To Keep Roosters, or Not to Keep?

[DesertBird]

Hello, everyone! I had a question with my little roosters; I've gotten quite attached to them, but I ended up with 3 roos to 11 hens. Is there any way to keep them, or should I rehome 1? Or 2? None of them are breeding yet, but they did start crowing a few days ago, and I definitely don't want them going in the freezer or anything. They would have about 2 acres of ranging space, so space isn't a huge issue, but I know they can stress out the hens. Should I get a few more hens? It was definitely not ever planned to keep roosters in the first place, but my family got attached to them before we knew if they were roosters for sure, and now we're trying to figure out how to keep them. If we do get more, what's the best hen to rooster range? I've seen somewhere it was 6 hens to 1 rooster, so should I get 7 more hens? Currently, we have 6 hens at about 5 months old and 5 hens with our 3 roosters at about 4 months old, so none of them are introduced to each other yet. Below are some pictures of the three roosters.

First Rooster:

Second Rooster:

Third Rooster:

 

[Chickassan]

If you really want to keep those roosters definitely get more hens. You've got a good thing going with three.Three will actually be less trouble than two. You will have some bickering but since they came up together it shouldn't be too bad. Definitely keep an eye open though chickens are odd birds and moods change quick.

 

[Fanci Feathers Marans]

1:8 is normal, 1:12 is almost too many, 1:4 is pushing it.

You could build a house just for the roos. Since they grew up together, they shouldn't fight.

 

[Farmgirl47]

It would probably be a good idea to get a few more hens. I think the biggest hen to rooster ratio that I have had was 40 hens to 6 or 7 roosters, and they all got along well with each other except for one unfortunate rooster (a big 'ol Cochin) who would get picked on by all the other roosters. But I later put him in with a batch of 1-2 week old chicks I had at the time and he became like a mother to them (would let them snuggle under him like a brood hen, and was never mean to them).
My point is, you may need to find a new home for one of your roosters if you see he is being picked on by the others. My fellow didn't do well until I separated him from the bullies.
But, all that to say, there usually is a dominant rooster - one that keeps all the others in line, and (sometimes), that keeps them from mating with some of the hens.

 

[Corrie W]

I don't think you can ever go wrong with more chickens but I will say I have 3 roos and 9 hens and they all seem to be doing fine with each other! 2 of the roos are a bit older and they go about their business as if the others aren't even there. They are free range on about 1 acre and do their own thing

 

[Chickassan]

It's good that everyone is the same breed as well. I've had way more problems between mixed flock roosters than if everyone is the same. Chickens are kind of clique animals.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Another thing you could do is have a rooster flock for two or all of the roosters. Here's my article on rooster flocks: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/rooster-flocks.72998/

 

[DesertBird]

If you really want to keep those roosters definitely get more hens. You've got a good thing going with three.Three will actually be less trouble than two. You will have some bickering but since they came up together it shouldn't be too bad. Definitely keep an eye open though chickens are odd birds and moods change quick.

Thank you very much! It's good to know 3 is better than 2. lol I'll definitely be planning on getting more hens; is 7 a good number to give each rooster 6 hens, or should I get more? Or less? And they have started to bicker a bit, my lowest of the 3 roosters recently got himself a little tear on his wattle and one of the others got a little nick on his comb, but both seem to be okay for now. And I do keep a very close eye on them, and they're constantly by my living room window so I can hear any commotion and run out to them.

1:8 is normal, 1:12 is almost too many, 1:4 is pushing it.

You could build a house just for the roos. Since they grew up together, they shouldn't fight.

I definitely might do that if they start to fight more than is normal, or if one gets injured. Thank you for the suggestion! I've tried separation before when one of the roo's got injured a bit, and they all freaked out and made noise constantly trying to get back to each other, but hopefully now that they're a bit older, they handle it better.

It would probably be a good idea to get a few more hens. I think the biggest hen to rooster ratio that I have had was 40 hens to 6 or 7 roosters, and they all got along well with each other except for one unfortunate rooster (a big 'ol Cochin) who would get picked on by all the other roosters. But I later put him in with a batch of 1-2 week old chicks I had at the time and he became like a mother to them (would let them snuggle under him like a brood hen, and was never mean to them).
My point is, you may need to find a new home for one of your roosters if you see he is being picked on by the others. My fellow didn't do well until I separated him from the bullies.
But, all that to say, there usually is a dominant rooster - one that keeps all the others in line, and (sometimes), that keeps them from mating with some of the hens.

Awe, what a cute story with the rooster and the chicks! And I think I can already see a dominant rooster, but I'm not sure; the hens seem to follow around and like one of them better, but another one is definitely a bit of a bully to all of them, including the hens.

I don't think you can ever go wrong with more chickens but I will say I have 3 roos and 9 hens and they all seem to be doing fine with each other! 2 of the roos are a bit older and they go about their business as if the others aren't even there. They are free range on about 1 acre and do their own thing

Same here! And that's great! My roo's are very young still, so I'm hoping they're not too aggressive as their personality's grow a bit more. Mine will hopefully be able to free range full-time on my 2ish acres, but there is an owl that recently set up a nest in my yard, so after about 6 PM it's a bit of a worry for me.

It's good that everyone is the same breed as well. I've had way more problems between mixed flock roosters than if everyone is the same. Chickens are kind of clique animals.

Oh, gosh. So if I get more hens, it's a bad idea to get a different breed or two different breeds? I have 6 Barred Plymouth Rock's hens and the other 8 with the 3 rooster's included are all Rhode Island Red's. Or will they be okay considering it should be all hens that will be mixed breed?


Thank you all very much for the replies!!

 

[DesertBird]

Another thing you could do is have a rooster flock for two or all of the roosters. Here's my article on rooster flocks: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/rooster-flocks.72998/

So I should just separate all 3 of the roosters if I notice issues? Thanks for the article, it's definitely something I'll be looking into! And they'll be fine separate if it's just 3, like they won't get lonely with only 2 or 3?

 

[Chickassan]

You can mix it up with the hens all you want they'll have their own order regardless. You could mix up roosters as well if there were no hens involved. The only reason problems occur with multiple mixed roosters with hens is some breeds have personalities that either give them a huge advantage or disadvantage when it comes to flock placement. You end up with bullies and victims. This happens in hens too but being dead last isn't quite as severe usually.If you just have a rooster flock since there aren't any girls the boys will get along .This always has variables though I've had hens beat the tar out of the last in line, and I've had a low ranking rooster go off the rails on the rooster in charge you just never know.