Rooster Flocks!

[Bteeg]

Thank you for posting this!! I'm new to chickens and ended up with 5 roosters out of my straight run i have tried finding them new homes but nobody wants roosters around here. This would be great if I could keep them all because let's face it, they're all my babies lol

 

[centrarchid]

I have done it multiple times with my American Dominiques and Missouri Dominiques (latter have game mixed in). Groups formed in fall and kept in 10' x 10' dog pens. Cocks and cockerels used. Some fighting upon introduction so obstacles added to obstruct chases and line of sight. Larger social groups better than smaller. Groups split by March each year. The were free-ranged periodically when hens where put into their own pens. Roosters would often resume some fighting when released but nothing serious. It is not a good way to store roosters intended for show the following spring as feathers do get dinged up sometimes.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

I have done it multiple times with my American Dominiques and Missouri Dominiques (latter have game mixed in). Groups formed in fall and kept in 10' x 10' dog pens. Cocks and cockerels used. Some fighting upon introduction so obstacles added to obstruct chases and line of sight. Larger social groups better than smaller. Groups split by March each year. The were free-ranged periodically when hens where put into their own pens. Roosters would often resume some fighting when released but nothing serious. It is not a good way to store roosters intended for show the following spring as feathers do get dinged up sometimes.

My roosters will fight upon introduction too, but they usually don't fight very hard. It also does help a lot if you have a bigger coop so they always have places to run away from other roosters.

I free range my roosters once a week, and keep the hens locked up in their pen. The roosters seem to like to flirt with the hens lol, even when they can't be with them.

 

[mothernaturesdaughter]

Roosters may not get along with hens around but do well in bachelor pens.... Nice to see respect for the hens...

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I free range my roosters once a week, and keep the hens locked up in their pen. The roosters seem to like to flirt with the hens lol, even when they can't be with them.[/QUOTE]

Yes, I see a couple of my boys flirting through the fence. They let the hens clean thier waddles and sometimes just hang out at the fence together. It's pretty cool to see. Of course they try to treat call as well.

I guess mine will never actually be a rooster flock, since I will keep a couple roosters but most of the stags will enjoy their good, yet shorter lives.

Thank you guys so much for sharing your rooster flock experiences... My hens do better in larger groups as well, so I can see that translating. It's great to hear the good ones especially even though the challenging ones are important learning tools.

Can you tell me what the size your pen is that you let them out to free range from? Even though I have 1 acre, my boys are free range in their 1500 ish sq ft pen that is still green pasture. Crazy that I feel kinda mean for keeping a few boys in great conditions.

I want to let 1 of my almost roos into my hen flock (plan to breed some specifically) but have had a challenge when it comes to them going after my dogs for playing (with previous cockerels). Still working out my system I guess.

Anyone tether their roo to a dog house like I've seen in pictures? Where maybe he gets access to the hens that come around but not free run of the place or give my dogs the stink eye?

My grow outs were all about mating while free. But since I put them in the stag pen, after their initial protesting they have settled in and go about their business and it's only the much older fellas that pace the fence. Standard face offs is about all I get from the younger ones. The older ones have good chase once in a while. But I have discovered... life is too short to be annoyed by that one boy who wants to challenge me. Rare breed or not! He specifically crows at me, charges me, and charges other boys if he can't get to me. Funny how the flock has a way of shaping itself.

 

[cluckmistress]

I've had a few great rooster flocks. All my birds are in a converted garage, including the chickens. They are all rescues with different histories. When I introduced a new one, I would keep him in a big enclosed section of the room. They sometimes fought through th wire, but not always. After they got used to seeing each other I'd start leaving the door open. I think I had maybe 3 over 10 years wo were too aggressive. In fact, one of my current ones, Frank, had to be separated, but he could still see the group through a glass door. After a few months of only getting human attention, I guess his attitude changed, because I tried again and he's been fine. And it's a mixed group of 3 hens and 2 roosters, so I was impressed.

I've had some fantastic roosters. Some raised from chicks, but some not. The best boys I ever had were white leghorns, I believe. They all hatched with leg issues in a school project and ended up with me. They stayed together all their lives, and I could barely keep them out of my lap if I sat down. When you held them they practically went comatose from bliss. Just awesome.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Naughty roosters! They're supposed to roost in their pen...

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Huckleberry and Finny are best friends.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Well, I had my first good cockerel fight. When I got outside I noticed a boy missing. I eventually saw him way off to the the side of the run hiding. So I approached and he looked at me. After leaving him be most of the day, I decided he needed food and water so took some over there. Then much later, he made his way back over towards the coop. I was in the coop when I heard major screaming and expecting to find one of my boys loose and trying to mate a hen. What I found instead was the relentless aggressor doing the same thing to the same boy (I'm guessing the biggest competition for the ladies affections). By this time (same breed raised together) I had noticed the *victim* (term used very lightly!) of course was bleeding and such but his eye was swollen shut and looked very bad. I tried to break it up, but he just kept aggressing. Well, I had enough!

