Too Many Roosters?

[Cash's Coop]

I have 16 , 10 week old chickens that i ordered from Cackle Hatchery. Of the 16 3 of them are roosters and i am trying to figure out if this is going to be a problem or not. I am new in the Chicken game and curious if it will be ok if they all grow up together or i should work on finding a new home for one of them.

Thank you in advance

 

[SunHwaKwon]

They may or may not be fine. It depends on how competitive with each other they are (which will influence fighting and overbreeding) as well as how much space you have.

 

[peopleRanimals2]

It depends, a rooster can cover about 15 hens, but that doesn't mean you can't have more. Three may be too much, depending on the space you have, but they might grow up together and be fine. They also may fight too much to be kept together. Some scuffles are to be expected, though. You won't know for sure until they get older.

 

[poodlechicks]

I had 3 roosters at one time, 2 of them heavy breeds. The other one was a tiny bantam mix, but he kept the other 2 in line and they never fought each other. Then the tiny one became human aggressive and was sent to the pot. Of the remaining 2, one died and the other became human aggressive. He was rehomed with full disclosure.
So, they may be fine with the girls, but not fine with their humans. Or they may over breed the girls. Only time will tell. I hope everything turns out well on your end and you have a great experience with your flock.

 

[Chicken Chat]

I wrestle with this same thing every time I incubate. You just never know, but I think a lot of it comes down to the temperament of your roos and making sure there is enough space for everyone. I have two coops (a big one and a medium sized one)joined by one outdoor run. The two coops help if you have more than one roo especially in winter when they are more cooped up. I do not tolerate an aggressive roo towards my flock or me, been there, done that. I also try to only keep breeds that are known to be more docile. You will just have to watch and wait and see how it plays out, but be prepared with a back up plan in case things go south. Several years ago, I came home one day to find one of my roos badly gutted from a spur to the belly when before that had been peace between the three of them. It was bad enough he had to be put down. It is easier to just have one roo but I hate to butcher if I don't have to, so I just cross my fingers I have good boys.

 

[jcskowronek]

i had 14 chickens, 3 of which were roosters at one point. I had no problem. i think it depends on the temperament of the roos. i had one giant, aggressive rir, and two silkies. the silkies bossed the rir around, and he didnt bother anyone. but as soon as one of the silkies left the rir got super aggressive. i think having multiple roosters can work out just fine but its a matter of finding a balance.

 

[Chickassan]

I've had three before and honestly it looks like I'm going to have three again. Previous roosters got along famously I had ten hens and a smallish coop only used for sleeping and laying so no squabbling over that. Old age got one someone stole one and I gave one away to my uncle. This time dynamics have changed, same coop five hens one year old rooster and two very young roosters one is his son one is a faverolles. Only time will tell if i have a disaster in the making like most things in life. Good luck!

 

[Cash's Coop]

Thank you All