Rooster behavior

[WhitF]

Hi! So I have 5 bantams, all around 4 months old. 2 of the 5 are roosters, 1 is obviously the dominant roo and the other is very docile. I haven’t seen any fighting or injuries which is great!

Here are my questions:
The sweet, “bottom” (?) roo normally sleeps alone and a foot or so away from the other chickens. All the other chickens huddle together and sleep.

It’s gotten cold (12 degrees, feels like 0 with wind chill) and I’ve brought the lone roo in to the garage to sleep so he will be warmer.

Is it normal for him to be excluded and so I need to separate him to his own coop altogether? So I let him stay with the rest and just bring him out on super cold nights because he doesn’t get to huddle?

Any advice, ideas would be great!

 

[ChickenLeg]

If they aren't fighting then I wouldnt worry about seperating them, and as long as your coop is draft free I wouldnt worry about him not huddling with the others. At 16 weeks he should be nice and filled out with feathers and some meat on his bones

 

[WhitF]

If they aren't fighting then I wouldnt worry about seperating them, and as long as your coop is draft free I wouldnt worry about him not huddling with the others. At 16 weeks he should be nice and filled out with feathers and some meat on his bones

He is filled out! He’s a pretty, sweet lil thing! Ok cool, thank you

 

[nuthatched]

You need a few more girls for your boys, just for their sake. But if its working out so far, I wouldn't worry.

 

[WhitF]

You need a few more girls for your boys, just for their sake. But if its working out so far, I wouldn't worry.

I was thinking that also. We got all 5 from an assorted straight run bin at Atwood’s and of course two turned out to be roos. All 5 are different breeds! Lol! I was thinking of trying to add in a few gals this spring or summer.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Wind chill isn't an issue if he's sleeping in a coop (or a climate protected run area), so the actual temperature is what matters.

Since he's the low bird in ranking, it's normal for him to sleep on a lower roost or away from the others. Unless he's showing signs of physical distress from the temperatures, I'd leave him be with the rest of the flock.

 

[WhitF]

Wind chill isn't an issue if he's sleeping in a coop (or a climate protected run area), so the actual temperature is what matters.

Since he's the low bird in ranking, it's normal for him to sleep on a lower roost or away from the others. Unless he's showing signs of physical distress from the temperatures, I'd leave him be with the rest of the flock.

Ok cool. The other night I peeked in after dark and he was puffed up and looked to be shivering and the others seemed fine, so I brought him to the garage. He usually seems fine though, I’ve looked in before. They have a few windows for ventilation, I’ve been thinking of doing a shutter on them for nightime when it’s windy (I’m in NE OK and we have nutty winds). Otherwise a draft free coop.

 

[rosemarythyme]

They have a few windows for ventilation, I’ve been thinking of doing a shutter on them for nightime when it’s windy (I’m in NE OK and we have nutty winds). Otherwise a draft free coop.

As long as there's still ample ventilation, that should be fine. I can close most of my windows (we do get the very occasional sideways wind + rain or snow) and still meet minimum ventilation, but generally not necessary in my set up.