Rooster/bachelor flock.

[ccredeur]

Good morning! So I seem to have a lot of my new chicks turning into roosters. We love our little guys so much. We don't want to have to get rid of them. Even the young ones are showing how good of a roo they'll be. Eventually I would like to breed some of them. I am toying with the idea of a bachelor flock. Currently all my chickens stay in the same run. I have my established flock in one coop and I've put my new grow outs in a new coop in the same run. I am assuming I'll have to make a new run and coop for the boys? They all do supervised free range time in the afternoon but I figure they won't be able to do that once I make the new flock? Can anyone share some tips and pictures of your set up? What is a reasonable run size for an entire flock? They're all in a 40x30ish run with a 8x8x6 coop and a 8x4x6 coop. 16 chickens in one and 30ish coming out when they feather. Thanks!

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

@RoostersAreAwesome knows a lot about all-rooster flocks!

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Good morning! So I seem to have a lot of my new chicks turning into roosters. We love our little guys so much. We don't want to have to get rid of them. Even the young ones are showing how good of a roo they'll be. Eventually I would like to breed some of them. I am toying with the idea of a bachelor flock. Currently all my chickens stay in the same run. I have my established flock in one coop and I've put my new grow outs in a new coop in the same run. I am assuming I'll have to make a new run and coop for the boys? They all do supervised free range time in the afternoon but I figure they won't be able to do that once I make the new flock? Can anyone share some tips and pictures of your set up? What is a reasonable run size for an entire flock? They're all in a 40x30ish run with a 8x8x6 coop and a 8x4x6 coop. 16 chickens in one and 30ish coming out when they feather. Thanks!

Have you read this article?: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/rooster-flocks.72998/

Yes, the roosters will have to have a separate coop and run than the hens, or at least have their coop and run divided.

When I had a flock of roosters and a flock of hens, I free ranged them on alternating days so they all had a chance to go outside.

 

[Mrs. K]

It is so hard to imagine these darling boys, curious, outgoing, active darling becoming a nightmare...but sometimes they do.

Good luck.

 

[seminolewind]

I have only had success with silke bachelors who have not been with hens. Otherwise sometimes 2 roos will be okay with a larger flock. Some breeds ate better with sharing. I usually end up dividing the flock into one rooster for each group. I try everything before I have to rehome. I do hate removing roos.

 

[ashcons]

Even the young ones are showing how good of a roo they'll be

Their behavior pre-sexual maturity isn't an indication of how they will behave with either humans or other birds once the hormones start going.

You can have a sweet, snuggly cockerel who turns into a giant, terroristic butthole when he matures.

 

[McChooky]

6 months from now you'll probably change your mind again about which ones will make a good rooster. When they don't have the hens around they act like totally different birds.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

When they don't have the hens around they act like totally different birds.

I’ve experienced that a few times. I had a rooster who was aggressive towards people because he felt he had to protect his hens from them. However, once I put him in my bachelor coop, he ceased his human aggression. He was a great flock leader in the bachelor coop.

 

[seminolewind]

I have sometimes let the roos decide who goes. If they're a trouble maker, they go. At some point I end up with one or two , two if they tolerate eachother.