Need advice on how to solve my chicken dilemma

[HappyClucker7]

I have 7 chickens, 3 hens, 2 pullets, and 2 cockerels. The hens have been living together for 5 years. The others were added 8 months ago, and they were all raised by one of the hens, named Rocky. I had no intention of getting boys, but I fell in love with both of them, so there is absolutely no way I could give either of them away. Once I realized they were boys, I decided to build a bachelor pad for them. (Which is not quite finished yet because of the lack of necessary supplies and now also the cold weather). But, I wasn't able to separate the boys because Rocky continued to take care of the babies until they were 6 months old, and even now they still have a very strong bond. My cockerel Papaya is especially close with Rocky.
This leads me to my problem. One of the pullets is a cochin bantam named Mango, and I don't want her in the same coop as my EE cockerel, Bunny, because he's so much bigger than her and I'm worried that he'll accidentally hurt her. So, they somehow must be separated.
Now, the simple solution would seem to be my original plan, putting the boys in their own coop. But, as I said, Papaya adores Rocky (I had to separate them for just a short time yesterday, and they both went crazy), and he also loves Mango. Mango also really loves Papaya. She is always by his side. Bunny loves Rocky, as well as my EE pullet, Cheeks, and my BR hen, Marble. Almost every one of my chickens would lose their best friend.
So, I had another idea. I could use the new coop as a bantam coop. I could move Mango and Papaya in there, and then get maybe 2 more cochins so Mango wouldn't be over mated. Then Bunny could be with all his favorite girls, and Mango and Papaya could be together. But, then Papaya couldn't be with Rocky anymore, and as I said, they have a very strong bond.
So, now I have no idea what to do. Do you think Papaya will become less attached to Rocky as he gets older? What do you think would be the best solution for everyone?

 

[Mya05]

Without knowing the ages of both cockerels, I can only say, it depends on their temperaments. Hormones can change the temperament of a cockerel temporarily, or permanently. Definitely get more pullets, and/or hens. It will help if both boys have plenty of ladies. I also have 2 cockerels, and they exist peacefully together, and aren't seperated. They will have a few fights to figure out pecking order, and occasionally, our dominant cockerel will remind the other with a look, or body language. Unless they are trying to kill each other, and basically won't stop fighting, there isn't any reason to seperate them. It sounds like everyone is happy, so I would just advise more ladies.

 

[HappyClucker7]

The cockerels are both 8 months old.
My coop is unfortunately at its full capacity, so I can't add any more hens. Also, I have to separate Bunny from Mango because I'm afraid he'll hurt her. He is a massive boy and she's so small.

 

[Folly's place]

Here we've had Belgian d'Uccles for decades with our standard birds, including standard cockerels and roosters. Now we also have bantam EEs, and our big boys are Chanteclers, weighing in at around eight pounds each. We only keep polite cockerels and roosters, none who go after humans, or ever injure a pullet or hen.
We've never had a problem with this mix of breeds.
Your cockerels might be wonderful, or not, but injuring your bantam Cochin seems unlikely just because she's smaller. And Cochin bantams tend to be on the larger size, as bantams go.
Mary

 

[Mya05]

The cockerels are both 8 months old.
My coop is unfortunately at its full capacity, so I can't add any more hens. Also, I have to separate Bunny from Mango because I'm afraid he'll hurt her. He is a massive boy and she's so small.

I understand the frustrations of coup capacity! We are trying to eventually get a larger coup so we can add more hens. With the size difference, I can understand your worries. We have a Black Australorp, and a Barred Rock cockerel, and one of our pullets is a Silkie. She definitely holds her own, and she has allowed our Black Australorp, who is the lead cockerel, to mate her. I don't think he will ever be successful in fertilizing her eggs, but he doesn't hurt her. He will be 10 months soon, and is an absolute gentleman with his ladies. If he was rougher, I would worry a bit, but it really depends on temperament. I know it's not good to keep chickens alone, they are very social animals. My advice is keep an eye on them, and if you do need to seperate, then either make a bachelor pad, or put some ladies with each cockerel. It would be good if, like us, you planned to give them a bigger home, and more ladies. In our case, we simply don't have the money at the moment, so I am very happy our boys are getting along.

 

[HappyClucker7]

Here we've had Belgian d'Uccles for decades with our standard bird, including standard cockerels and roosters. Now we also have bantam EEs, and our big boys are Chanteclers, weighing in at around eight pounds each. We only keep polite cockerels and roosters, none who go after humans, or ever injure a pullet or hen.
We've never had a problem with this mix of breeds.
Your cockerels might be wonderful, or not, but injuring your bantam Cochin seems unlikely just because she's smaller. And Cochin bantams tend to be on the larger size, as bantams go.
Mary

My boy is a bit clumsy though. He kind of falls around when he mounts the hens, and he holds onto them for support. Mango always screams when he does that.

 

[MissMonty]

2 roos is a lot for that number of hens. Especially when they get more mature. Some have gotten the roos to co-exist but that is going to be a lot of over breeding on the few hens you have too. I'd probably move the smaller roo and the bantam into their own coop and add a couple more hens to both flocks if possible

 

[HappyClucker7]

2 roos is a lot for that number of hens. Especially when they get more mature. Some have gotten the roos to co-exist but that is going to be a lot of over breeding on the few hens you have too. I'd probably move the smaller roo and the bantam into their own coop and add a couple more hens to both flocks if possible

If I move the bantams to the new coop, I could probably put one more girl in the big coop. I would add 2 or 3 more girls to the bantam coop. That way, Bunny would have 5 girls and Papaya would have 3 or 4. Would that be enough for both?

 

[MissMonty]

If I move the bantams to the new coop, I could probably put one more girl in the big coop. I would add 2 or 3 more girls to the bantam coop. That way, Bunny would have 5 girls and Papaya would have 3 or 4. Would that be enough for both?

That would be better in my opinion. Just watch the hens and make sure they're not getting too beat up from the roosters.

 

[HappyClucker7]

That would be better in my opinion. Just watch the hens and make sure they're not getting too beat up from the roosters.

Okay, thank you. And do you think Papaya will be less attached to Rocky once I can finally finish the second coop?