Heres the issue. We have 12 one year old girls and 1 bantam roo. We have been incubating their eggs, with hopes to keep about 6-8 of the girls, the rest we have homes for. The person taking them can take straight run no problem because has family who takes in the roo's to find homes for them. Issue is of the first hatch we kept 7 knowing some might be roos, but...the big but...we saved one our chicks at hatch time, spent about 2 weeks nursing it, had a mini cast (plastic straw) then legs bandaided together. We said we were keeping this one as we have grown very fond of it. I say "it" but now at 4 plus weeks it is looking very much like a roo. I would not be able to send this one to freezer camp - way to attached, and he is super friendly with us right now.
I'm reading on here that having a 2nd roo join the group would be a huge problem, chances are he would be the bigger roo of the two in the end because his dad was a big RIR or NR, and mom was one of the same also. Am I just asking for trouble by trying to keep him? Or if I have enough females can these 2 regardless of age and size live happily in the same coop (free range 1/4 - 1/2 the day most months except the dead of winter). Were hoping to end up with 18-20 girls. Again the 12 older ones and 6-8 more intergrated late spring/summer. I would appreciated any and all advise...The bantom roo we have now is only a few months younger than the hens. We had to rehome our first roo who grew up with the flock because he got really mean to us, and spent more time chasing us out of our own yard than anything else.
I was thinking before reading up on this subject that a 2nd roo might actually help him out, he tends to get frustrated with just the 12 trying to keep them together. (Girls will be girls and they like to wander off in small groups sometimes and he doesnt like this at all.) But now I'm thinking "what I "think" is right and what "really" is right, is two differant things! Oh boy!
I'm reading on here that having a 2nd roo join the group would be a huge problem, chances are he would be the bigger roo of the two in the end because his dad was a big RIR or NR, and mom was one of the same also. Am I just asking for trouble by trying to keep him? Or if I have enough females can these 2 regardless of age and size live happily in the same coop (free range 1/4 - 1/2 the day most months except the dead of winter). Were hoping to end up with 18-20 girls. Again the 12 older ones and 6-8 more intergrated late spring/summer. I would appreciated any and all advise...The bantom roo we have now is only a few months younger than the hens. We had to rehome our first roo who grew up with the flock because he got really mean to us, and spent more time chasing us out of our own yard than anything else.
I was thinking before reading up on this subject that a 2nd roo might actually help him out, he tends to get frustrated with just the 12 trying to keep them together. (Girls will be girls and they like to wander off in small groups sometimes and he doesnt like this at all.) But now I'm thinking "what I "think" is right and what "really" is right, is two differant things! Oh boy!
