I had a flock of 50, 7 of which were roosters. They ranged from 1 to 4 years old. Obviously, they were not raised together. They all lived in one very roomy pen. There was one main man, his second in command and the others kind of just hung around in the peripherals. There was no serious fighting and very few squabbles. Free ranging was the time for the submissive roosters to try the girls. The top 2 were diligent to prevent harassment. None were aggressive to humans. Yes, it can be done. Every chicken is an individual. It worked for me, it may not work for others.
Pretty much
I keep my rooster flock mainly because my chickens are pets, but I also believe roosters deserve to live, just like old hens that don't lay anymore. If your hen stops laying, do you send her to her death? IMO it's not a rooster's fault he was born male.
My pullets are Americaunas and Rhode Island Reds. I read somewhere that these two breeds are not very broody, but I thought I would give it a try anyway. I suspect chickens are like people in that they all have unique personalities.If you mean Easter Egger, my EE hen just finally went broody at a year old and she is one of my best mamas yet! All my other broodies are bantams, and Snakehead, as she is called, has the advantage of being quite large which makes her a great protector for her babies. I was a bit worried because for the first week and a half she wouldn't leave the brooder with them for more than five minutes, but maybe she knew something I didn't and one of the babies needed extra time. She also readily adopted a baby that hatched a week later. I'm so proud of her
Are your pullets red sex links, too? I'm not sure how broody they tend to be. It's great that you are already okay with the idea of hatching some boys though! Many people fall in love with hatching or buying chicks but aren't prepared to address what to do with the boys.
