Separating my Roos...

[MartaKuz]

Hi, I have a question about my 3 Roos. I'm done breeding for the season and would like to give my hens a break. Some of my hens have bald shoulders and balding backs and I've had to buy saddles for a few. Each Roo has it's own flock, they are small flocks of four or five hens. I plan on keeping a lot of the babies So that I have more per flock, hoping the roosters will have more variety and the hens won't be mounted as often. Last season I didn't separate them and the hens were exhausted.
What would be your suggestion? Do I create three small coops one for each rooster and just have them be by themselves? I'm not sure they'd get along if put together. Should I put them far away so they can't see their hens? And then when I reintriduce next spring will they attack the hens because they haven't been mounting for several months? Or would it be best to separate them but keep them close to their flocks so they can still see them? They just can't get to them?
Any advice you can give would be fantastic! Here's pics of my Roos. I love them! The satin frizzle is LuvRBoy because I can literally carry him around all day and he cuddles with me. Aw.

 

[azygous]

We can't know or predict what will happen in various arrangements. But understanding a few common things about general rooster behavior can help you decide which strategies have the best chance of succeeding.

1. Roosters are territorial and are very competitive with one another until they work out the ranking of who is top roo and who are the subordinates.

2. Roosters will be more likely to rumble when hens are present and directly accessible, even when they all have their ranks worked out.

3. Roosters can learn to get along and live together in a bachelor group if -
a. There is enough space
b. They have the temperaments to get along and they aren't bred for fighting or one doesn't have a pugilist temperament.

4. Roosters are usually quite content as long as they are still in proximity to the hens and can interact but have no direct access, and this doesn't normally cause friction among them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

We can't know or predict what will happen in various arrangements. But understanding a few common things about general rooster behavior can help you decide which strategies have the best chance of succeeding.

1. Roosters are territorial and are very competitive with one another until they work out the ranking of who is top roo and who are the subordinates.

2. Roosters will be more likely to rumble when hens are present and directly accessible, even when they all have their ranks worked out.

3. Roosters can learn to get along and live together in a bachelor group if -
a. There is enough space
b. They have the temperaments to get along and they aren't bred for fighting or one doesn't have a pugilist temperament.

4. Roosters are usually quite content as long as they are still in proximity to the hens and can interact but have no direct access, and this doesn't normally cause friction among them.

What she said

As Azygous said, you never know how any of them will behave, boys or girls. My first attempt would be to create a bachelor pad with all the boys together and try to house all the girls together. That is the simplest way for you to maintain them and has a high probability of working. I like to try to minimize your work. Base what you do on what you see. If it works, great. If it doesn't then do something different.

 

[MartaKuz]

That sounds fabulous - a bachelor pad. Thank you! IN general all 3 are sweet as far as Roos go, Silkies tend to be that way anyway, so yes based on the checklist above and your idea, I'll try the bachelor pad, that way all the hens can flock together too and it definitely minimizes the work for sure.
THANK YOU!
Follow up question:
Is it okay to just put the roos together in the same coop late night... or do I need to do the look but don't integrate thing fenced apart for awhile?

 

[azygous]

If the boys are all strangers to each other, then you do need to introduce them first.

I have a bachelor coop and run for my two roosters and the hens are in adjacent coop and run, but they all can see and interact. It's been working out very well. Sometimes I let some of the hens free-range with the roos, and sometimes I free-range them at different times. None of the chickens appear to be the least bit upset over this arrangement, and it works very well for hens that are too young, too old or too small to be mated. I get to decide which hens the roosters mate.

 

[PopoMyers]

If the boys are all strangers to each other, then you do need to introduce them first.

I have a bachelor coop and run for my two roosters and the hens are in adjacent coop and run, but they all can see and interact. It's been working out very well. Sometimes I let some of the hens free-range with the roos, and sometimes I free-range them at different times. None of the chickens appear to be the least bit upset over this arrangement, and it works very well for hens that are too young, too old or too small to be mated. I get to decide which hens the roosters mate.

I was just wondering, and your post answered my questions so accurately. I had a hatch of 2 each, and will keep the cockerels separated til maybe Spring. Depends on their temperaments. They will be 6 weeks old this Saturday. Mama hen was taken by a coyote this past week, as she and her chicks roosted where I couldn't reach them at night, and she was ranging with them in the morning. Chicks are now cooped up in their own run.