To many roosters, bachelor pen.

[Lidiapac730]

hello, this spring I got 22 chicks straight run bantams, and I ended up with 12 rooters and 10 hens (I think). They are 4 months old now, and get along ok, there is some chases and fights but nothing serious, no blood... yet... But I have 3 roosters chasing one hen... The girls are not happy and getting very stressed out. I don't want to give them away, because I felt like I made a commitment to the chicks when I got them, and they are family... I don't eat them either. I would like to make a "bachelor pen" for them, and looking for some advise on how to manage this step. Should I remove all the roosters, or is it ok to leave one or two with the girls? Is it better to leave mellow roosters with the hens, or is it better to leave my dominant roosters? If anybody has done that, please share your story and advice. Thank you.
Rooster breeds 1 easter egger, 3 cochins, 1 polish, 4 mille fleur D'uccle, and 2 or 3 silkies (not sure yet) I listed them in order of their dominance...

 

[chickengeorgeto]

hello, this spring I got 22 chicks straight run bantams of, and I ended up with 12 rooters and 10 hens (I think). They are 4 months old now, and get along ok, there is some chases and fights but nothing serious, no blood... yet... Buy I have 3 roosters chasing one hen... The girls are not happy and getting very stressed out. I don't want to give them away, because I felt like I made a commitment to the chicks when I got them, and they are family... I don't eat them either. I would like to make a "bachelor pen" for them, and looking for some advise on how to manage this step. Should I remove all the roosters, or is it ok to leave one or two with the girls? Is it better to leave mellow roosters with the hens, or is it better to leave my dominant roosters? If anybody has done that, please share your story and advice. Thank you.
Rooster breeds 1 easter egger, 3 cochins, 1 polish, 4 mille fleur D'uccle, and 2 or 3 silkies (not sure yet) I listed them in order of their dominance...

With only 10 pullets I would recommend that you only keep one cockerel at a time with your 10 pullets. It is also good if you would play musical chairs with your 11 bachelor cockerels to keep up their moral. Be prepared to witness some violent behavior by your cockerels towards your pullets. This is normal chicken behavior and is necessary for a young cockerel to consolidate a flock. If you can't live with that then cull all 12.

 

[Lidiapac730]

With only 10 pullets I would recommend that you only keep one cockerel at a time with your 10 pullets. It is also good if you would play musical chairs with your 11 bachelor cockerels to keep up their moral. Be prepared to witness some violent behavior by your cockerels towards your pullets. This is normal chicken behavior and is necessary for a young cockerel to consolidate a flock. If you can't live with that then cull all 12.

Thank you, Is it ok to just keep one roster with the hens and never rotate? Or is rotation necessary?

 

[Lidiapac730]

With only 10 pullets I would recommend that you only keep one cockerel at a time with your 10 pullets. It is also good if you would play musical chairs with your 11 bachelor cockerels to keep up their moral. Be prepared to witness some violent behavior by your cockerels towards your pullets. This is normal chicken behavior and is necessary for a young cockerel to consolidate a flock. If you can't live with that then cull all 12.

And if I rotate, for how long they would have to stay there at a time?

 

[keesmom]

If you absolutely will not part with any males, I'd just separate the sexes permanently. You could keep one male with the hens but unless you want to hatch why bother?

You may want to invest in earplugs though, that many cockerels are going to make a LOT of noise.

 

[MROO]

Rooster breeds 1 easter egger, 3 cochins, 1 polish, 4 mille fleur D'uccle, and 2 or 3 silkies (not sure yet) I listed them in order of their dominance...

You can probably find good pet homes for the Silkies. You can advertise the rest here on BYC or through your local 4H. I actually put mine up on my Facebook page, and my vet's assistant ended up taking them. They're totally spoiled, now!
Who you leave with the girls depends mostly on temperament. If your "dominant" rooster counts you as one of his harem, then he shouldn't be the one. YOU need to be the head rooster!

 

[Mrs. K]

I would recommend pulling all the roosters and putting them in the bachelor pen unless you also have older hens in the flock. If this is just pullets and cockerels, separate the roosters from the pullets. The roosters mature faster than pullets and one or ten will just make the girls miserable.

Then after the girls start laying, you could decide on a rooster to be with them. Personally I have found chickens hate change, I would pick a rooster and leave him with the flock, unless for some reason - such as he is mean to the girls, or mean to me or my family, but then you would have a whole bunch more to choose from.

I would not rotate them in and out.

Mrs K

 

[Lidiapac730]

If you absolutely will not part with any males, I'd just separate the sexes permanently. You could keep one male with the hens but unless you want to hatch why bother?

You may want to invest in earplugs though, that many cockerels are going to make a LOT of noise.

Thank you, They already crow up a storm. One of my cochins started crowing at week 3! They all crow except my silkies, that's why I am not sure how many roosters I have, silkie roosters have not revealed themselves yet. 5 silkies all look the same, 2 are visibly larger and have bigger crests. I think those are roos. Their voices are cute though, I actually enjoy them, they make me laugh... I always try to guess without looking which one is crowing. I am not sure if I want chicks right away, but I know I don't ever want to order chicks from hatcheries, but down the road I might want to have more chicks and breed them. Is it better to leave dominant roo with hens or mellow? Or just go by cuteness?...

 

[aldarita]

There are some members in this forum that keep a bachelor pad and things seem to work fine for them. I know because I researched this issue some time ago when I was faced with having three cockerels in my last year hatch. In my particular situation things did not work, they had their own coop, run and yard and I covered the view of the hens. Everything was working well, they had to establish their own pecking order so there were some squabbles here and there but nothing serious. They lived together for several months until one day I came back home to find the three of them all bloodied. They had been fighting and it was bad. No way I could keep them together any more.
So the conclusion is that bachelor pads work but it all depends on the dynamics of the roosters (or cockerels ) and the conditions they are in. Nothing is written on stone, it might work or it might not. All you can do is try and hope for the best.

 

[SimplyLivinthatFarmLife]

When I first got chickens, I had 4 hens and 2 roosters. They all stayed together until the roosters matured. Then I chose one-same breed as the 4 hens. The one rooster was too much for my 4 hens and he was pulling out their feathers to the point that I had to buy saddles for them. I then decided to remove the rooster and the girls stopped laying for quite some time due to that change. They are fine now and the two roosters are still separated from the girls.