Roosters and More Roosters... HELP

[Srkinnard91]

Okay. first time poster.

So I have 5 buff orpingtons, 4 easter eggers, 3 americanas, 2 light brahmas, and 1 light brahma rooster in one living situation(15). They are very happy and healthy, the rooster is sweet to humans and his hens, but definitely keeps everyone in line. Couldn't ask for a better rooster! Now, all of that being said... I purchased 4 salmon faverolles to add to my flock from a breeder who does not sex them. Which is fine I knew the risks when I purchased them, but boy did I underestimate them. After a couple weeks their feathers came in and I had 3 roosters and only 1 hen...

I have kept them in a separate coop and run situation ever since they could go outside full-time. Once they were big enough to face my full-grown rooster I tried to do the slow integration with their small coop up against the large coop and then eventually put them in with the flock under supervision. It was terrible! Instantly my brahma rooster went into attack mode and was literally trying to kill all four of them, my original hens went action also and started attacking the new ones too. I got them out of there as fast as I could. I waited a couple of weeks and tried again to no avail.

I do realize multiple roosters living with hens does not usually work out, and my brahma rooster is so massive he could kill any of the new ones without much effort. I am afraid to only introduce the new hen now, but maybe I should and just keep my new roosters separate entirely.

Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated thank you!

 

[JedJackson]

Faverolles tend to be bullied in general, and it would be much worse introducing just one of them (the female) into an established flock. I have two pieces of advice. First, sell or rehome two of the Faverolles cockerels, or all three if you want. Then buy some gentle breed pullets like Faverolles, bantam Cochins, Silkies or whatever to keep your Faverolles female company. I would keep them separate.

 

[Srkinnard91]

Faverolles tend to be bullied in general, and it would be much worse introducing just one of them (the female) into an established flock. I have two pieces of advice. First, sell or rehome two of the Faverolles cockerels, or all three if you want. Then buy some gentle breed pullets like Faverolles, bantam Cochins, Silkies or whatever to keep your Faverolles female company. I would keep them separate.

Thank you! That's what I was worried about, the three Faverolle roosters are starting to fight each other now unfortunately. Re-homing is hard in our area as nobody seems interested in roosters, and they are turning out to be beautiful little guys. Wish I could accommodate three separate runs.

 

[Tonyroo]

Favorelles are sexable at an early age guess it wasn't to important at the time.

 

[Tonyroo]

Consider culling the roosters since rehoming might be impossible in your area.

 

[JedJackson]

Thank you! That's what I was worried about, the three Faverolle roosters are starting to fight each other now unfortunately. Re-homing is hard in our area as nobody seems interested in roosters, and they are turning out to be beautiful little guys. Wish I could accommodate three separate runs.

You could keep the three together if the female is taken out of the equation. She would have to be very carefully be introduced to the other flock, though. You'd want to keep her in a fenced off area in the coop or run so the others can see her without being able to harm her, and it would take a while. May not be practical right now if you live in an area with cold weather.

 

[Finnie]

How old are the Faverolles?

I can usually introduce male chicks to my flock without the roosters caring. Then as they grow up, the pecking order pretty much works out naturally. But maybe your cockerels are past the age of being accepted.

If you could add more hens/pullets to the Faverolle group before you rehome/cull the cockerels, that would give the one pullet a chance to bond with a female flock while she still has her original support group. Maybe try to find 2 or 3 pullets around the same age, but older ones can work too. Since they will be the new kids in the coop, they might be more accommodating to the established pullet and cockerels. But don’t quarantine them. For this to work, they need to go right in while they are unsettled. It would work even better if the new pullets came from different flocks, rather than already being established mates.

Then after a while, you can remove the 3 boys and let the Faverolle continue to bond with her new flock. Eventually (after a suitable quarantine period, if you are a stickler for that) you could probably blend this younger group with your older group. Without the cockerels, the dynamics will be different, and after some normal pecking order skirmishes, it should all be fine.

If you really wanted to keep 1 or 2 of the Faverolle cockerels, you could do the same thing, except you would need a lot more hens and pullets, and you would probably never be able to integrate your two flocks.

Just some ideas.

 

[Kanekoded]

Thank you! That's what I was worried about, the three Faverolle roosters are starting to fight each other now unfortunately. Re-homing is hard in our area as nobody seems interested in roosters, and they are turning out to be beautiful little guys. Wish I could accommodate three separate runs.

I've had great luck re-homing roosters in the past by joining the farm swap and re-homing rooster groups in my area on Facebook. It's worth a try.