Serama rooster + 2 standard hens?

[Birdpants]

Well, it’s official: In my little clutch of five-week-old chicks—two standard autosexed Eggers and three straight-run Seramas—all 3 Seramas are BOYS.

I hadn’t planned on keeping any roosters but of course now we love them.

I do plan on getting more standard-sizes hens down the road. Could I keep ONE of the tiny Roos? Surely over-mating cannot be too much of a worry with one 1-lb rooster and two 6-8 lb hens?

alternately thinking of having the girls stay outdoors in the coop/run and having a tiny indoor/outdoor rooster flock (sleeping the Roos indoors but having an outdoor area away from the run)...but I think that might be more trouble than it’s worth, not to mention a lot of crowing.

and I’m guessing two roosters would fight over two hens regardless of size.

What Would YOU Do?

 

[All4Eggz]

I think that should be fine.

I have more bantam roosters, while there are more standard hens. It works good because if the hen is against, she can protect herself cuz she's bigger!

But they are just ADORABLE!! LOVE THEM!

 

[Birdpants]

I think that should be fine.

I have more bantam roosters, while there are more standard hens. It works good because if the hen is against, she can protect herself cuz she's bigger!

But they are just ADORABLE!! LOVE THEM!

Thank you So...help me be realistic here. One tiny rooster plus two big hens (and more later, but not for awhile unfortunately) is fine. What about ... TWO tiny roosters? And surely it’s absurd to think I could keep all THREE tiny roosters? I’m pretty sure that’s ridiculous but I gotta ask.

May I ask what your balance of bantam roosters to (mixed size? Or All large?) hens is? Do your roosters ever get cranky with each other? What bantam breeds do you have?

 

[GoatGirl123]

I think that your best option would be to just keep one. You can’t keep multiple roosters together with hens as they will fight. The roosters would also crow A LOT.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Over-mating isn’t really going to be a problem. I’ve kept ratios such as 3 roosters with 4 hens several times in the past (only with bantams). If they were my chickens, I would keep them together, though knowing I might have to separate one out. Of course, the risk of fighting is a lot lower when the roosters are separate from the hens.

 

[Birdpants]

Oh yeah. Crowing.

 

[Birdpants]

Over-mating isn’t really going to be a problem. I’ve kept ratios such as 3 roosters with 4 hens in the past (only with bantams). If they were my chickens, I would keep them together, though knowing I might have to separate one out. Of course, the risk of fighting is a lot lower when the roosters are separate from the hens.

I’m so tempted to keep them together, because they’ve been raised together and they all sleep together in a little clump...but of course it’s like thinking your fifteen year old child is going to be little and cute and sweet like your five year old child ... not that teenagers aren’t lovable but they have different behaviors than five year olds (well...mostly ). I know these guys are going to hit adolescence and who knows what will happen. But it’s helpful knowing you have done some version of this successfully.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you can build a separate bachelor enclosure for the boys, no reason you can't keep all 3 as long as there's nothing prohibiting roosters in your area.

 

[Birdpants]

If you can build a separate bachelor enclosure for the boys, no reason you can't keep all 3 as long as there's nothing prohibiting roosters How far away from the hens would the Roos have to be?

If you can build a separate bachelor enclosure for the boys, no reason you can't keep all 3 as long as there's nothing prohibiting roosters in your area.

How far away from the hens would the roos have to be, do you reckon? And would it be okay for both flocks to take turns with supervised free-ranging in the larger area where both enclosures would be? Or would hens occasionally parading in front of the rooster run, and/or vice versa, cause distress?

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

How far away from the hens would the roos have to be, do you reckon? And would it be okay for both flocks to take turns with supervised free-ranging in the larger area where both enclosures would be? Or would hens occasionally parading in front of the rooster run, and/or vice versa, cause distress?

They can be close to them with it still working out, but it’s best to try and find the farthest distance you can to increase your chances of success. I free ranged my own bachelor pad on alternating days than my hens. It would not cause distress. Whenever my roosters would see the free ranging hens, they would start dancing and trying to court them, but not in a frantic way. Whenever the free ranging roosters saw the hens in their coop, they would start courting them and challenge their roosters, but that’s it. They wouldn’t hang around the hens’ coop for an extended period of time.

If you do set up a bachelor pad instead, it might be best to put all three of them in it. Bachelor pads with two roosters can end badly. I’ve had successful bachelor pads of two, but I’ve also had unsuccessful ones, where the rooster lower in the pecking order was bullied worse than normal. Also, make sure your coop has plenty of space for them.