Two Roosters for 13 hens / 1 is staying away from the flock

[YZipper]

I’m new to having backyard chickens. My plan was to start with 4-6 chickens and learn from there. Apparently, everyone around me thought that I can handle more and was gifted extra baby chicks. They are now just about 6 months old. A variety of Cochins, Marans, Orpington, Easter Eggers. The two roosters are a Deathlayer and a Golden Laced Polish. (They were gifted as part of a straight run). I have a big coop and a good size run for them to roam. I just came back from a 3 week trip. Before I had left the whole flock would always come together to see me. Now, when I went out to see them I couldn’t see Mr. Polish at first. He was hiding on the other side of the run. Also, when I gave them some cut up vegetables and threw out some scratch feed, I noticed that Mr. Deathlayer wouldn’t really let him come close. This morning I made sure that I put some tomatoes and feed on the side where he is “hiding” and when the others came closer I lured them away with food at another corner.
mine thing that has changed during my absence … the chickens have started laying the first eggs.
Mr. Polish is completely isolated from the others now, except inside the coop. Am I right to fear that as they get older Mr. Deathlayer may not let him into the coop?
i could divide the coop, it has two chicken doors one on each side and it is about 10’ x 15’. And I could divide the run, it’s about 400 sq ft. But how do I then divide out the chickens?
Or, should I keep Mr. Polish separate? would he be miserable alone, but safe?
I hope I was able to explain my questions and look forward to your feedback.

 

[rascal66]

Hello!

Hope you've been enjoying them so far. Sorry to hear the trouble you've been having. Here is the info I can share:

If you have all birds living and roaming together, the Rooster to hen ratio is 1 rooster for every 8-12 hens. What's happening now, is your have a dominant rooster in the flock that is doing his natural thing of keeping his competition away (your distant roo.). He will likely attack/chase and harass your other roo, simply because thats what they do in limited enviornments. You can solve this by adding more hens, or dividing them into two groups, so both roosters have hens and can have space away from each other.

I have a large flock of 80+ hens and 7 breeding roosters. They all get along peacefully, but there is a pecking order in place, and roosters respect the space of the dominant ones.

You can also always rehome one of the boys if it's too much trouble.

 

[Mrs. K]

Sometimes a polish bird does not really fit in a standard flock. Do have a way to separate them if needed. The polish may be fine, out on the fringes, but he also may not be getting enough to eat.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, welcome from Louisiana. Glad you are here.

What are your goals for having chickens and having the boys? I could give you some suggestions based on my goals but I raise them for meat. You might not like my suggestions. The only reason you need a male with the flock is if you want fertile eggs. Everything else is personal preference. Nothing wrong with personal preference, I have a few myself. But those are a choice, not a need.

I generally suggest that you keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. That's not because you are guaranteed problems with more males but that problems are more likely. How much easier would this be if you only had one boy? You obviously consider what is happening to be a problem.

Each chicken has its own personality and each flock has its own dynamics. You don't get guarantees about behaviors but we can tell you a few different things that might happen. Don't take any of these as that they definitely will happen because they might not. Now to try your questions.

Am I right to fear that as they get older Mr. Deathlayer may not let him into the coop?

At six months they are probably not really mature, especially the boys. They are experiencing puberty and, well, you know how some teenagers in puberty can have certain behaviors that they eventually grow out of. Their behaviors change as they mature. It's possible they could eventually reach an accommodation on how to manage the flock, they could fight to the death, or they may get along. It's impossible to say with any surety.

i could divide the coop, it has two chicken doors one on each side and it is about 10’ x 15’. And I could divide the run, it’s about 400 sq ft. But how do I then divide out the chickens?

What are your goals? That's what should be driving this decision. Some people will tell you that you have to have a certain rooster-hen ratio for utopia and anything else is the end of civilization as we know it. That has not been my experience. You can have the same problems with one rooster and 2 hens as you can with one rooster and 20 hens.

I don't now the make-up of your flock but it sounds like you may have bantams and full sized. If it suits your goals that may be an obvious split.

Or, should I keep Mr. Polish separate? would he be miserable alone, but safe?