So I grabbed myself a 1 inch PVC pipe so I get a good reach, 1/2 in is too bendy. I relentlessly chased and wholloped (knocked him around a little) that boy until he new I meant business, just a few minutes really until he retreated. For the rest of the day no issues! I don't think I got that boy TOO good, but honestly I don't care if he ended up with a few bruises. I haven't seen them EVER give me the stink eye, but if that boy does end up staying long term (he'll be here at least a few months while I work on my next generation) I think he will know that IF he decides to challenge me it won't end well for him.

So in reality I had been planning to butcher the beat up guy the next day because the other one meets the standards of my breeding program better. But I'm a softee and don't wanna kill him after a terrible day, So he lives to recover until the next time and we processed the one that needed to go next according to behavior. We don't raise mass amounts of birds and do them all in one day. We process as needed and flock dynamics OFTEN dictate who stays or goes. Needless to say the flock has developed into what it is despite which birds I initially think I will like or not. Many surprises.

Also note, just like in a dog fight the bystanders will often join in on the under dog (or bottom).. Chickens (not all) do the same thing and will join in to peck whoever is down or cornered. Sometimes to the point of death and cannibalism. This is why it's extremely important that chicks don't get cornered. When the rest hear someone screaming, they come running. Maybe as a chance to up their standing in the pecking order or possibly help to eliminate competition for resources. Some animals (one of my dogs included) will guard their resources even when there is plenty and they have never done without. Instinct maybe? One other reason I can see this happening is to keep the flock/pack strong. When a member shows signs of weakness they may be ran off or killed for various reasons. As much as I love nature.. it is BRUTAL! Helps me to be a little more compassionate to the atrocities I see from the human race. I may not like it.. but there IS a circle of life!

Incidentally (sorry for any offended) Since we didn't process that Marans boy (10 months old), we did one of the younger (16 weeks old) boys. We were waiting until they got bigger because my daughter said she had a hard time getting the innards out without enough space to get her hand in. However, the younger boy had softer pelvis making it easier to spread and he peeled so much easier. In our inexperience, previous birds took almost 2 hours to drain, skin, gut. That younger one took only 45 minutes! And only weighed about 1/2 pound less after all done but with 6 months less growth. Older ones were being grown out for breeder selection.

Aside from being a softee, another reason I didn't process the underling boy is because I didn't want the one staying to possibly get an even bigger head and start in on the younger boys in there. Dynamics are so fluid, you just never know what will happen. Sometimes you go with it, sometimes you have to change it up. Not trying to discourage anyone from keeping a rooster flock, if you can stand that much noise and don't mind feeding them long term maybe 10-12 years.. though I would be shocked to see a boy eating layer feed live that long. Anyone who feeds their boys layer (or any feed), please share how long the oldest has lived and if you had a necropsy to determine the cause of death.

Thank y'all for letting me share my experiences and the solutions that have or haven't worked for me for me so far! It's a never ending learning experience on my part.

I will post a pic of my boy later, I felt bad for him. But mind you as soon as the aggressor relented and the victim was back near the hen fence, you know where his attention went.. brown chicken, brown cow. Can't remember if it was later that day or the next. But both those boys were standing together at the fence letting the hens pick at/clean their wounds! I will also note... I had to live with siblings and room mates in the past. And with my siblings it went to blows plenty of times with someone getting a fat lip, black eye, ripped earring holes, torn clothing. So I don't think it's JUST roosters/cockerels that have disagreements. By the time I had room mates I was plenty mature enough to know that violence doesn't solve problems. Also I guess it clues me in about how guys might fight over the affection of the ladies and try to compete by showing off who's the biggest, baddest, strongest, most flashy, has the nicest accessories or cars. And how teenagers will test their boundaries in the same way, across species I see it! Teen aged chickens are my least favorite I recently discovered. Chicks and older hens are best, but a GOOD rooster will be nice in the future.

Will post a pic of my boy that got the worst of it. But the other guy did NOT walk away unscathed either.

Chickens are not completely void of feelings. I have seen one of my hens knock a cockerel off another that was screaming and after she beat that boy back I saw her ask the girl if she was OK. They do have friends and it's very sweet! The boys I have haven't been around long enough to truly become friends yet. But I'm sure given the chance, I will see some of that to!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

OK one more thing I did notice to be true in a lot of cases is an old saying...

The best defense IS a good offense!