rooster keeping

[Kavellion]

Well hatched out 19 game but was wondering if the roosters will get along if they were raised up in the same brood all their lives? Or do they absolutely have to be kept seperate?

 

[Ridgerunner]

You'll almost certainly get different opinions on this because we all get different results and keep them in different conditions. Each chicken has its own personality. They don't always act the same, even in the same conditions.

Will yours get along? I don't know. There are two potential problems. One is them fighting. Game roosters are not known for gettting along with others real well, but sometimes roosters raised together do OK together. Sometimes they kill each other. If you keep all the roosters in separate pen away from the hens, there is a pretty good chance they will get along. You can search "bachelor pad" on this forum for details. If they are with the hens, the odds of problems goes up a lot, but it is not absolutely guaranteed.

The other potential problem is barebacked hens. You will see a myth on here that their is a magic ratio of 10 hens per rooster that takes care of all problems. It is a myth. That 10 to 1 ratio comes from a certain type of commercial operation providing hatching eggs. They have found that the 10 to 1 ratio is the best for that type of operation to assure fertility of the eggs without feeding a lot more roosters than they have to. Some people do not have problems with barebacked hens with very small hen to rooster ratios and some have problems with very large ratios. You are more likely to have problems with adolesents than mature chickens, but even that is not guaranteed.

We have no idea of how many hens or roosters will come from that hatch. We don't know what your ratio will be. I do believe that the more roosters you have, the more likely you are to have rooster problems, so my advice is to keep as few roosters as possible and still meet your goals. And you are less likely to have problems if you have a few more hens as compared to a few less, but again no guarantees. I've had my worst problems with the best ratios. Pure luck. If you decide to keep more than one rooster, observe and have a plan to act if you need to. You may not need that plan, but them again youi may.

 

[gritsar]

Roosters are part of the flocks pecking order, but they also maintain a seperate pecking order amongst themselves. Sometimes they get along fine having been raised up together, so long as they respect the pecking order. All too often though a lower ranking rooster decides to take a shot at a higher spot in the order. That's when the fighting begins and it can be bloody and sometimes deadly.

Another worry with too many roosters in your flock is the overmating and general harrasment of the hens. That's hard on the hens physically and if there's too much of it going on, it will stress the hens out. Stressed hens don't lay well.