Need some advice with first ever roosters

[Camo chicken146]

So to make it as short as possible I'll just put it like this

we have 4 laying hens 2 are 5 years old and the other 2 are about 2
we got 10 chicks some at different times, (not to far apart) out of 10 chicks 2 are roosters.

the oldest roo is a little over 3 months by like a week or 2, and the other roo is about 3 months
and most of the young pullets are about 3 months but 4 of the youngest pullets are just shy of 3 months by maybe like 2 weeks.

Also all 10 youngsters have been living with the older hens since april 18 and one of our oldest girls doesn't put up with any bs from them she'll peck anyone that gets to close and occasionally charge (no chicks injured)

After sharing that info here are some of my questions

1) since the cockerels are a bit older than the youngest pullets will they need to be separated when they start maturing since the younger hens won't be quite ready to mate yet? (we have a separate place that would work if we did need to move them) I only plan on keeping one roo if my parents will allow it.

2) If I am able to keep whichever roo is better 12 girls for 1 roo should be a good ratio right?

3) I've done lots of research and It seems people say when the older girls kinda beat up on the young roos it teaches them how to be a gentlemen to the hens, If this is true that's great, but has anyone had a first hand experience with this, does it really work?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

It's best to wait and see how it goes. If they start making trouble I remove them and pen them separate from the females for a while. I would also wait and see how they develop and interact with the hens later on before deciding if you want to keep two, one, or none. Every rooster is different, and cockerel can sometimes be trouble until they mature more.

 

[Camo chicken146]

@Mrs. K @FrostRanger

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[Mrs. K]

Roosters are a crap shoot. I am slightly more on the side that cockerels raised under older birds are a bit better,BUT it is not fool proof, if one could come up with a set of rules as in if you do this, and don’t do that you will get a perfect rooster, well you would make a lot of people happy.

Often times when people come here with two or three rooster chicks, the plan is to keep one. Do know that neither of these might work. Do not keep a rotten too.

As your numbers, a rooster should fit in there well, however, what is your space? You have more than doubled your head count, and often times what is more g th ham enough room for chicks rapidly becomes not enough space with full size birds. Roosters need more room than a hen. They are bigger birds.

Your plan to separate the cockerels out if necessary is a good one. Have it set up and ready to go. You may not need it, but then again h y ou might.

Mrs K