The other 2 boys, even though all raised together, began to spar, then spar rough, I had to separate them from the other 3, then they started fighting with eachother, very rough, they are both chunky Wyandottes. Even if raised together, there's no way of predicting who will remain peaceful. I can't imagine introducing a stranger. You may end up doing what I have to do...build another coop.

 

[Ridgerunner]

From your post I think you are dealing with all mature birds, no juveniles, though I'm not sure about your game.. Thanks, that helps. I'm not sure of the sex of your three Brahmas though I assume at least one is male.

When two adult birds of any sex are introduced they sort out the pecking order, even if it is two hens. Sometimes with hens that involves vigorous fighting but usually it's more about a little pecking and intimidation. Sometimes you don't even notice but they do.

With mature males you will notice, nothing subtle about them. Sometimes that is a fight to the death, sometimes it involves more running away and chasing, especially if they have room to run away. But it still is usually violent for a while before they get to the running and chasing. Not sure what you saw with that game that ran away.

I don't find the number of girls to be that important. They will fight over 30 as quickly as they will fight over 1. They have to know which is boss. I don't think you can stop them from fighting. That is their instinct, to sort out the pecking order. If the boys are isolated from the girls they usually don't fight that viciously. You may have to resort to that.

So what can you do? Read Aart's suggestions. I think you free range since that game flew away and you mentioned an acre so some of them may not apply but they are good to know, just figure out how they may apply to your situation. I'm trying to guess your situation, that's why I mention my assumptions. If I'm wrong, tell me.

Assuming you free range I'd house the new ones in a separate coop or coop/run for a week or so. Part of that is so they can see the others but a big part is so they think of it as home. You want them to return there to sleep at night instead of flying away. Then try to free range them together when you can observe. The boys will probably fight. I'd let them but be ready to intervene if you see blood or if one lays down, giving up, and the other stays over him still pecking. If you don't intervene if that happens you will probably have a dead rooster on your hands. You may need to isolate them again and try later or keep then permanently separated.

Sometimes roosters work out an accommodation and can live together peacefully. Sometimes they fight to the death. It helps that you have an acre to play with but you can never tell what will happen. Try it and go by what you see. No one can give you guarantees about what will happen.

Good luck!

 

[MysteryChicken]

I have multiple roosters, & it works fine for me.

 

[VT_Veggie_Lover]

From your post I think you are dealing with all mature birds, no juveniles, though I'm not sure about your game.. Thanks, that helps. I'm not sure of the sex of your three Brahmas though I assume at least one is male.

When two adult birds of any sex are introduced they sort out the pecking order, even if it is two hens. Sometimes with hens that involves vigorous fighting but usually it's more about a little pecking and intimidation. Sometimes you don't even notice but they do.

With mature males you will notice, nothing subtle about them. Sometimes that is a fight to the death, sometimes it involves more running away and chasing, especially if they have room to run away. But it still is usually violent for a while before they get to the running and chasing. Not sure what you saw with that game that ran away.

I don't find the number of girls to be that important. They will fight over 30 as quickly as they will fight over 1. They have to know which is boss. I don't think you can stop them from fighting. That is their instinct, to sort out the pecking order. If the boys are isolated from the girls they usually don't fight that viciously. You may have to resort to that.

So what can you do? Read Aart's suggestions. I think you free range since that game flew away and you mentioned an acre so some of them may not apply but they are good to know, just figure out how they may apply to your situation. I'm trying to guess your situation, that's why I mention my assumptions. If I'm wrong, tell me.

Assuming you free range I'd house the new ones in a separate coop or coop/run for a week or so. Part of that is so they can see the others but a big part is so they think of it as home. You want them to return there to sleep at night instead of flying away. Then try to free range them together when you can observe. The boys will probably fight. I'd let them but be ready to intervene if you see blood or if one lays down, giving up, and the other stays over him still pecking. If you don't intervene if that happens you will probably have a dead rooster on your hands. You may need to isolate them again and try later or keep then permanently separated.

Sometimes roosters work out an accommodation and can live together peacefully. Sometimes they fight to the death. It helps that you have an acre to play with but you can never tell what will happen. Try it and go by what you see. No one can give you guarantees about what will happen.

Good luck!

In the past I've introduced two fairly young roosters, both in their first season and just done it at night. I didn't have "enough" hens but thought I'd try and see how it went. They did OK. I'm about to bring in an adult rooster with my second season rooster. I was planning to use the same approach. Is this a bad idea? They have a run, as I tried to free range and they were being picked off even during the day.

 

[Geckolady]

Is there some reason you want more roosters?

 

[Ridgerunner]

In the past I've introduced two fairly young roosters, both in their first season and just done it at night. I didn't have "enough" hens but thought I'd try and see how it went. They did OK. I'm about to bring in an adult rooster with my second season rooster. I was planning to use the same approach. Is this a bad idea? They have a run, as I tried to free range and they were being picked off even during the day.

Introducing two mature roosters is either going to involve fighting or some serious running away, usually both. It might be a fight to the death or involve a serious injury. Or they may reach some type of accommodation in taking care of the flock. That accommodation can look different but often it involves each rooster setting up his own territory out of visual sight of the other and each having his own harem. I have seen two boys share a harem without killing each other though. (They grew up together.) With living animals you never know for certain what will happen.

For the initial fight between two mature roosters to end (and there will probably be more than one fight) one almost certainly has to be able to run way from the other and get away. Or if one immediately realizes he has no chance he may just start running. He still needs to be able to get away. I have no idea how big your coop is or how big your run is. Anytime you integrate any chickens the more room you have the better your chances of success.

Sometimes integration isn't nearly as rough as we make it sound. Sometimes you can just put them together and there is not a lot of drama. I grew up on a farm where the chickens totally free ranged, no fences at all. Some slept in trees. When Dad integrated he just took them down to the hen house and turned hem loose. He never added another mature rooster to the flock, practically always some brooder-raised chicks, but with that kind of room integration wasn't a problem.

Sometimes putting them in the coop at night so they wake up together works well. It depends on different things, the amount and quality of the room you have in the coop and, very important, the personality of the chickens involved. If the chickens have that kind of personality it would probably have worked just as well if you introduce them during the morning when they are roaming around outside.

You can try putting them in at night. As long as the coop is dark enough nothing should happen until daylight. But I would be down there at daylight to see what is going on. Open the pop door if they need more room. Have a plan on how you are going to catch one if they are violently fighting and you think you need to separate them. And have a place ready to house one separate if you need to. You may get lucky but I think the odds are really high that you will see a lot of violence. Be ready for it in case it happens.