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I must have some really weird chickens. I am always reading about how much roosters fight and such when running together but I've never really had a problem with it. Maybe it's because they have such a large area to get away from each other. When I turn most of the breeder cages out into the yard each summer of course one of the roos will wind up being king of the yard that year, but it's not a constant fight or anything. It seems one good butt whoopin' and they leave him alone after that. I've got around 12 - 15 breeds and usually at least 10 breeds are running in a large mixed flock 8 months out of the year. Anywhere from 2 up to 6 roos of each breed and last year the only fight between roos I had that drew blood was between a little ol bitty cochin bantam roo and one of the black giant roos. It was one of those scratch your head and think "what the heck is that little feller thinking?" moments. That darn little cochin was a slow learner.
I don't have any game type chickens, if I did I know I'd have to keep them seperate, but overall the breeds we have now get along pretty well. If I have to remove a roo from the flock for whatever reason, there will be a day or two of getting the pecking order established again once I return him to the flock, but it's never anything serious.
The head roo changes year to year. This year it's been a black giant roo, the past several years it's been one of the production red roos. One year it was a scrappy little cross-breed roo half the size of some of the others.
We are totally rebuilding all our breeder pens and as I get them finished our breeders will most likely stay seperated perminatly after this year. Right now I've only got the Orloffs, Splash Cochin Bantams, BB Reds and the Sultans in seperate coops. I'm selling out of the hatchery New Hampshires, Sultans, Favarolles and a few other breeds in the spring also, so going into a whole new way of raising them by next fall.
I must have some really weird chickens. I am always reading about how much roosters fight and such when running together but I've never really had a problem with it. Maybe it's because they have such a large area to get away from each other. When I turn most of the breeder cages out into the yard each summer of course one of the roos will wind up being king of the yard that year, but it's not a constant fight or anything. It seems one good butt whoopin' and they leave him alone after that. I've got around 12 - 15 breeds and usually at least 10 breeds are running in a large mixed flock 8 months out of the year. Anywhere from 2 up to 6 roos of each breed and last year the only fight between roos I had that drew blood was between a little ol bitty cochin bantam roo and one of the black giant roos. It was one of those scratch your head and think "what the heck is that little feller thinking?" moments. That darn little cochin was a slow learner.
I don't have any game type chickens, if I did I know I'd have to keep them seperate, but overall the breeds we have now get along pretty well. If I have to remove a roo from the flock for whatever reason, there will be a day or two of getting the pecking order established again once I return him to the flock, but it's never anything serious.
The head roo changes year to year. This year it's been a black giant roo, the past several years it's been one of the production red roos. One year it was a scrappy little cross-breed roo half the size of some of the others.
We are totally rebuilding all our breeder pens and as I get them finished our breeders will most likely stay seperated perminatly after this year. Right now I've only got the Orloffs, Splash Cochin Bantams, BB Reds and the Sultans in seperate coops. I'm selling out of the hatchery New Hampshires, Sultans, Favarolles and a few other breeds in the spring also, so going into a whole new way of raising them by next fall.
