Roo in a very small flock... yea, or nay?

[cruxmama]

So, it appears that one of my ladies might be a roo... We have a very small mixed-breed flock, five chicks total. They are all the same age (now 6 1/2 weeks) and have grown up together every since the folks at My Pet Chicken put then in a box when they were just a few hours hours to mail them to us. My question is:

One roo (a Delaware, if that makes a difference) with four hens -- is that going to work?

I have read a bit about how roos should have 6 or 8 or even 10 or 12 hens each, or they might hurt the ladies with their... uh... let's just say "vigorous physical appetites"... Anybody here have experience with that? Getting more hens is not an option (our coop is only big enough for 5 birds, tops, and I don't want to overcrowd them), so I will need to look to rehome him if this will be a problem. That thought makes me sad, but if it must be, it must be

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I would wait and see, not all roosters are crazy, some can be very nice, so unless you really don't want him, give him a chance, you'll know if you've had enough from him.

 

[cruxmama]

There is also the issue of if he gets territorial and goes after my kids. If that happens, he is gone for sure; but this issue of how he will treat the ladies is one I really hadn't considered. I hope he stays docile and is gentle with the ladies, because he is an awesome chicken! I would be very sad to give him away... just not sure how much of what I have read about roosters being overly vigorous with the ladies is legit, how much is hype, etc etc... I'm sure it varies by individual chicken though, huh? Guess it will be a wait-and-see thing... thank you!!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

It does depend on the individual, and sometimes they are a bit too much at the beginning, think of them as teenage boys looking for girls. I have had some really nice roosters and some selfish, none of mine bother me, but I ignore mine mostly, expect them to move away from me and I carry myself in a dominant manner, and any dominant or challenging behavior is dealt with right away, I like tossing my feed scoop at them if necessary, startles them, after the initial teenage stage they usually never mess with me again, but not all need this reminder, hopefully he leaves your kids alone.

 

[Free Feather]

That amount of hens is perfectly fine for most roosters, especially if he is the only one. He will not feel as challenged for the dominant position, so he will assert his dominance less.

 

[donrae]

This is one of those "they're living animals so no one can predict how things will turn out" situations. They might live in harmony, or things might blow up around 6 months. All you can do is try it and have a contingency plan in place for removing him from the hens.

 

[aart]

This is one of those "they're living animals so no one can predict how things will turn out" situations. They might live in harmony, or things might blow up around 6 months. All you can do is try it and have a contingency plan in place for removing him from the hens.

For sure......and almost all cockerels coming into their testosterone at around 4 months are idiots.
Read up on that and be ready, lots of space and hiding places for the pullets will help make it more tolerable for them.

 

[CrazyTalk]

It does depend on the individual, and sometimes they are a bit too much at the beginning, think of them as teenage boys looking for girls.

This is the really tough part here - they're always worse from 6 months to a year than they are as adults. Roosters can be absolute terrors to the girls at 8 months and then settle down and be fine - a lot of it has to do with how receptive the hens are. It's tough where they're the same age - cockerels mature faster than pullets, so he's going to be trying to mate them before they're ready, and that's going to lead to some squabbling.

 

[lazy gardener]

IMO, in a small flock situation, the best roo set up would be to get an older, well seasoned roo from an other flock. Perhaps one who was being removed to make room for an underling. He could still service the hens, act as a protector, but may not be quite as aggressive at feeling the need to breed every 10 minutes.