Necessary Multiple Rooster Space in a Coop and Run

[Mrs. K]

I think op meant that the coop could hold more than 20 birds.

Being raised together has very limited influence on behaviors of chickens or roosters. It is more dependent on space, and the layout of the space.

I am rather curious what your run looks like? Can every bird see every other bird in the run at all times? If so, that is what you need to change. Many runs on here are just an open area. What you need to add is clutter. It will look more crowded, but it will be much more interesting to your birds, and allow birds to get out of sight of each other, get away from each other.

Add mini walls, totes laid on their tides, cardboard boxes, pallets leaned up against a wall or fence, or up on blocks creating a platform that birds can get under or on top of. Add ladders, chairs, sawhorses, roosts. Make more use of the third dimension of space, the vertical.

Add multiple feed stations, set up so that a bird eating at one station cannot see birds eating at another station.

But if this does not help, or if things get worse, then keeping these two roosters together is not a good idea. Roosters are a crap shoot, the more you have, the larger the chance of it not going right. Some roosters can live together, and some can't. Let one or both go if it gets to that. Rotten rooster behavior can ruin the whole chicken experience.

Mrs K

 

[coach723]

It very much depends on your space, the number of hens, and the roosters/cockerels in question. I have two roo's currently, 5.5 and 6 years old, and 25 hens. They all stay in the same coop, they all range in the same enclosure. They are outside from morning until dusk in their fenced run, with access to a smaller enclosed run and the coop all the time, they mostly stay outside. My fenced area is about 2500 to 3000 square feet. They have plenty of space to spread out, bushes to hide under, trees to hide behind. I also have 8 feeding stations and 7 waterers spread out, so everyone has ample opportunity. The alpha makes sure to maintain his top status, but it's generally a chase to run #2 off and it's over. They don't fight. Young cockerels may still be duking it out to determine who is top guy. Some roosters don't tolerate another male well at all, some will, so individual personality and temperament matters. If they fight then I don't keep them. I tend to choose my keeper roo's based mostly on that rather than on looks. I've had a couple of real nasty characters, but I've had many really good ones also. If you want to keep both, then 11 hens is probably not enough for them, generally 10 hens per roo is a good starting number. Depending on the roo in question that number may work with a slightly smaller # or it may need to be a bit more. Both my roo's have a core group of hens that tend to stay with their guy, and some that migrate back and forth. Alpha roo is usually first into the coop every evening, and the #2 follows when he knows #1 is settled into his spot. #1 is also usually first out, and #2 follows later, he's very respectful of #1.

 

[angelinagreena]

I think op meant that the coop could hold more than 20 birds.

Being raised together has very limited influence on behaviors of chickens or roosters. It is more dependent on space, and the layout of the space.

I am rather curious what your run looks like? Can every bird see every other bird in the run at all times? If so, that is what you need to change. Many runs on here are just an open area. What you need to add is clutter. It will look more crowded, but it will be much more interesting to your birds, and allow birds to get out of sight of each other, get away from each other.

Add mini walls, totes laid on their tides, cardboard boxes, pallets leaned up against a wall or fence, or up on blocks creating a platform that birds can get under or on top of. Add ladders, chairs, sawhorses, roosts. Make more use of the third dimension of space, the vertical.

Add multiple feed stations, set up so that a bird eating at one station cannot see birds eating at another station.

But if this does not help, or if things get worse, then keeping these two roosters together is not a good idea. Roosters are a crap shoot, the more you have, the larger the chance of it not going right. Some roosters can live together, and some can't. Let one or both go if it gets to that. Rotten rooster behavior can ruin the whole chicken experience.

Mrs K

Good advice, thank you! I am still working on adding objects to the run but currently have several branches for them to perch on as well as a ladder, and they are able to get under the coop porch. I have attached a few photos- we definitely plan to build some hiding places, my wheels have been turning

I am still wondering though if everyone can share the same coop as long as I build a separate run for the beta rooster and a few of the docile hens. Do you have any thoughts on that?

 

[angelinagreena]

Perfect foe your 13...I wouldn't' add 20+ more in there tho.

Well, you can hope the boys get along long term.
Always good to have an isolation enclosure or crate for 'troublesome' birds.
When things get ugly it can happen fast.

I hear ya. I wouldn’t dream to add more in that space at all, I was just joking based on the “recommended” space of 2-3 square feet per chicken.

 

[Mrs. K]

I would add a lot more clutter to your run, but I would do that anyway. If you can see all the hens all the time, you don't have enough, IMO.

As to the roosters, oh if there was a way to make all roosters work, I would be rich. Roosters work, until they don't, sometimes it is rough, sometimes it is terrible.

Thing is, rooster do not understand the idea of sharing, or really working together. So no I don't think that adding a run will help, unless you can create separate flocks and divide the coop so that each flock stays separate.

What I would do is make the current run as big as possible, add more clutter. And then see how it goes. If they start to fight, then I would cull one of the roosters. I hate strife in my flock, it decreases my pleasure of my flock, and even if the hens are not being attacked, I think the fighting just gives a lot of tension to the flock. Personally I would not keep 2 roosters for less then 25 hens.

I did have a pair of roosters, a father/son pair that I accidentally wound up with, and I had a dozen hens, and it all seemed to go ok, but when I lost one rooster, I noticed that my whole flock seemed more relaxed. There had been a subtle tension, that I was not aware of until it was gone.

Good luck, often times roosters do not work out, they have no concept of sharing hens, and just lets all be nice and get along, does not work either. Aart used to say "Roosters are where the romance of chickens meet reality.

Mrs K

 

[AOrchard]

If you can also split the coop, then you can definitely give them their own run. I have my coop set up this way (very useful in many situations). Agreed with coach723, the rooster's individual personality matters a lot. Both of the alpha and the beta. My current beta is extremely timid, to the point where he won't go anywhere near the rest of the flock and doesn't get enough to eat, so he has to go. My past beta didn't have that problem, he just hung out on the edge of the flock, did not challenge alpha and was a solid second.

 

[blacklab]

I feel your pain! We have buff orpingtons and just had to rehome our alpha rooster because he was constantly picking on the beta rooster. The beta is really sweet with the hens. Let's them eat first, circles them, doesn't just jump on! We raised them all from the incubator, but the roosters started not getting along pretty early. They are 20 weeks now and probably getting really hormonal. And yes, it happens fast, the intensity ramped up in just a few days. Gave the alpha to a neighbor with older hens to set him straight! Seems to be doing fine there and our small flock is much calmer and happy! Now if we could just get an egg!!