rooster has stolen my heart.

[bucky52]

I have a two young roosters.One is 8 weeks old and the other one is 6 weeks.I have gotten so attached to them.Can you house rooster together.If so my DH will be building a coop and run.

 

[lightchick]

Yes, roosters can live together.

 

[cluckcluckgirl]

Not all roosters will fight when around each other, so if they're getting along, you should be just fine to keep both.

 

[tcstoehr]

Will there be hens in the same enclosure? If so... how many? From what I understand there should be like 10 hens per rooster or else the hens suffer from too much amorous attention.

 

[lightchick]

Actually the standard is 5-6 hens per rooster.

 

[bobbi-j]

You can have two roosters in the same coop with no hens and it will definitely help prevent fighting. Most chicken keepers say that 10-12 roosters is the "perfect" ratio. After reading posts from many of the experienced chicken keepers here on the thread, I'm coming to the conclusion that there is no "perfect ratio". Every flock is different. If you have too few hens, they will be overmated and stressed, they will have bald backs and their egg production will be affected. Too many hens, and fertility in your eggs will be affected, but that's not a problem if you aren't interested in breeding. The best way to know if you have the perfect ratio is to watch your flock. Are the roosters fighting? (almost guaranteed they will if you have them with hens, especially if they don't have enough space to be away from one another) Are the hens looking worn from mating? Do the roosters let the hens eat and drink, or are they constantly chasing and trying to mate them? Personally, I'd keep them separated. I think it would be more peaceful in the long run.

 

[Mrs. K]

Not to rain on your parade, but roosters do not always stay sweet. If you do much research on here, it seems like roosters that are very sweet at a young age, loose their fear of humans, and can become a nightmare of aggression later on. Be careful. One cannot really make a prediction on rooster behavior until they are much older.

Mrs. K

 

[emma p]

I agree with this ^
However there are many things you can do to have them treat you like the boss of the coop.
I would read some of the articles in the learning center about keeping roosters.
My rooster was starting to come up to me and peck me when I went in the coop so when we ever acted like he wanted to test me I would just lean down and shoo him away. After 2 days he stopped. He is really sweet

 

[lazy gardener]

Agreed regarding rooster management. I think it's important to try to stay one step ahead of your rooster in terms of managing his behavior. Any time my roo comes near me, I "walk" him away. I will not allow him to breed the hens in my presence. When he does, he gets a free "flying" lesson. When I go to town this week, I plan to pick up the meanest squirt gun with the longest range I can find to work on his crowing behaviors. All that being said, I love my roo, and find him to be an absolute treat in the flock, and am doing what ever i can to ensure that this little boy maintains his respect for all humans being alpha over him.

 

[One Chick Two]

I agree with this ^
However there are many things you can do to have them treat you like the boss of the coop.
I would read some of the articles in the learning center about keeping roosters.
My rooster was starting to come up to me and peck me when I went in the coop so when we ever acted like he wanted to test me I would just lean down and shoo him away. After 2 days he stopped. He is really sweet

Here's the thing about roosters- you never know what you're going to get. Sometimes genetics or environment plays a strong role in personalities, or how social they will become.




Ours are friendly, balanced and pretty social. We spend at least 1 hour with them a day, and pick them up and pet them. Most of our chickens seem to enjoy the interaction.

My advice is to enjoy your roosters, and do not act fearful of them.
Only keep well balanced roosters. ALWAYS be confident and calm around them, no matter what is happening, even if something big happens. No matter what, we are the Alpa flock leader and the roosters must look to you. You may be challenged a few times when they are young (like biting, flogging, etc), but, I don't reward bad behavior, and since often they outgrow a rebellious stage, they soon find such things are a waste of effort.