two roosters? honest but kind responses please!

[jreynolds24]

Ok so this is our first year having ckns. And at first I was against having a rooster, because I have small children. But because we are free range we figured he will come in handy, so one of my friends gave me her RR and we are working on introducing him for the last few weeks... and now another friend has an EE that has turned out to be a roo. I would love to have a EE so I can have chicks next year that will lay the green/blue eggs , as well as the RR because theyare ffantastic gaurds (according to what I have read) ok so I have 15 hens now and 3 more in june... and I know "they" say the ratio is fine, but for my first time will it be over my head or am I over thinking it ? We are on just over an acre and like I said we are free range... but I don't want to be naive about what I can handle for my first go of it all.

 

[aart]

Ok so this is our first year having ckns. And at first I was against having a rooster, because I have small children. But because we are free range we figured he will come in handy, so one of my friends gave me her RR and we are working on introducing him for the last few weeks... and now another friend has an EE that has turned out to be a roo. I would love to have a EE so I can have chicks next year that will lay the green/blue eggs , as well as the RR because theyare ffantastic gaurds (according to what I have read) ok so I have 15 hens now and 3 more in june... and I know "they" say the ratio is fine, but for my first time will it be over my head or am I over thinking it ? We are on just over an acre and like I said we are free range... but I don't want to be naive about what I can handle for my first go of it all.

Not a good idea. I'm being honest, but blunt....don't mean to sound unkind.

Roosters can really hurt small kids in the blink of an eye, even if they were sweet friendly roosters for most their lives.
Roosters are a craps shoot, sometimes they are great all around, and sometimes they are not.
Roosters are not always great 'guards'.....again a craps shoot.

I would suggest that for your first year, you stick to hens. Get used to handling/caring for them, evaluate your facilities and environment........then decide if you want to add a rooster to the mix...you could buy some EE chicks next year for the green eggs and one of them will probably be a rooster.

Best of Luck, Have Fun!

 

[SampyArctica]

Even without the two roos together, I would say it's a bad idea being your first year with chickens and that you also have small children. You CAN get some very easy to care for, very friendly and affectionate roosters...but most will attempt to protect their girls from all predators, and that includes some humans. It's also sometimes dependent on the individual, rather than breed, so you might not know you have a mean roo until it's too late. Kids are easy for a rooster to injure, as children generally can't be expected to be as cautious and prepared for a roo attack as someone a bit elder, be it a teenager or adult. A squeal of delight from a young child can be viewed as a vocal warning that they're about to attack from a chickens point of view, and they already naturally view humans as predators anyway unless they're handled regularly, etc. Someone older would also be likely able to run much faster, if need be. Chickens can be *very* fast. And their darting head movements are amazing quick, even with adult supervision - a child could get an eye pecked at before you would even realise what had happened.

Now onto the two boys together...it can be done successfully, but usually it's because the roos were raised together from day olds. I haven't heard of two roos together who weren't raised together, have females around and who won't fight. It's entirely possible that it's been done of course! I'm just saying that I personally haven't heard of it happening.

 

[Mrs. K]

I vote no, I always vote no if your children are under 6 years old, I often vote no if the person asking has limited chicken experience, and strange roosters to each other generally equal multiple cock fights.... so that is my third no.