You can do that too. Chickens are social animals and want to be with other chickens but they are also pretty adaptable. As long as he can see the others he probably won't be too miserable, at least not for long. He'll get used to it.

If you are planning to keep both I'd immediately prepare a place you can isolate one if you need to. That need may come up really suddenly. A dog crate can be a good immediate solution but I find having a separate shelter where you can isolate a chicken can come in really handy, even with an all girl flock.

For my goals I'd remove one permanently. That does not mean eat one, you can try rehoming him. But you know if you hatch eggs you're back in this dilemma.

he also may not be getting enough to eat.

The immediate solution to this is to have widely spread feed and water stations.

 

[YZipper]

Hello!

Hope you've been enjoying them so far. Sorry to hear the trouble you've been having. Here is the info I can share:

If you have all birds living and roaming together, the Rooster to hen ratio is 1 rooster for every 8-12 hens. What's happening now, is your have a dominant rooster in the flock that is doing his natural thing of keeping his competition away (your distant roo.). He will likely attack/chase and harass your other roo, simply because thats what they do in limited enviornments. You can solve this by adding more hens, or dividing them into two groups, so both roosters have hens and can have space away from each other.

I have a large flock of 80+ hens and 7 breeding roosters. They all get along peacefully, but there is a pecking order in place, and roosters respect the space of the dominant ones.

You can also always rehome one of the boys if it's too much trouble.

Thank you. I appreciate your feedback.

 

[Folly's place]

I think that unless you want two separate flocks, one of these cockerels needs to move elsewhere. Pick one, or none, and make the change. I'd guess that your Polish cockerel is at risk of death in the future, and it's time to decide who stays, and who leaves.
Do you plan to raise chicks from this group? Neither cockerel sounds like a perfect fit for your flock!
Mary

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Among my flock of 60+ hens, there are 5 roosters. There is a definite social order they've worked out over time. One is an elderly old man who can barely walk but enjoys babysitting the youngsters, another is a tiny feisty and aggressive bantam who's always first to raise the alarm if there's danger, and the three yearlings are my breeders and guards. I have multiple feeders, watering stations, and hidey-holes.

The old man has been on the fringes of this flock for years. He was low-man on the totem pole in his youth, often bullied by the more aggressive boys. One day, I heard a ruckus and went to find ol' Red hiding his head in a coffee can and a bunch of roosters beating the tar out of him. I beat them all off, doctored his wounds, and gave him a doghouse in the run to hide in for several days while he recuperated. Some of the ladies kept him company. These bad boys all met their fates in various ways (rehoming, slaughter, or predators), and have been replaced.

But ol' Red still hangs out on the fringes. The newer three big boys mostly leave him alone - I think out of respect, or maybe they don't realize he's a rooster (frostbite took his comb, and tail feathers have been plucked so often they don't grow anymore). Yet, I still witness ol' Red getting his jollies with the ladies when the others aren't looking. LOL

When the bullies were still after him, ol' Red could still get into the coop at night - but he was always *always* last to go in. The bad boys (and the bantam) harassed him until they all went to roost, and then when the coast was clear and he'd made sure every last hen and chick had gone in, he would sneak in and hide in a corner. He still has his corner today, even though the others don't bother him anymore. I think he's pretty content and happy with his lot.

I tell you this story just to give another perspective. If your Mr. Polish can get to food and water, has places to hide, and you check to be sure he's in the coop at night, he just may work out his place in the ranks.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Here's my story. We had a pretty good rooster for a flock of 20 hens, but I wanted two so I ordered a cockerel with my last order two years ago. As young George grew, the old rooster kept him in line and he was nice and submissive. He drew a small batch of groupies who followed him around and there was peace in the valley. Then we had a hard winter and George suffered frostbite to his comb and wattles. We separated him for a couple of weeks in the pen adjacent to the big run. He could still see and hear the flock, so we thought nothing of it. But when we released him, healed, the two roosters went at it, beak and claw. Neither one would back down. It was obvious the old roo was taking a beating and it wasn't going to end well for him. Sadly, we decided to cull the old guy. He was about 5 years old. I guess my point is, two roosters can get along peaceably... Until they don't.