Multiple roosters getting along?

[keckhart]

Wow so much good info!! I have actually separated my Roos from my girls except for one of my little silkie Roos. He stays in with the girls. For now anyway. They seem to really like him and he does try to mate sometimes but is pretty nice about it. So that leaves me with four other Roos in their own space. My question is do they need to be out of sight from the hens or just out of reach? I have the hens coop in a larger run type area that they are in during the day and the rest of the boys have free range in the yard. In the evening when I am cleaning their coops and fresh water and food etc i let them all out together. They still seem to stick where they were. My boys just DON'T seem as happy as they were when they were housed and free all day with the girls. They don't roam around much or forage. They hang in their coop more. Is this normal??

 

[Phoenixxx]

Wow so much good info!! I have actually separated my Roos from my girls except for one of my little silkie Roos. He stays in with the girls. For now anyway. They seem to really like him and he does try to mate sometimes but is pretty nice about it. So that leaves me with four other Roos in their own space. My question is do they need to be out of sight from the hens or just out of reach? I have the hens coop in a larger run type area that they are in during the day and the rest of the boys have free range in the yard. In the evening when I am cleaning their coops and fresh water and food etc i let them all out together. They still seem to stick where they were. My boys just DON'T seem as happy as they were when they were housed and free all day with the girls. They don't roam around much or forage. They hang in their coop more. Is this normal??

Chicken depression?

As for out of sight or not, the exterior of my pens/runs WERE seperated by chicken wire so the new boys that I brought home last week were in sight of everyone else. The fact that they knew the ladies were on the other side might be the reason they busted through; also, because they were in sight of my existing boys for a few days might explain the lack of squabbling when they did bust through!

Since they already "know" each other, maybe try putting them all together and see how it goes. Maybe your boys' moods might perk up a bit. But do it on a day when you're home all day so you can monitor things.

 

[ChickenLegs13]

...My question is do they need to be out of sight from the hens or just out of reach? ...

For mine, they need to be out of sight or the roosters will pace the fence trying to bust out like Phoenixxx's did. Mine can still hear each other, but that doesn't cause any problems.

 

[Uriel]

Wow so much good info!! I have actually separated my Roos from my girls except for one of my little silkie Roos. He stays in with the girls. For now anyway. They seem to really like him and he does try to mate sometimes but is pretty nice about it. So that leaves me with four other Roos in their own space. My question is do they need to be out of sight from the hens or just out of reach? I have the hens coop in a larger run type area that they are in during the day and the rest of the boys have free range in the yard. In the evening when I am cleaning their coops and fresh water and food etc i let them all out together. They still seem to stick where they were. My boys just DON'T seem as happy as they were when they were housed and free all day with the girls. They don't roam around much or forage. They hang in their coop more. Is this normal??

It's good to always have a boy in the flock, because an all female flock will eventually have a dominant hen who can even have an internal sex change and start to try to mate, and stop laying, because she assumes the necessary role of the male in the flock.

They do have a memory albeit not very long term, so they remember their lovers, especially if they see them. They also could be taking a rest because their duties to protect the girls were taken away, which is a stressful job. :}

 

[MissMaryGA]

I may be over-hopeful ... but I have 3 Polish Bantams - 2 Roos and 1 Hen and so-far, so-good!
I got 3 chicks from a friend and had hopes for 2 hens and 1 roo. They are 5 months old on Wednesday. Everybody cross their fingers! - I'm hoping my hen doesn't get "over loved" but if so - I will have to give one of the Roos away :-(

 

[bobbi-j]

I may be over-hopeful ... but I have 3 Polish Bantams - 2 Roos and 1 Hen and so-far, so-good!
I got 3 chicks from a friend and had hopes for 2 hens and 1 roo. They are 5 months old on Wednesday. Everybody cross their fingers! - I'm hoping my hen doesn't get "over loved" but if so - I will have to give one of the Roos away :-(

She will. Once those cockerels hit breeding age, she will be harassed to no end. The kindest thing you could do for her is to get rid of one of the boys before that happens.

 

[Folly's place]

Young flock dynamics will change in spring, and the pullets will be harassed by too many competing cockerels. These five month old boys may continue to get along as they grow up, but don't count on it! Have an alternative plan, and emergency housing available if things get out of hand.
Trying to reintroduce roosters to each other tends to go very badly, so it's best to make any separations permanent.
These tiny flocks need one rooster at most!
I currently have two cockbirds, two cockerels, and thirty-seven hens and pullets, all getting along fine. Soon one of the cockerels will be moving on, so each of my spring breeding groups will have one male only. Having hens constantly harassed by randy boys is not good!
I will have many cockerels hatching here in spring, and there's a plan for them. Some to the freezer, some sold, and a very few kept as possible replacement roosters. Don't hatch eggs unless you are prepared for all those boys!
Mary

 

[MissMaryGA]

What is the typical breeding age?

 

[Folly's place]

Cockerels tend to mature before pullets of the same age, and there are breed differences too. Maybe four months or so? 'Breeding age' is older; eggs need to be full sized, not those little pullet eggs, and cockerels need to be fertile. Hatching in winter in the north isn't great, IMO, so I'm not motivated to separate breeding groups or save eggs untim March, or later.
I also value older hens who are still producing; longevity matters to me. Spring, when there's more than snow to eat outside, and less hassle with housing and heat for chicks.
Mary