Question about runs with hens and roos

[Love My Chickies]

Some of you may have read some of my previous posts. I have 4 chickens, approximately 10 weeks old. Looks like 2, possibly 3 will be roos. My lone pullet (if she is the only one) will have company later, as I have 4 sexed pullets about 2 weeks old that will join them.

My question is, the only place I really have to add another coop for just the roos is next to the current coop, which will make their runs next to each other.

Will this make the roos fight, being able to see the hens?

 

[LostBoi73]

I would have said no. As they can't actually near to them. If no mating is possible then hopefully they should be ok. But you may get a problem child that just wants to fight. If so then a different approach will need to be taken and decisions made for the health of the flock.

 

[Love My Chickies]

I would have said no. As they can't actually near to them. If no mating is possible then hopefully they should be ok. But you may get a problem child that just wants to fight. If so then a different approach will need to be taken and decisions made for the health of the flock.

Worst case scenario I have someone who will take one or all of the roos. However, he lives far away and I am very attached and would hate to let them go.

 

[LostBoi73]

Also it will give a quieten coop if needed. If you have space and can afford it the go for it. There are worse alternatives

 

[Mrs. K]

Really, this is a wreck waiting to happen. I would send them on ASAP. The more roosters you have, the greater the chance of it not working. Roosters take more space than hens in my opinion, and multiple roosters more space than that.

The problems with roosters is:

• They can become aggressive for no apparent reason at all.
  • attack the people that feed them
  • attack each other
  • attack the pullets
• The can have crowing contests - which is incredibly loud.

Roosters are a crap shoot, and very often do not turn out. They really need IMO, experienced caretakers. Often times, inexperienced people do not recognize the cues that a bird is becoming aggressive, and the attack appears to come out of nowhere.

So I strongly suggest that you send them on their way, and then add the new chicks at the same time. An all hen flock is much more enjoyable in the long run. To keep 3 roosters, I would want about 50 hens and the space to manage that. If you are truly in a back yard, with neighbors, it would be best to send them along.

When people first recognize they are rooster chicks, they are often the darling, brave chick that reaches out to you and appears so friendly. They are the darling. Truth is, they are already showing bravery, and fearlessness. They are not afraid of you, which is a good thing in kittens and puppies, but lack of fear equals a lack of respect, and often times that leads to aggressive behavior later on.

Good luck,

Mrs K

 

[Love My Chickies]

Really, this is a wreck waiting to happen. I would send them on ASAP. The more roosters you have, the greater the chance of it not working. Roosters take more space than hens in my opinion, and multiple roosters more space than that.

The problems with roosters is:

• They can become aggressive for no apparent reason at all.
  • attack the people that feed them
  • attack each other
  • attack the pullets
• The can have crowing contests - which is incredibly loud.

Roosters are a crap shoot, and very often do not turn out. They really need IMO, experienced caretakers. Often times, inexperienced people do not recognize the cues that a bird is becoming aggressive, and the attack appears to come out of nowhere.

So I strongly suggest that you send them on their way, and then add the new chicks at the same time. An all hen flock is much more enjoyable in the long run. To keep 3 roosters, I would want about 50 hens and the space to manage that. If you are truly in a back yard, with neighbors, it would be best to send them along.

When people first recognize they are rooster chicks, they are often the darling, brave chick that reaches out to you and appears so friendly. They are the darling. Truth is, they are already showing bravery, and fearlessness. They are not afraid of you, which is a good thing in kittens and puppies, but lack of fear equals a lack of respect, and often times that leads to aggressive behavior later on.

Good luck,

Mrs K

Ouch. Harsh realities of chickens!

 

[3KillerBs]

Additionally, while some people do keep pairs or trios, even 1 rooster with only 5 hens is likely to wear them barebacked.

 

[Mrs. K]

Ouch. Harsh realities of chickens!

Ouch. Harsh realities of chickens!

I believe it is AArt who says, "Rosters are where the romance of having chickens meets reality." Unless you have a farm amount of free space, unless you have some older birds, unless you have a great deal of luck, multiple roosters can cause big problems, sometimes dangerous problems. There are numerous posts on here where people have been very viciously attacked.

Inexperienced people vastly underestimate the violence of an aggressive rooster. Sometimes I give the advice, keep them until they don't work, but that is with people that are comfortable with culling birds. But if you are in limited area, uncomfortable with culling and you currently have a solution...I would advise taking it.

Mrs K

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Some of you may have read some of my previous posts. I have 4 chickens, approximately 10 weeks old. Looks like 2, possibly 3 will be roos. My lone pullet (if she is the only one) will have company later, as I have 4 sexed pullets about 2 weeks old that will join them.

My question is, the only place I really have to add another coop for just the roos is next to the current coop, which will make their runs next to each other.

Will this make the roos fight, being able to see the hens?

Being able to see the hens is far from a guarantee that they will fight. However, it would be best if you could block them from seeing each other. Could you put something like a piece of plywood between the two runs?

What other posters have mentioned seems to be different than what’s going on. Separating your roosters from your hens will actually reduce any fighting. In a mixed flock of both roosters and hens, there can be problems with over-mating, but that is not the case when the roosters don’t have access to the hens.

 

[Love My Chickies]

Unfortunately my back up plan fell through. He lost all but one boy and one girl to dogs so now he cannot take on extra roos. I've contacted the farm where my school got the eggs to see if she can take them in or help me find someone. As a last resort we will make another coop and run. As sad as I am to let them go, financially it's just more feasible.