New cockerel!

[ktown1787]

I have a flock of 31 birds. 4 of these are Guineas so I have 27 chickens. I just added a 7-8 month old ameracauna cockerel to the flock. He and my year old splash Orpington have been aggressively breeding 3 to 4 select hens. I'm guessing these are not my older buff orpingtons favorite ladies. Also out of the 24 females only 13 are breeding age. The other 11 are around 4 months old. My question is will this get better once there are more females to choose from? I feel bad for these 3 or 4 gals who are feeling the heat. I assume this is testosterone flowing because my splash male only became like this once the younger male was introduced.

 

[Pork Pie]

You could consider keeping your new roo separate from the flock, until more of your girls begin to lay.

CT

 

[CluckerCottage]

Your poor hens-- 2 aggressive roosters against 4 favorite hens is not good.
I would do as CTKen suggests for sure.
You might also consider taking the 4 over-mated girls out for a while, so your roos can breed the other mature girls.
Sounds like they need a break.
Hopefully things will improve amongst your flock as the pullets become mature.
Best wishes~

 

[ktown1787]

Will the 24 hens be enough to keep them occupied once everyone is breeding age? This rooster is really nice and I would love to raise chicks from him but I don't want my gals to suffer.

 

[CluckerCottage]

24 hens for 2 roos is a good ratio, yes.
Keep your eye on things and if you see over-mating, remove the select few for a while so they can recover.
Rotating the tired out ladies is a kindness.
Good luck!

 

[ktown1787]

It would actually be three roosters.