Roosters

[Team01]

I have a question about roosters. I just noticed that the new chickens I added to the flock three are roosters. I have two in the flock already with the other three that makes five should I take out four of them and just leave one. The egg production has dropped. Could that be caused by to manyroosters. We have 27 hens . Please let me know If I should take out four roosters

 

[Yardmom]

The stress of adding new birds and the heat of the summer can slow egg production. As far as how many roosters to keep, it depends on the personalities of the roosters and your tolerance for rooster behaviors. I have had as many 4 roosters in a flock that size. Just over 5 hens per roo can be done, but most prefer to keep a smaller number as it is easier on the hens and less likely for rooster fights to occur.

 

[McChooky]

I added two cockerels to a hen only flock of 8 hens 6 weeks ago so they'll teach my boys some manners after reading it makes better roosters out of them. I also separated them from the pullets for 6 weeks but I released them yesterday after cutting their wing feathers (they still won't come outside yet ) Maybe tomorrow? Chase is very content in my former hen only flock and is a big boy now(rooster dance,tidbit alerts,etc)He's shown absolutely no aggression towards me.

 

[Ridgerunner]

what I want to know is what is good and proper behavior for a young rooster? As far as how he treats the ladies… should he ever chase them or should he wait till they squat??

You can get different behaviors as they go through puberty. The girls each have their own personality and have an effect on this too, both the mature hens and the immature pullets. Not all mature hens and immature pullets act the same either. Some can be brutal, many are more subservient.

Some boys can be intimidated by more dominant males, even if they are the same age. They do not crow or show any interest in the girls. Some don't worry about any of that, they can't be intimidated. Some boys will fight each other, at least until they are defeated a few times. Some fights may be to the death but usually when one starts losing he runs away. Sometimes the boys may gang up on the girls where they all (or several) forcibly mate with one or more. The boys can often set up a ranking where one is dominant over the others. Often they can split the girls between themselves with each keeping his own harem but you generally need a lot of territory for this to work.

But at some point they usually mature enough to start acting like adults. With pullets, that's typically when they start to lay. It can vary a lot with cockerels, it is hard to generalize. Some older hens can adjust to a rooster in the flock easier than others. With the majority they settle into a pretty peaceful flock but some individuals never seem to grow up. Some hens can never allow a male to become flock master, that can get bloody. Some boys are wimps all their lives. Most flocks will settle with a male flock master where they all get along really peacefully but occasionally you get one that never becomes peaceful. The rooster is just a brute. Some hens can be pretty brutal, especially if the rooster is a wimp. Some flocks can keep different males, especially if you have enough room for them to set up a separate flock.

A lot of different things can possibly happen, some depending on individual personalities and some depending on how much room they have, among other things. No one can tell you for sure how your situation will work out.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I've had as many as 4 with a flock of 40 hens, but have found that everyone is much happier with a wider ratio, say 1 rooster to every 12-15 hens. But it depends on the personalities of the roosters.

I'd keep two of the newcomers - pick two that mostly get along with each other and the older roo (or at least stay out of his way), and are not aggressive to you in any way.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I think young roosters (properly called cockerels until they are one year old) are all hormone-driven until their full sexual maturity finally kicks in. Chasing the ladies is pretty typical and *should* settle down in time. The older hens will accept him when they think he's ready to behave, and the younger girls will accept him when they are sexually mature, at around 22-32-ish weeks depending on breed.

Yes, they do mature at different rates, even within the same breed. I've known chicks as young as 8 weeks try to crow, and others who never uttered a peep until they were fully grown in all their feathery glory.

It's hard to tell which ones will be the best roosters when they are crazy with hormones. I'd watch each one carefully, and take notes - not just on how rough they are with the girls (though if they are causing injury, they're chicken stew PDQ), but also watch how they call the girls to treats they've found, herd them up at roosting time, alert them to threats in the area, and generally watch over the flock.

Most importantly, watch how they react when you challenge them individually. Walk directly at one, and see what he does. Good if he turns and walks or runs away; BAD if he rears up at you or even attacks.

Also keep in mind that all three of them together are making the situation worse, as they are challenging each other to be King Bird. You might try separating two of them at a time, and see how each cockerel behaves with the flock when he's on his own, and how the ladies react to him.

 

[jpalmatier83]

The stress of adding new birds and the heat of the summer can slow egg production. As far as how many roosters to keep, it depends on the personalities of the roosters and your tolerance for rooster behaviors. I have had as many 4 roosters in a flock that size. Just over 5 hens per roo can be done, but most prefer to keep a smaller number as it is easier on the hens and less likely for rooster fights to occur.

Agreed about individual behaviors and personality.

Common advice here will be that if you’re going to keep any, keep 2-3 max with 27 hens.

 

[McChooky]

Agreed about individual behaviors and personality.

Common advice here will be that if you’re going to keep any, keep 2-3 max with 27 hens.

My 15 chicks have been in the same run with my flock of 8 hens since they were 4 weeks old.(divided by wire) I'm waiting until they start laying before releasing them so they'll return to lay in their nest boxes.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The egg production has dropped. Could that be caused by to manyroosters.

Egg production could drop because of many different things. How old are those boys? How long ago did you add them? When did production drop? How much has egg production dropped?

Chickens don't like change but they are fairly adaptable. They get over change but it can affect egg production for a while. When you add or subtract chickens you can change the pecking order, especially when the ones you are adding or subtracting are fairly high in the pecking order. That's why I'm asking about age. If they are fairly young they should not affect the pecking order. If they are old enough to affect the pecking order you should have known they were males when you added them. Their age has a direct bearing on how much they may be responsible for the loss of production.

Extreme weather, like excess heat or excess cold, can cause production to drop. Changes to the coop or their living area could have an effect on production. Changes to lighting that makes it seem that the days have gotten shorter can have an effect, something like a security light being turned off or burning out.

Are you north or south of the equator? If you are south of the equator they could be molting. Are they hiding a nest? That happens a lot. Is something getting the eggs?

We have 27 hens . Please let me know If I should take out four roosters

Why do you want any roosters? What are your goals relative to having roosters? I think people should keep as few roosters as they can and still meet their goals. It has nothing to do with egg production, just that the more boys you have the more likely you are to have problems of some kind. For many people zero or one rooster is the right answer, but some do great with more. I don't know enough about your situation to be able to make an educated guess what would be best for you.

 

[WhoDatChick]

I think young roosters (properly called cockerels until they are one year old) are all hormone-driven until their full sexual maturity finally kicks in. Chasing the ladies is pretty typical and *should* settle down in time. The older hens will accept him when they think he's ready to behave, and the younger girls will accept him when they are sexually mature, at around 22-32-ish weeks depending on breed.

Yes, they do mature at different rates, even within the same breed. I've known chicks as young as 8 weeks try to crow, and others who never uttered a peep until they were fully grown in all their feathery glory.

It's hard to tell which ones will be the best roosters when they are crazy with hormones. I'd watch each one carefully, and take notes - not just on how rough they are with the girls (though if they are causing injury, they're chicken stew PDQ), but also watch how they call the girls to treats they've found, herd them up at roosting time, alert them to threats in the area, and generally watch over the flock.

Most importantly, watch how they react when you challenge them individually. Walk directly at one, and see what he does. Good if he turns and walks or runs away; BAD if he rears up at you or even attacks.

Also keep in mind that all three of them together are making the situation worse, as they are challenging each other to be King Bird. You might try separating two of them at a time, and see how each cockerel behaves with the flock when he's on his own, and how the ladies react to him.

Thank you very much! This is good advice!
The two younger ones run for their lives from me but the older will stand his ground until I get really close